John Berendt's In The Garden Of Good And Evil

In Savannah, Georgia on May 2, 1981, Jim Williams shot and killed a twenty one year old, Danny Hansford, in the Mercer house. Jim awaited four trials and eight years in jail until he was acquitted of all charges. In the novel, “In the Garden of good and evil,” by John Berendt, it vividly describes the prices people had to pay for their misdemeanors in Savannah, Georgia. Joe Odom, a con artist who had gone years dodging the government, Jim Williams and Danny Hansford, who paid deeply in which, resulted them six feet under the cold hard earth. Simply, every action has a price and eventually the day will come when it is time to pay up. Con Artist. A person who cheats or tricks others by persuading them to believe in something that is not true.

Mandy and Joe had opened up a jazz bar called Sweet Georgia Brown’s. In preparation for the grand opening of the bar Joe was having work done, “ He went back to the business of writing checks. He gave one to the man who had installed the lights. He gave another to the carpenter and a third to the general contractor. Joe and the men bantered lightheartedly as if all the men believed the checks were good,”( Midnight in the Garden, p127). Five months later, Joe was charged with seven counts of faking Mandy Nichols signature. The account was in Mandy’s name due to the fact that no bank within a hundred miles would let Joe open up an account. The seven checks totaled to be one thousand one hundred ninety three dollars and forty two cents. Joe pointed out that five of the checks were for business purposes but couldn’t explain why the two largest checks were made out to cash. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years of probation and had one year to pay back all the money or he would serve his sentence in jail. Joe wasn’t off the government's radar just yet. Little did Joe know that the bad checks he wrote had been discovered,“ The bad checks that Joe had written were beginning to arrive at the prosecutor's office on an average of once a week: the carpenter’s check,the plumber’s check, the check for the antique merry go round horse,”(Midnight in the Garden p 183). Joe had to the

About a decade before Joe had arrived, the Hamilton Turner house was divided and turned into apartments. Joe occupied the lower half and the parlor. When Joe posted a sign that read: Private tours: 10:00a.m to 6:00 p.m, “ Savannahians were taken back by the sign because they knew that the outside of the Hamilton Turner house was the only part worth looking at,” ( midnight in the garden p 258 ). Although, that was true, “ Joe was not one to let an opportunity slip through his fingers,” (Midnight in the garden p 258). Joe Odom didn’t seem to realize that, “ The cash flowing into Joe’s pocket from the tour business provided a much needed lifeline. But there was a hitch: it was illegal,” (midnight in the garden p 260). He even went as far as to host wedding parties in the Lafayette square despite not having a permit and assuming that his neighbors would be allow the parties to happen.His neighbors formed a spy committee to stop Joe’s illegal tour business. After attending one of Joe’s illegal tours, a spy concluded what she witnessed, “ Mr. Odom’s tours are an out and out con job, The spy went on, three dollars a head is a lot to pay for a glimpse of a thrown together apartment with no historic interest, most of Mr. Odom’s artifacts are bogus,” (Midnight in the Garden p 262). The neighborhood spy committee concluded their investigation and notified the authorities about the