The Homeplace in River of Earth
The theme
of the homeplace in River of Earth is essential
to understanding the conflict between Alpha
and Brack.
For
Alpha, the
homeplace is a constantly elusive dream. Her desire to
settle down and raise her family on a single plot of land is continually
overpowered by Brack's insistence on working in the coal mines. And
as part of Appalachian custom, time and again Alpha follows the decision
of her
husband, against her own wishes.
But Alpha makes do, and takes care of her family to the best of her ability
with the little resources she has. This becomes apparent throughout
much of the novel takes place in these transitional periods between the
opening and closing of mines, and thus the major setting for River of
Earth is on the homeplace.
For Alpha, the homeplace creates a foundation for the family, which becomes the very heart-and-soul of life in the mountains. She believes in a life of order and security so that she can assure the health of her family. Brack’s desire to follow the mines disrupts this kind of life. Life in the coal camps is rough and unpredictable. In addition to wanting an establishment she can raise her children in, Alpha has very strong ties to the Earth. She wants to live off the land and not the company store by being self-sufficient and growing crops. Because Alpha works so hard at farming food for the family, she is extremely protective of the products that come out of the land. She becomes visibly upset when Brack gives in to his weakness for other’s misfortune and gives Fruit Corbitt and the other miners almost the entire stock of beans (Still 18). The losing of this food is symbolic of Alpha losing control of an environment that she works so diligently to maintain.
Alpha’s connection to the homeplace and nature is evident through the child of Baby Green. The name “Green” can be viewed as a representation of the Earth because of its symbolism of the victuals that they need to survive hunger. In addition, just as Alpha extracts items from the land, she places things back into it, such as the deceased body of Baby Green. Because Baby Green is buried into the land, Alpha’s desire to finally settle down in one place becomes even stronger. She pleads to Brack, “I was reckoning we stay on here another crap…the baby is buried here. Oh, I never favored bringing up my children in a coal camp. They’ve got enough meanness in their blood without humoring it. We done right well crapping this year. We raised a passel of victuals” (Still 175). Alpha’s reasoning with Brack about remaining in their present home portrays her motherly desire to remain on the land so that she may provide for her children. Also, Alpha has strong ties to the home place because it is the gravesite Baby Green, a deceased part of Alpha.
The homeplace is Alpha’s sanctuary. It is a dream place that she believes is obtainable, but because of Brack’s inability to comprehend the importance of being settled with the land, Alpha’s desire of life remains a phantasmal thought. “Forever I’ve wanted to set us down in a lone spot, a place certain and enduring, with room to swing arm and elbow, a garden-piece for fresh victuals, and a cow to furnish milk for the baby...I'm longing to set me down shorely and raise my chaps proper” (Still 51-52). Alpha’s longing for a homeplace where she can work the land and grow the family’s food is at constant odds with Brack's insistence of putting the family’s future in the unsteady hands of coal mining.