Intruder In The Dust

The grave becomes an important symbol for the search for truth, and the relationship between truth and justice. On two occasions, Charles and others visit the grave of Vinson Gowrie. The funeral for Vinson was arranged shortly after his death and was held when Lucas Beauchamp was already locked up in the town jail. Vinson was buried quickly, but Lucas insists that this grave holds important information. Though Lucas only wants to know the caliber of bullet that killed Vinson, the actual contents of the grave are far more damning. Jake Montgomery, rather than Vinson Gowrie, is buried there. This first visit highlights the failings of the legal system, because in digging up a grave without a warrant they are committing a crime to prevent an even greater crime from taking place. Ironically, those operating on the side of justice are forced to break the letter of the law to preserve the spirit of the law. That the grave contains the wrong man exacerbates this sense of injustice, as not even the identity of a dead man can be depended upon.

After the rush to dig up the grave the first time, Charles and the other characters return to the town with the information they have discovered. Through Gavin and the sheriff, they are able to obtain a warrant to dig up the grave. This time, however, they will exhume the grave in the light of day. They need to be seen to be operating according to the letter of the law, so as to give the Gowrie family and the mob no opportunity to halt the investigation on a technicality. This second visit to the grave represents the racial imbalance in the justice system. Whereas Lucas can be arrested and potentially murdered based on an accusation, actual justice must be carried out within the letter of the law. Furthermore, the sheriff asks Mr. Gowrie to attend the exhumation, so that no accusation of foul play can be made. This second visit to the cemetery symbolizes the double standards of the legal system with regards to different races.

After the second exhumation reveals an empty grave, the men go in search of the bodies of Vinson and Jake. The shallow, sandy grave of Jake and the quicksand burial of Vinson symbolize the contempt that the killer had for these men. He threw the dead body of his own brother into a quicksand pit, much to the disgust of his father. Though Mr. Gowrie seemingly knew that Vinson was not killed by Lucas, the truth of his son’s burial disgusts him to the extent that he accepts Lucas’s innocence. He can no longer argue for the execution of Lucas when his own son has been so demonstrably brutal. The lengths that the group has gone to in order to find this grave, however, further symbolizes the two-tiered nature of the legal system. Only a prolonged investigation and the exhumation of four graves is enough to achieve the same condemnation of Crawford that Lucas achieved with far less evidence.