Mr. Ryder, a member of the Blue Veins society, is a very prestige person. Admired by many, Ryder is considered a social leader. and the position he now obtains, he rightly earned. Upon arrival to Groveland he worked as a messenger at a railroad office, and then, climbed the ranks to stationary clerk. He grew to be the “model male” over the years, but in-spite of his success he remained a single man until Mrs. Molly Dixon crossed his eye. Molly was far younger than he ,but shared the same admirable characteristics. Ryder finally felt he was ready to settle down and get married, so he organized a ball to publicly ask her hand in marriage. On the day of the ball a mysterious woman by the name of Liza Jane arrived looking for her husband as she had been doing so for twenty-five years. She explained how she and her husband were separated during slavery and he promised to return to buy her freedom. Ryder questions Liza’s thoughts of her husbands existence or desire to find her, but she is sure both cases are true. Before she leaves Ryder explains that her will help her find him. Before the moment comes for Ryder to propose to Mrs. Dixon, He created a hypothetical situation to the crowd and asked the question what should a man do if he found his long forgotten wife. At the end he reveals to the crowd that Liza Jane is the long forgotten wife and he, her husband.
I think Mr. Ryder can be considered outcast especially because of his earlier experiences in life as a slave. I think the events were so powerful that it can be argues that he became an outcast of his own mind to overcome the bad memories of what use to be. In doing so, he made himself forget about big details of his earlier years.
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American Literature 2 
May 9th, 2012 at 11:00 pm
From the findings in this particular reading, I feel as though Mr.Ryder is considered an outcast. He was once a slave but as a free man joined the “Blue Vein Society” meaning he has secluded himself away from the rest of the society. By joining the society he begin a new life, and dismissed of concepts or memories of his past. These memories include forgetting about his long lost wife Liza Jane,
May 10th, 2012 at 2:34 pm
This is an interesting point. It seems like, since the Blue Veins were not accepted by White society and saw Black society as beneath them, that they created their own society (both literally and figuratively) and isolated themselves from larger society. In this new society, they fit in and had the power to build their own norms and values.
May 9th, 2012 at 11:01 pm
I agree with you on the statement that Mr. Ryder is an outcast of his own mind. He left his past and tried to move foward. He didn’t want to marry until Mrs. Dixon came in town and consequently his forgotten wife arrived on the day he was going to purpose to her. He could’ve easily acknowledged his forgotten wife the first time he had an encounter with her, but instead he waited until the fellow Blue Veins told him to do so.
May 10th, 2012 at 2:35 pm
He does seem to be rejecting his past and is unable, mentally, to accept the reality of who he was/is.
May 10th, 2012 at 9:04 am
I kind of disagree with Mr. Ryder being an outcast because an outcast is somebody that is shunned or rejected from society and in this story Ryder is the leader of the society and loved by everyone. I feel like he can be considered an antihero because he indirectly becomes the hero of Liza’s life. She comes to him in desperate manners to find her long lost husband and he puts his pride aside and lets her know that he is her husband.
May 10th, 2012 at 2:37 pm
If Mr. Ryder is a leader, rather than an outcast, could we argue that, as a group, the Blue Veins are outcasts and, therefore, by being associated with them, he is an outcast as well? Oftentimes individual outcasts will form a group in order to have a sense of belonging and other people who they can identify with. Does forming these groups make them less or more of an outcast?
May 10th, 2012 at 2:17 pm
I agree with you about him being an outcast, but then again I think he could be considered more as an outlaw. Because he was accept by the Blue Veins made me question him being a complete outcast. The fact that he basically created his own place in the world, would make me consider him more as an outlaw.