DELIVERANCE BOOK summary

The locals were not impressed by the presence the four businessmen visit. They arrived at a gas station and Lewis paid two men to drive their cars down to a small town known as Aintry. The locals were hesitant but Lewis managed to convince two local mechanics to drive their cars. Drew joined a local albino boy playing banjo and with his guitar they enjoyed duet together. Afterwards the boy did not speak or shake Drew’s hands. On hearing the commotion Lewis emerges and shoots at the rapist with an arrow on his back and he died. The other hillbilly got scared ran away into the woods. Drew was looking for a phone to inform the police about the incident but Lewis argued that they would get arrested and not obtain a fair trial since the authority would favor the hillbilly population.

Bobby did not want the truth about him being sodomized to go public and so they all sided with Lewis to bury the body. Lewis convinced them that the river would flood soon and that the other hillbilly would possibly not say anything to the police as he was also involved in the incident. The three got into the remaining and later they found Drew’s corpse which drowned in a similar way. With Ed as the leader, they canoed to the town of Aintry. Bobby and Ed called the police and took Lewis to the hospital (Telling, 2013). In the end, sheriff had to let Ed, Bobby and Lewis go because as much as they were suspicious that the three were aware of the whereabouts of Drew and the missing mountain men, they did not have the evidence.

Bobby and Ed packed up their belongings, picked up Lewis from the hospital and vowed not to tell their secret to anyone. The theme of conflict between men versus men was patent as the four friends argued on what to do with the dead body ("James Dickey’S Deliverance: Theme", 2017). Drew suggested that they call the police while Lewis wanted them to bury the boy in the river. The theme of violence in the novel is presented by the two hillbilly men who attacked Bobby and Ed and harassed them physically. The characters in the novel include Ed Gentry, Lewis Medlock, Bobby Trippe and Drew Ballinger. In the beginning of the novel, Lewis was a mentor to Gentry as he would do everything Lewis said.

He killed a man and covered up when he was interviewed by the police. He returned to the city as a changed man and was no longer bored as he viewed himself in a mythical manner. Bobby was arrogant when they set off for the trip. He however seemed emasculated in the book as he tried to run away from the mountain man who eventually managed to rape him and make him squeal like a pig while physically harassing him. Bobby was afraid that people would find out that he was raped. Violence results in misery as Bobby was ashamed of the rape while on the other hand it cost the life of the two mountain men and Drew as well.