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Karl Feldman
Rusty is a young, Black Chicken Hill resident who is on good terms with both the so-called Pottstown Association of Negro Men (comprised of Nate Timblin, Reverend Ed Spriggs, himself, and his uncle) and with Fatty Davis. Rusty is, like pretty much every other man on the Hill, in love with Paper, but she doesn’t pay much attention to him. He is supposed to help Fatty Davis and Big Soap with the plumbing job but fails to show up.
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Rusty Character Timeline in The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
The timeline below shows where the character Rusty appears in The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
4. Dodo
...the so-called “Pottstown Association of Negro Men.” Mostly, the locals who make up the association, Rusty, his Uncle Bags, and Reverend Ed Spriggs (known as “Snooks”) play cards and gossip. Although...
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8. Paper
...Black patrons). Paper acts out the best parts of the story for the benefit of Rusty and the rest of her audience. Big Soap and Fatty work together at Flagg Industries...
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14. Differing Weights and Measures
Some of the patrons grumble. But when they see Fatty approaching Nate, everyone but Rusty clears out. Fatty learned about the dark side of Nate from other prisoners in Graterford...
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Nate mumbles something under his breath about “differing weights and differing measures.” Rusty and Fatty help him up, walk him home, and put him to bed. Then Rusty...
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15. The Worm
...fight that injured Chona. But there wasn’t a fight, Fatty says. He turns and asks Rusty to say what he knows. It isn’t much, but it’s alarming. When Rusty got to...
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24. Duck Boy
Three days after Chona’s funeral, Paper gathers Nate, Addie, Fatty, Rusty, and Miggy Fludd in her kitchen for sweet potato pie. Miggy arrives straight from her...
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26. The Job
...really” illegal—although they’ll be doing it under the cover of darkness, and they’ll be taking Rusty along to help make sure the manhole they need to access looks undisturbed. But there’s...
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29. Waiting for the Future
...the time they’re done. Now all they have to do is replace the manhole cover. Rusty hasn’t shown up, so they head to the jook joint to gather concrete and other...
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