Conditional Charity

The characters in the novel demonstrate conditional charity as they take Pew in and reject Pew when he does not conform to their demands. Hilda and her family take Pew in when they discover Pew sleeping in the pew where they generally sit at church. When Pew does not react to Hilda’s charity or the charity of those in the community as Hilda believes Pew should, she and the community members decide Pew is a danger to them. When Pew is shuffled off to the Black side of town, Pew overhears similar complaints of suspicion about why the Whites might have sent Pew to them.

Hilda offers Pew what appears to be unconditional charity without even asking him if he needs help. Hilda simply tells Pew only moments after they have met that she and her husband have decided that Pew can stay with...