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Whose Truth?
The West Virginia Coal Mine Wars


Questions & Discussion


It looks like the discussion has centered itself here rather than in the forum, so post your questions and responses here.

I've cleaned up the formatting so that long lines are no longer a problem.  The results are not elegant, but they will now be readable.

West Virginia Mine Wars (first week comments on Matewan)
Questions posted 10/3/00 
Questions posted 10/10/00
Questions posted 10/17/00

(Regarding format; I will regularize citations over the next week or so and provide a bibliography for your reference.)


Submission form and new questions below

Closed

 

Name: Julia Imholt

Question_Response

Was West Virginia occupied at the time of the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek strikes?


Name: Laura Parrish

Question_Response

I see Dave Shepherd felt very strongly about his response this week......excellent


Name: Hannah Watkins

Question_Response

This past Friday, I listened to another report on the coal sludge spill in Inez, Kentucky on NPR's All Things Considered. I was amazed at the continuation of events in this area so similar to the period we are focusing on. I learned that the majority of the people in this area continue to work for the local coal company. I learned that the coal companies continue to take shortcuts when it comes to the local citizen's safety(the company already knew that the sludge dams were not up to standard but failed to remedy this). NPR played an excerpt from a community meeting where the coal company president(by the last name of Hatfield!! does anything change in this area?) promised to clean up and pay for all the damage. But is this really good enough? Of course the company will clean up their mess but the mess shouldn't have happened in the first place. This disaster was preventable. I was saddened to find the situation in this borderland of Kentucky and West Virginia so unchanged. Do you feel that any progress has been made in the coal company's treatment of their employees and surrounding community?


Name: Martha O'Dell

Question_Response

I was a little disapointed when I got to Matewan scene as well. I guessed I realized what was going on as soon as I read about the confrontation at the train station, and after that I was just waiting for the inevitable. If we hadn't covered the story of Matewan and Sid Hatfeild so thoroughly in class it would have been more exciting.

To change the subject... I just read the hand out called Coal Towns, and I don't know exactly what to think of it. Having been so overwhelmed with information that portrays the natives of the coal lands as innocent people who had their land invaded, I was very skeptical of what the author had to say. After finishing it I realize the author had some valid points about the life in Appalachia before the coal companies came. However the fact that their lives were bad before doesn't make how they lived in the coal towns acceptable. It does change my perspective on the issues a little, and it helps to answer one the biggest questions I have had through out this course: how did the coal companies get into West Virginia and where did the people come from to work?


Name: david shepherd

Question_Response

sorry about that, i am currently having troubles with my internet connection . . .


Name: david shepherd

Question_Response

sorry about that, i am currently having troubles with my internet connection . . .


Name: david shepherd

Question_Response

i found, as others have voiced, the Isom as Hatfield reality to be an annoyance. This tie between a historical figure and what i had considered to be a purely fictional character makes one question the entire novel's stance. It makes the reader question what exactly was fact and what was fiction. Before that relationship became obvious, it seemed that the book had followed the pattern of using major historical events to frame her story, while creating the characters and the detailed events from her own understanding of the time and her creative powers. However, intertwining her fictional character, who was already fairly strongly typed, with a historical figure makes me almost question the credibility of her work. it seems almost unethical to blur the line of reality and fiction in this case, as we are using this book to better understand the times.


Name: david shepherd

Question_Response

i found, as others have voiced, the Isom as Hatfield reality to be an annoyance. This tie between a historical figure and what i had considered to be a purely fictional character makes one question the entire novel's stance. It makes the reader question what exactly was fact and what was fiction. Before that relationship became obvious, it seemed that the book had followed the pattern of using major historical events to frame her story, while creating the characters and the detailed events from her own understanding of the time and her creative powers. However, intertwining her fictional character, who was already fairly strongly typed, with a historical figure makes me almost question the credibility of her work. it seems almost unethical to blur the line of reality and fiction in this case, as we are using this book to better understand the times.


Name: david shepherd

Question_Response

i found, as others have voiced, the Isom as Hatfield reality to be an annoyance. This tie between a historical figure and what i had considered to be a purely fictional character makes one question the entire novel's stance. It makes the reader question what exactly was fact and what was fiction. Before that relationship became obvious, it seemed that the book had followed the pattern of using major historical events to frame her story, while creating the characters and the detailed events from her own understanding of the time and her creative powers. However, intertwining her fictional character, who was already fairly strongly typed, with a historical figure makes me almost question the credibility of her work. it seems almost unethical to blur the line of reality and fiction in this case, as we are using this book to better understand the times.


Name: david shepherd

Question_Response

i found, as others have voiced, the Isom as Hatfield reality to be an annoyance. This tie between a historical figure and what i had considered to be a purely fictional character makes one question the entire novel's stance. It makes the reader question what exactly was fact and what was fiction. Before that relationship became obvious, it seemed that the book had followed the pattern of using major historical events to frame her story, while creating the characters and the detailed events from her own understanding of the time and her creative powers. However, intertwining her fictional character, who was already fairly strongly typed, with a historical figure makes me almost question the credibility of her work. it seems almost unethical to blur the line of reality and fiction in this case, as we are using this book to better understand the times.


Name: david shepherd

Question_Response

i found, as others have voiced, the Isom as Hatfield reality to be an annoyance. This tie between a historical figure and what i had considered to be a purely fictional character makes one question the entire novel's stance. It makes the reader question what exactly was fact and what was fiction. Before that relationship became obvious, it seemed that the book had followed the pattern of using major historical events to frame her story, while creating the characters and the detailed events from her own understanding of the time and her creative powers. However, intertwining her fictional character, who was already fairly strongly typed, with a historical figure makes me almost question the credibility of her work. it seems almost unethical to blur the line of reality and fiction in this case, as we are using this book to better understand the times.


