Gap Creek by Robert Morgan

[Paulette]

I agree with you both. And I think people still pretty much live up to or down to what others expect from them. How many of us have lived the way we were expected to live, behaved the way we were expected to behave, even if it didn't feel like it really fit us? Especially as young adults, until we have the benefit of years of experience and have been able to build up our confidence that we are capable of more.

[Bethers]

And how many of us still do that? I know I do sometimes - maybe more than sometimes.

[Paulette]

Probably because ultimately we want to "please" others; be pleasing to others. Of course, there is helpful too, but the pleasing goes deeper inside, maybe even subconsciously.

[Paulette]

Discussion question #3.

When Julie helps her father carry her dying brother down the mountain, "it was the prettiest night you ever saw...It was the first time I ever noticed how the way the world looks don't have a thing to do with what's going on with people." Talk about both the beauty and the impersonality of nature in the novel. What is the author saying about the cycle of human life? Where does religion fit into Julie's world view?

[AlmostThere]

She probably felt a bit helpless. She was the 'go to' person in the family and this was something out of her hands. The vastness of the world at night probably gave her pause as to how fragile life is and how we don't always have the power to stop the inevitable. I don't imagine there is one among us that hasn't laid back and looked at the stars at night and felt small, a bit scared and full of questions.

[Paulette]

And perhaps the realization that "life goes on". The cycle of life doesn't just begin and end with "me" or "you", but we don't often think about the vastness of reality.

Does that even make sense?

[Bethers]

Yes, that makes a lot of sense!

[Sunseeker]

I agree that she finally realized tht the cycle of life continues for others even though someone loses a life. That not everone experiences heartache and tragedy just because she happens to be going through it.

I had trouble when he died, understanding the worms coming from him. Does anyone know what he died from? I have had a little bit of a medical background, but don't recall ever hearing of this?

[Paulette]

Nope, don't really know what the disease was, but I think the reference to playing in the sand had something to do with it. Maybe it was some sort of worm that was left untreated and after time basically ate him alive from the inside out. YUCK, what a horrible thing!

[Paulette]

Question #4.

Before Julie meets Hank she thinks about falling in love with "a strong man that knowed what he wanted and could teach you." Contrast this image with what she finds in Hank. "I don't know why his look stung me so deep at that instant. We don't ever know why we fall in love with one person as opposed to another," she says. Is this true? Is it something a young girl might think, but that a mature woman might have a different perspective on? Talk about the importance of chemistry in a love relationship. Is it more or less important to you than shared interests and values? Why? What do you think of love at first sight?

[Paulette]

Okay, we'll here's my thoughts on the question...I think Julie was looking for someone to take care of her, because she had always been the one relied upon to take care of things. I don't think she "expected" to fall in love and then there Hank was. I think I agree that when we fall in love, as in "love at first sight" the chemistry is probably the initial deciding factor. It may not always win out, as once we get to know someone the chemistry may not be enough to keep the relationship afloat. Shared interests and values are probably ulitmately more important than the chemistry factor because they are every day things that matter more in the long run.

[Bethers]

I'm not answering the question LOL - but just going to say a bit about my feelings on this book.

When I started reading it, I though, uhoh, I'm not gonna like this. I usually have problems when the author rights in a dialect - as often I don't think they follow it, or use it well, or, most often, it just doesn't work for me. That said, omg, I couldn't have been more wrong in this case. Robert Morgan used the dialect perfectly. I could hear these people just as they should speak. I have all of them in my heads, sounds and images, from the way he wrote this book.

I also believe he used some imagery - as when he talked about the worms coming from her dying brother. As Sunseeker stated, I had a little trouble with that one - then I decided that he was using some sort of imagery there - although I'm not sure. I took it almost as if he was being cleansed - as possibly the demons left his body? But again, I put my own thoughts there because I wasn't sure where/how that was meant.

Overall, I loved this book and am so glad it was selected. It made me really think about the difference between not that many years ago and today - and the resiliency of people both past and present - and the strength of women throughout the ages. It was women who kept the families together through thick and thin during those times. And this was another instance of that - shown through one marriage that really wasn't that atypical of the times.

[AlmostThere]

I think Paulette is correct in that Julie was wanting a home of her own and a strong man at her side. Her family also had a great love of God and the fact that she saw Hank at church and seeming to enjoy the singing etc she felt he was probably her best bet to get out of being the "man" of her Mother's family and getting the chance to use her feminine side and not feel guilty.

[Paulette]

#5...Julie imagined her marriage would be something wonderful, but finds it different from what she expected. Her mama's view of marriage was simple: "Like everything else it is work, hard work." Do you think marriage is hard work? Contrast the way Julie responds to their hard life with the way that Hank responds. How do you think the different outlooks of Mama and Ma Richards have contributed to their offspring's readiness for the responsibilities of marriage?

[AlmostThere]

YES, marriage is extremely hard work.
Julie grew up with knowing, from watching her parents, that marriage needed to be a partnership. It was hard work and complaining didn't get the work done. Even the children had to take a part, to survive. Hank's mother was extremely critical of him and in return he lacked any confidence and when faced with having to make hard decisions or taking criticism, he exploded in anger to compensate. He did show some endearing traits like when he took care of the baby while Julie was so ill, and at the end he chased off "what's his name, the drunk, with prayer". I think those times are when Julie felt hopeful for their marriage.