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Appalachian Literature

1- how does lee smith write about forming an identity and acceptation. Her Appalachian heritage in her

fiction?

This is an exploration on Lee Smith’s writings on forming an identity and acceptance on the

Appalachian Heritage.

Lee uses the character Ivy Rowe to convey her message on forming an identity and acceptance.

Having her roots in Appalachia, she identifies with the character Ivy Rowe in ‘Fair and Tender

Ladies’. She interacts with different social classes and status groups throughout her life. Her

experiences with them suggest the recurrent class and status tensions of Appalachia. She came

from a family of farmers though her father died of a heart condition. Ivy and her mother seek for

a job in a boarding house where Ivy’s mother dies. This forces Ivy to go live with her sister in a

coal company. Finally, Ivy marries a man from her community and thus re-locates to her farm in

the mountains. Ivy’s story forms its basis on the life story of Lee Smith. Smith coming from the

mountains is less educated as compared to those in the towns. While social class and status never

override personal agency for Smith’s character they frequently limit or alter their options for

finding satisfaction in life. She explores the limits placed on her characters. Lee shows that it is

possible to accept once origin and change the lives of those that they love. This exposition is
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through Ivy’s support of her children to leave the mountain farm for schooling. She helps a

teacher from New York to revitalize a nearby settlement school.

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2. compare the short fiction of breece d'j pancake to the short function of chris offutt's story?

This is a comparison of the fiction of Breece DJ and Chris Offutt.

Both Breece D’J Pancake and Chris Offutt trace their roots to Appalachia, a region in West

Virginia. The region is mountainous and extraordinarily beautiful. They seek to narrate the

problems that the people in their homelands suffer. Each of them has a personal touch in their

story since they narrate their life experiences through their characters. Both writers choose to use

male characters to convey their messages. Breece had most of his stories published after he

committed suicide by inflicting a gunshot wound on himself. Both writers expound on

emptiness and isolation that their characters undergo. They effectively illustrate how background

and upbringing affect the outcome of the lives of their characters.

In the story, ‘In the Dry’ Breece uses the main character, Ottie, who is a non-union truck driver.

When he returns home to his foster family Ottie’s family is disturbed by his presence. They are

barely able to tolerate him. The sight of his disabled friend acts as a reminder to Ottie of the

tragic accident they were involved. Guilt and shame torture him since Ottie blames himself for

his friend’s suffering. In addition, Ottie’s foster sister desires to have a sexual relationship with

him. In ‘Fox Hunters’, the main character Bo-holly participates in his first fox hunt. He joins the

macho ritual of drinking and bragging. However, he cannot stand the liquor and vomits.

Ironically, he attempts to shoot the hunting dogs to save the foxes, when he sees the dogs

charging towards the foxes. In ‘Trilobites’ the main character Colly reflects on his dead father.

He considers his life on the farm unfulfilling. He feels that circumstances have trapped him.

When his mother decides to sell the farm Colly, who is left homeless decides to retrace his

father’s overseas travels. Out in the woods by Chris Offutt is concerned with displaced persons.

Characters in these stories all long to leave home in search for greener pastures. They feel that
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living in the mountains deprives them of opportunities to prosper in life. These characters decide

to turn their backs on the ridges of Eastern Kentucky. Ironically, when they leave their homeland

they long to return to the safety of their homes. Some of them manage to return while others are

unable to return and bear within them a longing that cannot be discarded. Those who return

home discover that they cannot live there as they did before. These stories elaborate on the lives

of men who suffer from torn apart in their hearts, but have to continue living. The major themes

in these stories are perseverance and heartbreak. The characters struggle to adjust to their new

surroundings.

The stories of both Chris Offutt and Breece DJ Pancake depict suffering and loss. Their

characters expound on the rough, painful lives of the people who live in Appalachian. Both

writers seem to have the aim of transforming the suffering in Appalachian. The characters suffer

from loneliness and isolation. It is sad that their families are unwilling to embrace them when

they opt to return home. Those who leave home loss their families, their homes, comfort, and

roots. Desperation leads others to committing suicide. It is sad that even the author Breece DJ

takes his own life. The use of the young strong men as their characters shows that the women in

these communities lack protection. This could be the reason why one of the characters had the

desire to sleep with her foster brother. Both authors use the desire of their characters to return

home as a lesson that no matter how harsh conditions are at home, there is no safer place to be at

than home.
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3 outline the development of the main character, gertie, in the movie "the dollmaker" based on the

novel of the Same title by Harriet arnow.

