Character Relationship Map: Resting Place

Characters

• Maj. Kendall Laird (played by John Lithgow) — protagonist

  A Survivors Assistance officer assigned to escort Lieutenant Dwight Johnson's remains to his parents in Rockville. Initially expecting a brief duty, he works with the Johnson family and local allies t...

• Luther Johnson (played by Morgan Freeman) — protagonist

  Dwight Johnson's father, who receives his son's remains alongside Ada. He refuses to accept the town's attempt to direct Dwight's burial to the cemetery reserved for Black residents, and is willing to...

• Ada Johnson (played by CCH Pounder) — supporting

  Dwight Johnson's mother, who receives her son's remains with Luther and refuses to give in to the town's segregationist burial policy. She supports keeping Dwight's body in the church's safeguard rath...

• Eudora McCallister (played by Frances Sternhagen) — supporting

  A local woman who sold the Johnson family a plot of her property in the cemetery they chose for Dwight's burial. When town authorities block the funeral because of their segregationist policy, she hel...

• Sam Jennings (played by G.D. Spradlin) — minor

  The editor of the local newspaper, who assists Major Laird as he seeks a way past the town's refusal to allow Dwight Johnson's chosen burial. Jennings suggests that telling the lieutenant's story coul...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Maj. Kendall Laird → Sam Jennings (Alliance Collaborators) — Jennings helps Laird pursue a public account of the lieutenant's life, prompting Laird to gather biographical information and investigate the death.

  The local newspaper editor Sam Jennings assists Laird and suggests that telling the lieutenant's story could change minds.

• Maj. Kendall Laird → Eudora McCallister (Alliance Collaborators) — Eudora's connection to the burial plot and her assistance support Laird's effort to resolve the blocked funeral.

  Eudora sold the Johnson family a plot in the cemetery they chose, and she helps Laird search for a way to break the impasse.

• Maj. Kendall Laird → Ada Johnson (Alliance Official Supporter) — Laird helps Ada and her family pursue the burial they consider appropriate rather than accept the town's segregationist policy.

  Laird brings the remains to Ada and Luther and seeks a way past the town's refusal. Ada, like Luther, refuses to accept burial in the cemetery designa...

• Maj. Kendall Laird → Luther Johnson (Alliance Official Supporter) — Laird's official duty develops into support for Luther's demand that his son be buried in the chosen cemetery.

  Laird escorts the remains to the Johnson family and works to overcome the town's refusal to allow the chosen burial. Luther refuses the segregated alt...

Story Analysis

A military officer's effort to honor a fallen soldier exposes racial injustice and the truth behind the soldier's death.

Plot Progression

1. An Assignment Turns into a Standoff — Laird escorts the remains to Rockville expecting a limited duty. The town's segregationist cemetery policy blocks the funeral, and the Johnsons refuse the proposed alternative.
2. A Family Holds Its Ground — The family is prepared to keep Dwight's remains in their church rather than accept the segregated burial. Eudora and newspaper editor Sam Jennings help Laird search for a way to break the impasse.
3. The Inquiry Uncovers Doubt — Laird gathers accounts of Dwight's life, then notices that soldiers' descriptions of the death sound rehearsed. A refusal to speak without legal counsel intensifies his suspicions.
4. The Truth Makes the Burial Possible — Laird presses the soldiers until the circumstances of Dwight's death emerge: racial mistrust had undermined his command, and he died saving their lives. With the story brought to light, the family sec...