The play Joe Turner’s Come and Gone written by a great playwright, August Wilson, can be found in Anthology of Living Theatre.
After reading, I can now share in my own words, what I think the purpose was. I will also share a few of my personal thoughts of who I think “Joe Turner” is and where “Joe Turner” may have gone.
To begin, this story is mainly about one man, Herald Loomis, and his journey to free himself from all he has been through within the wraths of slavery. Within his journey, he finds personal freedom, redemption, forgiveness, and acceptance. It is a very dramatic, enthralling story of how different life after slavery was for some people. It gives insight to the audience into how the characters in this play may have been free from yet they weren’t re
ally free at all.
As the main character in the play, Herald Loomis, an African-American who was enslaved goes in search of his wife, Martha. She had left her husband to follow the church during his absence. Herald was taken by a man named Joe Turner, who was not an actual character that could be seen or heard in this play. Joe Turner is a man described by the characters in this play, as a ruthless man who captured many African-Americans.
Historically, Joe Turner is said to be the brother of Pete Turney, Tennessee’s governor, and would take minor criminals to work in chain gangs.
In Act II, Scene II pages 510-511, Herald Loomis walks in the room as another character in the play, Bynum Walker, is singing a song about Joe Turner, which Bynum heard from the women down aroun
Memphis. Herald then pleaded for Bynum to stop singing the song.
They tell me Joe Turner’s come and gone
Ohhh Lordy
They tell me Joe Turner’s come and gone
Ohhh Lordy
Got my man and gone
He comes with forty links of chain
Ohhh Lordy
In Act II, Scene II pages 511-512, Herald shares with Bynum the events..
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