Monday, July 14, 2008
Week Five--July 14--Home to Harmony
A thread running through many of Gulley's stories is the connectedness of people in small town life. People like Frank can be "saved" by the opportunities presented in everyday relationships, as when he overcame his desperate loneliness and feelings of hopelessness after the death of his wife when he became involved in helping the Iversons and their twin baby girls. What other characters in Harmony are similarly engaged with their friends and neighbors? Do you think these close relationships are typical in small communities?
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3 comments:
I would like to think the type of relationships and interconnections portrayed in the book could still exist, but I believe they are a thing of the past. It would be nice in some ways to know your neighbors and friends so well. BUT...it could also be not so good. I think it would depend on the situation. I don't think Brownsburg is a "small" town. I don't know if this type of town still exists.
All the citizens,characters are engaged. That is the great benefit of small towns. Being alone or neglected in small towns of years past would have been abnormal. This small town environment continues to exist; but not like before. There are fewer jobs, farms and small businesses because of free trade and the corporate takeover of peoples' lives.
Brownsburg is not a small town; but is a suburb of a large city with many new residents from outside Indiana. Danville is becoming the same; not like when Gulley was a child.
Brent Pittman
That same small town connectedness still exists; however, it is not found in most towns. It is found in the churches and individual neighborhoods. Towns are too big, and people are too busy.
I do know small towns where the people are still connected, so they do still exist. They're just harder to find. I personally have a relative in a small town in southern IN where the whole town got out and helped their neighbors in need from the ravages of the flooding.
Harmony is the same way. The two characters that stand out in regards to changing through their connectedness with others are Brother Norman with his Choctaw Indian ministry and Uly, the man headed for disaster through the devastation of the bottle - then turned to the Lord with the straight forward help of Gary from AA and Sam Gardner.
Thank God, there are still people who care about others enough to step away from their busy-ness to help someone in need. We all have times where we're on both sides of that fence. How did you do?
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