55 pages • 1 hour read
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In Chapter 1, Lace says that she saw her future as a “sweet peach-pink” (3). What is the significance of this color? What other colors are associated with Lace throughout the novel, and why?
In Chapter 3, Corey and Tommy fear “the monkey,” a dead animal that’s been lodged in the creek. What does this monkey represent for Corey? What does it represent for Dane?
Explain the significance of Mogey’s dreams in Chapter 20. How do they change, and what commentary is Pancake making?
Explain the significance of the title in relation to the environmental devastation that’s happening because of strip mining.
Much of the novel revolves around the environmental impact of strip mining in West Virginia. However, is an argument being made? How are readers meant to react to what they’re learning? Use at least three examples from the book to support your answer.
Avery’s chapter is mostly about the Buffalo Creek flood and its aftermath. What is the significance of this chapter in relation to the events happening at Yellowroot and the neighboring hollows?
Describe the role of religion and spirituality in the novel. How do characters connect their understanding of God to the environmental destruction they see around them? Does the novel think one approach is better than the other? In what way?
Explain the significance of Dane’s “pieces of God” (115) in Chapter 12. What conclusions are we meant to draw about his character from this shrine? Why does he bury the lunch box before leaving the mountain with Jimmy?
In Chapter 23, Avery talks about how he and other West Virginians were “raised to expect disappointment” and that pessimism was so prevalent that it was as constant as “temperature, weather” (235). Is this pessimism changing as time passes in the novel? Why or why not?