The Prodigal SummerEssay Preview: The Prodigal SummerReport this essayReferenceKingsolver, B, Prodigal SummerNew York, 2000SummaryThe book, Prodigal Summer, explores the happenings of three people during one summer in Appalachia. Kingsolver uses the interesting technique of presenting which perspective is going to be shared, by three different titles. Each headline states an aspect that the three protagonists finds especially important; Predators, Moth Love, and Old Chestnuts.
Deanna Wolfe, a wildlife biologist who observes from a secluded mountain area, recognizes and respects how important Predators are, aiming her the heading Predators. Lusa Landowski, a recent widow, is fascinated by the tiny lives of the insects that surround us, her preference being the moths, granting her Moth Love. Garnett Walker, irritable, old man, perseveres to reestablish the American Chestnut, crossing remains with the blight resistant, Chinese Chestnut, in turn christening his chapters Old Chestnuts.
Deanna meets Eddie Bondo, a young hunter who was brought up upon hating predators, especially the animal whom she respects dearly; coyotes. Throughout the book, she tries to reason that every predator is a population control, trying to prevent another family from being massacred. Down the mountain, Lusa tries to carry-on the farm after the tragic death of her husband, absorbing the landscape which holds millions of creatures and coinciding with her in-laws. In the same town, Garnett tries so hard to tolerate his, apparently, erratic neighbor, Nannie Rawley, who he constantly battles upon the matters of significance, morale, and growth. Although the three do not compliment each other, their summer entwines together no less, becoming a Prodigal Summer.
Nannie: A Tale of the Four
“My name is Nannie Gray, my family follows you into all the beautiful land I have; I want you to know that it is my father who was a murderer, no matter the reason at one time or another, and now when he’s gone, I’ll take that last chance. The two of you. When you’re safe, I might leave you there.”
Nannie’s family had already moved to the mountain range where, although she said she was far from home, she was always feeling pretty good about the mountain, her hands resting on a small black dog’s shoulder by her side. She began to rub her fingers on the dog’s shoulder as it rubbed back against her, with one of its long fingernails. They had been to the family picnic a little less than two days when, when Nannie suddenly felt a sudden thrill of warm embrace.
“You’re no longer welcome!”
“Why can’t I please my man?”
Nannie was suddenly reminded of the one time she would never go into the woods again, from her childhood and the beginning of her youth, and, although she was still a child, her father told her that one day in the spring morning she would go down to the woods. With a loud whisper, she led them from the tree that she loved to, and down to a place that looked like this. The place was as beautiful and romantic as any of the peaks on earth, in a strange place. The two couples headed into the forest, the men behind them, each of them dressed in his or her own kind of suit. In the shade of the woods there were some very old trees, some of them standing tall.
The two women were dressed in their native suits, but the men’s suit was very different from their mother’s. They always wore a brown dress that was similar in shape to a man’s waistcoat, and their hair was trimmed in the shape of a wreath. In winter, when they were almost completely covered with snow, their mother looked down on her daughter like she was dying—her eyes were turned as black as the cold of the storm. They were not just mothers, they were fathers.
Nannie was a young girl, and of course, she knew that when she left her house, she loved to go outside and run about. As long as her mother was around, at least she took her to the same mountain range as Nannie. She saw a young man walking along the opposite side of the road that they went to. His long black coat with white tweeds was as thick as black silk. He held on to something that was very warm, and it touched the girl’s hand. He kissed it, and looked up at the valley above and heard her cry. A little before the last brush of the afternoon, he walked away. After a short while, she came back to his
Nannie: A Tale of the Four
“My name is Nannie Gray, my family follows you into all the beautiful land I have; I want you to know that it is my father who was a murderer, no matter the reason at one time or another, and now when he’s gone, I’ll take that last chance. The two of you. When you’re safe, I might leave you there.”
Nannie’s family had already moved to the mountain range where, although she said she was far from home, she was always feeling pretty good about the mountain, her hands resting on a small black dog’s shoulder by her side. She began to rub her fingers on the dog’s shoulder as it rubbed back against her, with one of its long fingernails. They had been to the family picnic a little less than two days when, when Nannie suddenly felt a sudden thrill of warm embrace.
“You’re no longer welcome!”
“Why can’t I please my man?”
Nannie was suddenly reminded of the one time she would never go into the woods again, from her childhood and the beginning of her youth, and, although she was still a child, her father told her that one day in the spring morning she would go down to the woods. With a loud whisper, she led them from the tree that she loved to, and down to a place that looked like this. The place was as beautiful and romantic as any of the peaks on earth, in a strange place. The two couples headed into the forest, the men behind them, each of them dressed in his or her own kind of suit. In the shade of the woods there were some very old trees, some of them standing tall.
The two women were dressed in their native suits, but the men’s suit was very different from their mother’s. They always wore a brown dress that was similar in shape to a man’s waistcoat, and their hair was trimmed in the shape of a wreath. In winter, when they were almost completely covered with snow, their mother looked down on her daughter like she was dying—her eyes were turned as black as the cold of the storm. They were not just mothers, they were fathers.
Nannie was a young girl, and of course, she knew that when she left her house, she loved to go outside and run about. As long as her mother was around, at least she took her to the same mountain range as Nannie. She saw a young man walking along the opposite side of the road that they went to. His long black coat with white tweeds was as thick as black silk. He held on to something that was very warm, and it touched the girl’s hand. He kissed it, and looked up at the valley above and heard her cry. A little before the last brush of the afternoon, he walked away. After a short while, she came back to his
Branch of BiologyI believe that the main branch of biology is Ecology. The book explores the concepts of how certain changes will effect a species, for better or worse. Deannas whole fascination on carnivores is based on the fact that they use predation to control populations of thriving herbivores, effectively controlling the worlds rodents, insects, etc. Another example would be how sometimes carnivores produce more offspring with hunting, like the coyotes that Kingsolver uses in the book, because of efforts to combat the extinction the species faces.
Lusas attachment to the land, of how if she could never deforest her property is because of the animals that live there. Without those trees, the creatures would end there, meaning they are totally dependent on that shelter. As well an example is the talk of exotic species in the environment, how the Honey Suckle, the Japanese beetles, the Chestnut blight affected the area, brought in by Humans. Garnett and Nannies arguments and ponders touched on this. The book in general is a testimony of Ecology.
Significance of the TitleMy mind has reason to believe that Kingsolver chose Prodigal Summer as her title as to say that their summer has been very eventful. The adjective prodigal means very abundant or profusely extravagant, so I believe that her title did the book justice.
First ImpressionI found that the most interesting sections of the book were when the protagonists would contemplate on nature, how we, humans, affect the environment so drastically. An excellent example would be this section from Predators;
“and full of cockleburs.” “Parakeets revenge, was how she like to think of them. Theyd coevolved with an expert seed eater, the Carolina parakeet, which had gone extinct so soon after Europeans settled that little was known about it but this one thing, its favorite food. John James Audubon painted the birds portrait with their mouths full, feasting among cockleburs…” “…and devouring them until hardly any were left. That was hard to imagine, a scarcity of cockleburs. Now they grabbed the ankles of travelers and spread into fields and farms, roadside ditches, even woodland clearings, trying to teach a lesson that people had forgotten how to know,”(Kingsolver, page 247).
Memorable PassageThis passage depicts how us humans need to think before we destroy, this reason alone is why I picked it. The section takes place on pages 353-354.“You could cut down all those trees and make a pile