Monday, March 7, 2011
Corey "plots" His Ride- Bant Finds "love" - Jimmy "names" the marriage
Corey uses his underground favor for Rabbit to get him what he needs to finally race the 4-wheeler. I was afraid that Rabbit would just leave him there once he got his metal panel. Now Rabbit- there's a charmer! Does he ring true? Bant really likes R.L. or at least feels the heat when he is around. Will she or won't she and why? Lace knows that Yellow Root and Cherrytop are worth fighting for but what is she willing to do and what is she willing to lose to keep up the fight? Is it really worth it when the odds are so stacked against her? Look what happened to Tout.
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Rabbit rings true as more of an "Appalachian hillbilly" stereotype than a truly round, dynamic character. One could argue that he is driven to alcoholism and his other bizarre behaviors out of the same sorrow for the loss of the land and community around him that gives Mogey crippling headaches or drives Lace to attend rallies and protests, but there is little evidence to support this. On the other hand, he could be the living manifestation of the kind of character Corey could, in the worst-case scenario, grow up to be, as they share the same prickly nature and fascination with machinery. Again, it is difficult to come to any concrete conclusions about Rabbit's true nature because Pancake offers just a glimpse of him to the reader.
ReplyDeleteBant initially seems to like R.L. on the basis of physical attraction, but ultimately the feelings she has for him are based less on who he is as a person and more on what she may be able to gain from the relationship. If Bant gives R.L. what he wants, R.L. can provide her with the one thing that she has been seeking throughout the novel - answers to her questions regarding the true nature of the mine at the top of Yellowroot Mountain. Bant will make a personal sacrifice for the sake of what is really closest to her heart - nature.
Like her daughter, Lace is willing to make a tremendous sacrifice for the love of nature. She grows more and more drawn into the environmentalist cause despite the difficulties involved in that movement and the risks that she knows it may cause to her family. In the process of defending the land she loves so much, Lace loses Jimmy Make completely and stands to lose the rest of her family or even her life. Although the stakes are incredibly high, Lace will choose nature above all because it is a more essential part of her being than her husband or even her children. If she gives up without a fight, she not only gives up that part of herself but all the memories, history, and emotion that go along with it, including her connection to her dead parents and the remembrance of her youth. She also loses whatever hope she may have for the future of the land and those who inhabit it. Therefore, she continues on with the losing battle, driven by pride, duty, and love.
I also thought that Rabbit was going to pull the metal up and leave poor Corey down there in the mine shaft, but when he pulled him up I realized that Rabbit really is just a misunderstood character. Yes, he's a complete drunk/alcoholic but I didn't think as badly as him after he pulled Corey out. I also think its funny how Corey uses Rabbit just as Bant uses R.L., but neither of them get what they were bargaining for. In the Bant/R.L case, they are equally using each-other, and I don't really understand by R.L bothers to tell her that he "loves her", because it's obvious he was just into it for the sex: he could care less about her half of the deal. Bant and Lace are fighting for Yellowroot because it is a part of them, and if they cannot stick up for a part of themselves, then they really cannot be considered human. Once you fall in love with something and accept it as a part of your identify, you can't leave it; it's not as easy as getting up and moving away. I think that Lace thinks that if she gives up her fight for the land, she will loose herself.
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ReplyDeleteThe character of Rabbit is definitely portrayed as more bumpkin than brilliant. I know that this may come off as being perverse, but my initial reaction to Rabbit’s invitation to Corey to aid him in a task, without the company of Tommy, lead me to believe that he may physically take advantage of Corey, but I suppose his simple mindedness does not exactly fit the role of pervert.
ReplyDeleteThe excursion to find the “ole panel off a beaker box,” which is situated in an unlighted crevice in the mountain within the restricted area, exemplifies the stereotypical hillbilly persona that Rabbit embodies. The inebriated state of Rabbit when Corey knocks on his door, the filth that constitutes his surroundings, the singular focus on fixing the refrigerator contraption, and the permanent sootiness of his pure black “working man’s hands,” are the characteristics that make Rabbit such a stereotypical example of an Appalachian Hillbilly. Rabbit’s ignorance in the face of Corey when the young boy first shows up at his house, the outlandish level of riskiness in lowering Corey down into the dark mountain crevice, and the stupidity of not being cautious while escaping the mining site, which completely defeats the purpose of Corey helping him (since he was hoping for Rabbit to aid in the repairing of his bike) makes his character quite unreliable and darkly comedic, since he is completely a product of his surroundings: dirty, ignorant, and stupefied.
