“Through the bloody and September twilight, aftermath of sixty-two rainless days, it had gone like a fire in dry grass: the rumor, the story, whatever it was.”

The speed at which the rumor spreads that a Black man has raped Miss Minnie Cooper is juxtaposed against the speed at which fire ignites dry grass. The bloody September twilight also foreshadows the murder of Will Mayes at the hands of the angry, misled mob.

“‘It’s this durn weather,’ another said. ‘It’s enough to make a man do anything. Even to her.’”

Unbearable heat can make men do things they wouldn’t otherwise do, including raping a woman, any woman, or killing an innocent man. As the mob’s fury escalates, the outside temperature is juxtaposed against irrational decisions made in the heat of the moment.

“Find out the facts first, boys. I know Willy Mayes. It wasn’t him. Let’s get the sheriff and do this thing right.”

Henry Hawkshaw is a man of law, order, truth, and justice. As John McLendon works the group of men into a frenzied mob ready to hunt Will Mayes down, Hawkshaw attempts to appeal to their sense of fairness by calling the sheriff. However, he is repeatedly rebuked.