Character Analysis
Miss Reba, the owner of the Memphis brothel, is quite the opposite of every woman Lucius has met up until his arrival to the brothel. She is strong-willed, outspoken, and very direct. She clearly doesn't get along with the landowner Mr. Binford, and she has no problem telling him so at the dinner table:
"Like hell," Miss Reba said, "I can throw you out too. Dont think I wont. What the hell kind of language is that!" (5.65)
Most are afraid of Mr. Binford, but not Miss Reba. She's also not afraid of helping to sneak Lightning onto the boxcar, or of helping to keep Minnie safe from Otis. She's a strong woman with a lot of fire in her, and she's exactly the type of person who is important to Lucius's developing understanding of the people who inhabit the world around him.