This paper discusses the development of the main character in Doll Maker by Harriet Arnow.

The main character Gretie has five children who suffer relocation to Detroit due to financial

constraints. This symbolizes the many Appalachians who shifted to the north due to financial

constraint. Gretie is a genius woman who is limited by her surroundings. Harriet uses the main

character from a poor background to expound on the issues faced by the Appalachians. She

develops Gretie by use of family life and poverty. Gretie strives to create an atmosphere where

she can survive. Gretie is married to Clovis, a young man who joins other youth in military

service. However, there is no sign of fear in Gretie due to the departure of Clovis. The author

uses this background to display Gretie’s intellectual capacity, and strength. Gretie emerges

strong of focused throughout. The author uses tragedy to further develops her main character.

Gretie loses two of her children after they suffer from short term diseases.. This tragedy

represents the tragic events that the poor people of Appalachia have to go through in order to

survive. Harriet develops her main character further by merging her with a husband is

extravagant on the little money they make and to cover up for it, he keeps blaming her for the

problems that the family is facing. The character of her husband and the constant blames do not

stop Gretie from saving money. Her inspiration is her unending desire to own land one day.
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4- How does Chris offutt explain the importance of being a rugged individualist in Appalachia?

This paper seeks to examine how Chris Offutt explains the importance of being a rugged

individualist in Appalachia.

Chris Offutt lived the life of his characters since he lived n a small Appalachian community. He

went through more than fifty jobs before settling down. Rugged individualism is the self-reliance

and personal independence in social and economic affairs. It not only brings personal liberty and

self-reliance in an individual’s character but also encourages free competition. It brings out the

quality of being an individual. It is the freedom that people enjoy paving their own paths in life.

Chris Offutt uses the characters in his stories to expound on the theme of ragged individualism. It

encourages people to be unique. It encourages individuals to contribute to the culture of their

countries.

In Out of the Woods, the characters are simple nomadic men. They leave home in search for

greener pastures. Here, the author shows of the importance of men going out in search of green

pastures. We see that the characters who live home find no safe place to hide themselves. They

suffer from homesickness and memories of the good times they had at home. They feel that they

have lost their identity and roots.

In Moscow Idaho, the author uses ex-convicts as his characters. These ex convicts, in their

pursuit of their paths in life, they break the law and serve their terms in jail. Tildo who is one of

the ex-convicts never wants to return to prison. He considers obeying the laws of the country so

as not to suffer again.

Ragged individualism exposes people to insecurity, pain, loneliness, violence, and struggle to

find direction and purpose. Like the characters used by the authors, ragged individualism gives
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one the opportunity to make choices on which direction their lives take thus eliminating being

victims of circumstances. The author understands the suffering that his characters go through, so

he tries to end their suffering by making them pursue individualism.

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5.outline the development of the main character, gertie, in the movie "the dollmaker" based on the

novel of the Same title by Harriet arnow.

This paper seeks to evaluate how Annie Dillard’s surrounding becomes a symbol for her in

Tinker Creek. The writings of pilgrimage at Tinker Creek are a publication of Anne Dillard’s

journal that she used to keep track of her daily activities. These activities were a combination of

nature observations and her thoughts after pondering and meditating. The driving force behind

these writings was a pneumonia attack that nearly killed her on 1971. Her ailment made her

realize that she had not enjoyed and explored life to its brim. She hibernated in Tinker Creek in

an attempt of finding herself. She uses her surrounding; the insects, trees, and water to help her

understand the human nature. She makes an effort to relate the stories she recalls hearing from

her mother and her pastor with the environment and her surroundings. She views her

environment with an open mind and heart with no previous perceptions and expectations. Her

aims are to understand beauty, violence, death, and God. “We must take a wider view, look at the

whole landscape, really see it and describe what is going on here” (9). This statement not only

refers to her landscape, but the entire world and within herself.

She seeks to understand how things happen in the Tinker Creek, aiming “not so much to learn

the names of the shreds of creation that flourish in the valley, but to keep herself open to their

meaning”(137) . She is seldom interested in the trends of nature, but questions that erupt from

the combination of nature with the things she learns and those she has read. She uses science and

religion as her main tools as she is in search of understanding the world. Since science and

religion do not easily blend, the choice of using them draws her deeper into thought and

meditation.