Silas Jones

Outer characterization

Silas Jones, nicknamed 32 after his baseball jersey number, is one of the main characters of the novel Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin. Silas is the Constable of Chabot, Mississippi. He is a black man who was raised by a single mother, Alice Jones. As an adult, Silas finds out that his father is Carl Ott and that Larry Ott is his half-brother. 

Silas grows up in Chicago until the age of 13, when he moves with his mother to Mississippi and lives in an abandoned hunting cabin on Carl Ott’s property. He is in a relationship with a woman called Angie. 

Inner characterization 

Silas is a smart and competent detective. Throughout the novel, he finds many important clues that help him solve cases, and he does not dismiss them as Roy French is shown to do. For example, he finds it suspicious when they find cans of beer in Larry’s fridge because he knows Larry does not drink alcohol. He also seems less inclined to assume that Larry shot himself, even though French is sure this is what happened...