I have to admit that I was quite intrigued with the relationship between R.L. and Bant. The hardships that she has suffered, the fighting between her parents, the floods, moving to North Carolina when she was younger and then back, and the loss of her grandmother, makes it easy to sympathize with her character. The inherited connection to the woods and the mountains from her mother and grandmother, is what gives Bant her spirit and powerful personality, which is why R.L.’s courtship comes as a welcome surprise, as it adds a delicate and exciting dynamic to Bant’s situation in life. His slow steps towards courtship, his ability to accept Bant’s unwillingness to go beyond kissing, and the obvious chemistry between the two, leads me to believe that Bant will eventually give into his yearnings, regardless of her strong belief system, which opposes R.L.’s occupation as a miner and the looming notion of her own mother’s pregnancy caused by premarital sex. The attention and affection that R.L. shows Bant excites her because it is a completely unknown feeling to her, and although he stands for many things that she disagrees with, her young age, the appeal of his matured physical appearance, and his contradictory connection to the mine (he works for the mining company yet he is from Ohio and has no real connection to Yellowroot apart from his job) stir a storm of curiosity in young Bantella’s mind, which is why I believe she will give into his wants.
Continued...
ReplyDeleteLace loves her home because it is the only good and honest thing she has in her life, which is why she is willing to do what ever it takes to fight for its existence. Jimmy Make, who has previously worked for the mining companies, knows how dangerous it is to fight the companies, and he tells Lace the horror stories of sabotage against people who attempt to protect the mountains, although Lace is scared, especially after being approached with a gun, she refuses to give up on the one cause she believes is the most important. Learning more about the mining systems, companies, and the effects of the damage through Loretta and Charlie is how Lace educates herself and henceforth becomes more involved in working against the mining companies. Although Jimmy Make continues to fight and caution Lace against getting involved with the “tree huggers,” she continues to fight back due to her deeply felt passion for the mountains and her home. Lace is willing to forsake the safety of her family, including her children, as well as her marriage with Jimmy Make as exemplified through their constant fighting and her refusal to leave Yellowroot for North Carolina a second time. The effectiveness of Lace’s battling of the coal industry is questionable, as her letter writing, phone calls, and protests constantly lead her to empty destinations, yet she continues to cling on to the hope that Yellowroot can be saved, although I believe that the coal industry is far too great an entity to even attempt to destroy.
Although Charlie refuses to abandon Tout, he has lost a great deal of the goodness in his life, due to the arson, threats, and destruction caused by the mining companies. Lace feels as passionately about Yellowroot as Charlie does about Tout, yet the cost of staying to fight may, in the end, may definitely out weigh the small chance of any winning outcome.
I, like Amanda, also thought that Rabbit was going to leave Corey in the mine shaft. Thankfully he did not, but I still do not see Rabbit in any sort of good light. While some see Corey as using Rabbit, Rabbit is obviously using Corey. Their relationship is symbiotic at best.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly R.L. and Bant are in an advantageous relationship. Bant gets her answers about the mine and R.L. gets Bant's body. Though they both make sacrifices whether her dignity or risking his job, the two give each other what they want.
Lace, like Bant, wants answers about the land and what risks the mine is imposing. Against Jimmy Make's warnings, she risks her entire relationship with her husband by associating with environmentalists in order to fight for the protection of her family. She believes that it is worth it to risk everything if it means her family is safe
I definitely thought that Corey was going to be left down in the mine shaft. I definitely thought a little more highly of Rabbit that he took the effort to pull Corey back up after he had gotten waht he wanted. Maybe he's not so bad after all, and turned to alcoholism to mitigate the effects that the destruction of the land has on him? Not sure.
ReplyDeleteBant, like her mother Lace, is willing to do anything to find out the truth about the mining. Her natural curiosity and passion for the environment lead her to sacrifice her dignity for this cause.