Broken Ground By Jack Hodgins
In Jack Hodgins latest novel, Broken Ground, the inhabitants of the small forest community of Portuguese Creek are deeply affected by its extreme conditions. Matthew Pearson, a local farmer and former soldier, has his life utterly transformed from living in Portuguese Creek. For Tanner Pearson, Matthew's ten year old son, living in Portuguese Creek has nothing but negative consequences. Lastly, Charlie MacKintosh, Tanner's friend, is adversely affected by his time spent in the harsh wilderness of the settlement. Portuguese Creek touches the lives of all who dwell within its untamed heart. Matthew Pearson is a typical farmer in the wild soldier's settlement of Portuguese Creek, who, like ...
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Snow-peaked mountains, thick underbrush high as [his] waist, and salt water so close [he] could smell it. But... [he was] scared off right away by the unexpected. Forest fires, mountain lions, and rain. (Book 1 Chapter 2 P.17) The harshness of his surroundings also has adverse effects on his sanity. At some points he loses touch with reality and is thrown into a memory of the war. Every time it is caused by either the absolute beauty, or terrible viciousness of nature. In chapter thirteen he takes a midnight horseback ride through the wilderness, and is struck by the elegance of his surroundings. As he rides he notes an abandoned logging building that was left behind after the company decided the area was too uncivilized. Upon seeing it he notices how "[the] building [brings] to mind a shelled and ransacked village church in France, a rubbled space of stone block walls that [stands] amongst abandoned houses behind a part of the line where [he had] fought at two different stages in ...
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a heap on the doorstep of the abandoned lumber mill. His last memory is that "[he] cannot even protect [his] family from harm. Dear God, [he] cannot do a single thing alone!" (Book 1 Chapter 33 P182) In the following years, Matthew goes through several bouts of depression, alienating his family and friends. Both the savageness and beauty of the settlement simultaneously transforms his life before his eyes, and sends him back into his terrible past. Tanner Pearson's life is changed even more drastically then his unfortunate father, as he is sent spiralling into a life of crime and emotional instability. He hates Portuguese Creek from day one, because of the daily hazards, lack of ...
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"Broken Ground By Jack Hodgins." Essayworld.com. July 16, 2006. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Broken-Ground-By-Jack-Hodgins/49224.
"Broken Ground By Jack Hodgins." Essayworld.com. July 16, 2006. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Broken-Ground-By-Jack-Hodgins/49224.
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