Mattresses were things, he had argued, one more way that the authorities retained power over them. If need be, you had to will yourself to overcome the dependency upon comforts. Lafayette had willed himself to find the contour of his body in the concrete of the jail cell, so that it would eventually feel comfortable, and finally it became true, he did create the contour of his body in concrete, at least in his mind. Though it was nothing more than an illusion, it had allowed him to sleep in Parchman.
