A racist lieutenant who exists in the Bardo and brags to Willie—and anyone who will listen—that he used to rape his slaves and beat their husbands. Lieutenant Stone makes it his duty to keep the black Bardo-dwellers from mingling with the white ones. When Stone starts talking about his disgusting ventures, he grows as tall as a pine tree and equally as thin. At the end of the novel, Elson Farwell stands up for himself and his fellow black Bardo-dwellers by fighting back against Lieutenant Stone’s racist vitriol, battling the man in a physical confrontation that seems as if it might continue into eternity.
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Lieutenant Cecil Stone Character Timeline in Lincoln in the Bardo
The timeline below shows where the character Lieutenant Cecil Stone appears in Lincoln in the Bardo. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 27
...before him—a collection of souls waiting to talk to him. As he surveys the scene, Lieutenant Cecil Stone makes his way to the front and brags about his appearance, saying that he used...
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...Bevins III remarks. “Bear in mind, Lieutenant,” says Vollman, “he is but a child.” Nonetheless, Lieutenant Cecil Stone holds forth with his racist monologue, and the Reverend explains—as an aside—that the Lieutenant often...
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Chapter 66
...hands of her masters, forced to submit to horrific acts. As she describes these tragedies, Lieutenant Cecil Stone pushes his way through yelling, “Back, SHARDS, get ye back!” With the help of several...
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Chapter 77
...of individuals leap inside, entering both Lincoln and one another, “becoming multiply conjoined.” Having eluded Lieutenant Stone , the black “contingent” rushes inside, along with “too many” souls to “enumerate.” “So many...
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Chapter 100-101
...an alarming rate. Amidst the chaos, Vollman and Bevins rush out of the chapel, passing Lieutenant Stone and Elson Farwell, who are in the midst of a seemingly never-ending fight, one that...
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