How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The town seemed more lonesome than any place he had ever known. [...] When he had been drunk the place had seemed violent and riotous. And now it was as though everything had come to a sudden halt. (1.4.46)
There are a lot of different kinds of violence in this novel and the "violence" of an unsettled mind is absolutely one of them. It's fitting that Jake experiences a lot of external violence in his life – it serves as a counterpart to his disturbed mindset and his serious drinking problem. He projects his violent inner life onto the world around him, especially when he has been drinking.
Quote #2
The hopeless suffering of his people made in him a madness, a wild and evil feeling of destruction. At times he drank strong liquor and beat his head against the floor. In his heart there was savage violence, and once he grasped the poker from the hearth and struck down his wife. (2.3.67)
We're not sure we're buying Copeland's argument here. Did you notice how he seems to be justifying his violence against his wife with the suffering of his people? Does that seem like a good excuse to you? Shmoop certainly doesn't think so.
Quote #3
"You married this certain party when you were seventeen, and afterward there was just one racket between you after another. You divorced him." (2.2.51)
Biff's fairly bitter rundown of Lucile's disastrous marriage to Leroy hammers home the fact that violence is an everyday reality for many of these characters, whether it's domestic or racial. No matter how common it is, though, it doesn't lessen the impact.
Quote #4
"Our Willie didn't have no knife, so he commenced to bellow and ran about the parlor. Then finally Highboy found Willie a razor and he backed up and nearbout cut this Junebug's head off." (2.3.15)
How easily this dispute devolved into near-deadly violence! It's disturbing, for sure, and it serves as a reminder that many of these characters' lives hang in the balance, even when everything seems calm. Circumstances can turn on a dime.
Quote #5
Often he was laughed at and when this happened he [...] spoke scornfully in words of many syllables. [...] And if he was still laughed at he sometimes fought. He swung his big brown fists with crazed violence and sobbed aloud. (2.4.23)
Crazed violence and sobbing? Jake is clearly a troubled guy. Notice how quickly his angry thoughts can turn into violent actions. We certainly wouldn't want to be around when Jake flies off the handle. And may we recommend some anger management classes, ol' Jakey?
Quote #6
The three of them reached Baby at the same time. She lay crumpled down on the dirty sidewalk. Her skirt was over her head [...] There was blood all over her hair ribbon and the top of her yellow curls. (2.5.58)
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter tends to deliver graphic descriptions of violence in a very detached way, using blunt vocabulary and fairly short sentences. This description of Baby after she has been shot is no different. We get the facts, but not the gore and emotion that go with those facts. McCullers has enough faith in our imagination to spare us the more graphic details.
Quote #7
"You can't get me! Nobody can get me!" he kept yelling.
[...] It looked like nothing could stop that screaming. (2.5.50-51)
Bubber has messed up, big time. But if you were hoping he would take responsibility and apologize, well, you're doomed to disappointment. Instead, he goes a little crazy, maybe from guilt, or the shock of his own accidental violence. But in any case, the shooting of Baby Wilson has only made Bubber more violent, at least for the time being.
Quote #8
They struck him on the head and shoulders with their clubs. A glorious strength was in him and he heard himself laughing aloud as he fought. He sobbed and laughed at the same time. (2.10.91)
Remind you of anything? This description of Copeland is nearly identical to earlier descriptions of Jake fighting in an alcoholic frenzy. Only instead of alcohol, Copeland is drunk on grief and rage here. He seems completely out of control. His emotions have gone haywire, and his body is out of his control, too. It's being beaten by the cops.
Quote #9
"It's a hard thing to understand. My feets hurt me so bad all the time and I don't know where they is." (2.13.10)
Willie's words give us a glimpse into the aftermath of violence. His harrowing experience has left him both physically and emotionally scarred, which asks us to consider how other violent acts in the novel may have scarred other characters, too.
Quote #10
Christ. So this was the finish. A brawl. A riot. A fight with every man for himself. Bloody heads and eyes cut with broken bottles. (3.2.2)
This riot acts as a fitting conclusion to Jake's chaotic, and often violent, storyline. The fact that this riot devolves into "A fight with every man for himself" tells us that though violence often arises out of a sense of solidarity, it quickly turns into something more ugly. Jake was hoping for revolution, but he is met with violence that is completely and totally selfish. And terrifying.