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Joe Banks
Slemmons is a newcomer to Eatonville and the owner of an ice cream parlor. His origin is uncertain; Joe says that Slemmons is “of spots and places—Memphis, Chicago, Jacksonville, Philadelphia and so on.” He is primarily described through the eyes of other characters. He is said to be heavy-set with a mouth full of gold teeth, and he wears fine clothing—traits which set him apart from the other residents of Eatonville. Slemmons claims that women are attracted to him wherever he goes. He wears what appear to be a five-dollar gold piece for a stick-pin and a ten-dollar gold piece on his watch chain, which no one is allowed to touch. He walks with a “rolling swagger” and speaks in a Chicago dialect. Slemmons finds Missie May attractive and successfully pursues her with offers of gold. At the story’s climax, when Joe discovers their adultery, Slemmons pleads for his life and offers more money. Joe strikes him twice and seizes the golden watch charm. Slemmons is last seen fleeing the Banks’ house, though the Bankses discover that his watch charm was nothing but a gilded half dollar. He had been deceiving everyone all along.
Otis D. Slemmons Quotes in The Gilded Six Bits
The The Gilded Six Bits quotes below are all either spoken by Otis D. Slemmons or refer to Otis D. Slemmons. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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The Gilded Six-Bits Quotes
A new man done come heah from Chicago and he done got a place and took and opened it up for a ice cream parlor.... Mister Otis D. Slemmons, of spots and places—Memphis, Chicago, Jacksonville, Philadelphia and so on.
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After Missie and Joe have shared a heaping Saturday dinner, Joe surprises Missie May with news of the ice cream parlor and its enigmatic proprietor. Coming on the heels of a lengthy introduction to the couple and their rooted, contentedly routinized life, the entrance of Otis Slemmons into the story is abrupt and somewhat jarring. According to Joe, Slemmons isn’t really from anywhere in particular, immediately setting up a contrast between the itinerant newcomer and the Eatonville household with its unvarying ways. Joe’s description also establishes a precedent for the way Slemmons is embodied (or not) throughout the story. Aside Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis.
“His mouf is cut cross-ways, ain’t it? Well, he kin lie jes’ lak anybody else.”
“Good Lawd, Missie! You womens sho is hard to sense into things. He’s got a five-dollar gold piece for a stick-pin and he got a ten-dollar gold piece on his watch chain and his mouf is jes’ crammed full of gold teethes…And womens give it all to ‘im.”
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After dinner and before visiting the ice cream parlor, Missie May and Joe continue to discuss Slemmons, the ostentatious stranger. Missie May has seen Slemmons from a distance, but Joe has also heard Slemmons talk about himself. Among Slemmons’ boasts is that women everywhere are crazy about him. In contrast to Joe’s enthusiasm, Missie May responds skeptically to Slemmons’ self-promoting claims. Quite sensibly, she points out that no matter how impressive the man’s appearance, he can lie as well as anyone—a point that Joe, humorously, rejects as stubborn nonsense. These contrasting reactions hint that Slemmons will continue to be a Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit be
By the match light he could see the man’s legs fighting with his breeches in his frantic desire to get them on. He had both chance and time to kill the intruder in his helpless condition…but he was too weak to take action. The shapeless enemies of humanity that live in the hours of Time had waylaid Joe. He was assaulted in his weakness. Like Samson awakening after his haircut. So he just opened his mouth and laughed.
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At the climax of the story, Joe gets home and hears stealthy movements in the bedroom, then discovers Slemmons in bed with Missie. Frozen, he finds his expectations and dreams for his family abruptly cut down at their source. There is a certain sense of the ridiculous about the scene, as the typically well-dressed, sophisticated Slemmons is found in the most compromising position possible, and as the reality of the situation contrasts, in a darkly comedic way, with Joe’s romantic musings just moments earlier. Still, Joe’s laughter seems to be a reaction of total shock above all else. The reference Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit
Before morning, youth triumphed and Missie exulted. But the next day, as she joyfully made up their bed, beneath her pillow she found the piece of money with the bit of chain attached…She took it into her hands with trembling and saw first thing that it was no gold piece. It was a gilded half dollar.
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About three months after the infidelity, Joe comes home from work with back pain, and after Missie May rubs him with liniment, the couple sleeps together once again. The narrator’s use of the phrase “youth triumphed” has an impersonal ring, as if their intimacy was inevitable and will not, by itself, heal the marriage. Nevertheless, Missie May at first takes their reunion as proof that she and Joe are fully reconciled, but she soon she discovers that Joe has left Slemmons’ coin—which she had not seen since the morning after she’d slept with Slemmons—tucked under her pillow. In addition, she Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta.
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Otis D. Slemmons Character Timeline in The Gilded Six Bits
The timeline below shows where the character Otis D. Slemmons appears in The Gilded Six Bits. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Gilded Six-Bits
...cream parlor, and the two discuss its proprietor, a man from Chicago named Otis D. Slemmons. He tells Missie May that he wants her to be one of the first ladies...
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While the couple cuddles affectionately, Joe describes Slemmons’ gold jewelry and gold teeth—a five-dollar gold piece for a stick-pin and a ten-dollar gold...
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On the way home from the parlor, the couple exchange impressions about Slemmons. Joe delights in the amusing “Chicago talk” Slemmons has taught them. (“Dat wife of yours,”...
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...the floor, he hears a gasp and loud movements in the bedroom. There, he discovers Slemmons frantically getting dressed, and Joe is too stunned to act (“He was assaulted in his...
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As Missie May sobs, Slemmons pleads for his life, offering sixty-two dollars in gold money. As Slemmons considers escape, Joe...
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...Joe replying that she doesn’t know what his feelings are yet. Missie May says that Slemmons had kept after her with the promise of the gold piece. Finally Joe tells her...
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...dollars, and the pockets full of gifts are gone. Missie May suspects that Joe carries Slemmons’ gold piece in his pocket, but she cannot bring herself to ask him or to...
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One night, some three months after Missie May’s infidelity with Slemmons, Joe comes home from work with back pain. Missie May rubs him with lineament, and...
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...examines the supposed gold piece and discovers that it is only a gilded half dollar; Slemmons had counted on villagers’ inability to discern the difference. Upon reflection, Missie May interprets Joe’s...
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...long absence by saying that he has “been round in spots and places.” He uses Slemmons’ fake gold piece to pay for a large amount of Missie May’s favorite candy kisses....
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