"Are you seriously considering the possibility of a man's being turned into a tree," questions John of his wife in Charles Chesnutt's novel The Conjure Woman. His attention to the supernatural in the stories told by Uncle Julius lead him to miss the significance of the themes behind the stories. Rather than understanding, the humanity of the slave and his need for love he simply focuses on the fact that he Sandy becomes a tree. This is just one example of John's misunderstanding of the stories told by Uncle Julius. The character's inability to look beyond the surface of the stories he hears, influences his perception of the validity of these stories. Further,