Name: david shepherd

Question_Response

i found, as others have voiced, the Isom as Hatfield reality to be an annoyance. This tie between a historical figure and what i had considered to be a purely fictional character makes one question the entire novel's stance. It makes the reader question what exactly was fact and what was fiction. Before that relationship became obvious, it seemed that the book had followed the pattern of using major historical events to frame her story, while creating the characters and the detailed events from her own understanding of the time and her creative powers. However, intertwining her fictional character, who was already fairly strongly typed, with a historical figure makes me almost question the credibility of her work. it seems almost unethical to blur the line of reality and fiction in this case, as we are using this book to better understand the times.


Name: david shepherd

Question_Response

i found, as others have voiced, the Isom as Hatfield reality to be an annoyance. This tie between a historical figure and what i had considered to be a purely fictional character makes one question the entire novel's stance. It makes the reader question what exactly was fact and what was fiction. Before that relationship became obvious, it seemed that the book had followed the pattern of using major historical events to frame her story, while creating the characters and the detailed events from her own understanding of the time and her creative powers. However, intertwining her fictional character, who was already fairly strongly typed, with a historical figure makes me almost question the credibility of her work. it seems almost unethical to blur the line of reality and fiction in this case, as we are using this book to better understand the times.


Name: david shepherd

Question_Response

i found, as others have voiced, the Isom as Hatfield reality to be an annoyance. This tie between a historical figure and what i had considered to be a purely fictional character makes one question the entire novel's stance. It makes the reader question what exactly was fact and what was fiction. Before that relationship became obvious, it seemed that the book had followed the pattern of using major historical events to frame her story, while creating the characters and the detailed events from her own understanding of the time and her creative powers. However, intertwining her fictional character, who was already fairly strongly typed, with a historical figure makes me almost question the credibility of her work. it seems almost unethical to blur the line of reality and fiction in this case, as we are using this book to better understand the times.


Name: david shepherd

Question_Response

i found, as others have voiced, the Isom as Hatfield reality to be an annoyance. This tie between a historical figure and what i had considered to be a purely fictional character makes one question the entire novel's stance. It makes the reader question what exactly was fact and what was fiction. Before that relationship became obvious, it seemed that the book had followed the pattern of using major historical events to frame her story, while creating the characters and the detailed events from her own understanding of the time and her creative powers. However, intertwining her fictional character, who was already fairly strongly typed, with a historical figure makes me almost question the credibility of her work. it seems almost unethical to blur the line of reality and fiction in this case, as we are using this book to better understand the times.


Name: david shepherd

Question_Response

i found, as others have voiced, the Isom as Hatfield reality to be an annoyance. This tie between a historical figure and what i had considered to be a purely fictional character makes one question the entire novel's stance. It makes the reader question what exactly was fact and what was fiction. Before that relationship became obvious, it seemed that the book had followed the pattern of using major historical events to frame her story, while creating the characters and the detailed events from her own understanding of the time and her creative powers. However, intertwining her fictional character, who was already fairly strongly typed, with a historical figure makes me almost question the credibility of her work. it seems almost unethical to blur the line of reality and fiction in this case, as we are using this book to better understand the times.


Name: david shepherd

Question_Response

i found, as others have voiced, the Isom as Hatfield reality to be an annoyance. This tie between a historical figure and what i had considered to be a purely fictional character makes one question the entire novel's stance. It makes the reader question what exactly was fact and what was fiction. Before that relationship became obvious, it seemed that the book had followed the pattern of using major historical events to frame her story, while creating the characters and the detailed events from her own understanding of the time and her creative powers. However, intertwining her fictional character, who was already fairly strongly typed, with a historical figure makes me almost question the credibility of her work. it seems almost unethical to blur the line of reality and fiction in this case, as we are using this book to better understand the times.


Name: david shepherd

Question_Response

i found, as others have voiced, the Isom as Hatfield reality to be an annoyance. This tie between a historical figure and what i had considered to be a purely fictional character makes one question the entire novel's stance. It makes the reader question what exactly was fact and what was fiction. Before that relationship became obvious, it seemed that the book had followed the pattern of using major historical events to frame her story, while creating the characters and the detailed events from her own understanding of the time and her creative powers. However, intertwining her fictional character, who was already fairly strongly typed, with a historical figure makes me almost question the credibility of her work. it seems almost unethical to blur the line of reality and fiction in this case, as we are using this book to better understand the times.


Name: david shepherd

Question_Response

i found, as others have voiced, the Isom as Hatfield reality to be an annoyance. This tie between a historical figure and what i had considered to be a purely fictional character makes one question the entire novel's stance. It makes the reader question what exactly was fact and what was fiction. Before that relationship became obvious, it seemed that the book had followed the pattern of using major historical events to frame her story, while creating the characters and the detailed events from her own understanding of the time and her creative powers. However, intertwining her fictional character, who was already fairly strongly typed, with a historical figure makes me almost question the credibility of her work. it seems almost unethical to blur the line of reality and fiction in this case, as we are using this book to better understand the times.


Name: Laura Parrish

Question_Response

In response to Daniel's comment, I too was turned off by the reliance on history in the latter part of the book. i was intrigued by the characters presented in the beginning of the novel, but was disappointed to find out that they are actually supposed to be historical figures under other names. By doing this, she seems to give false characterization to historical characters, possibly creating false motivations, as well. Already aware of the history involved in the mining, i was not as interested in the end of the novel, since i already knew the outcome.


Name: Daniel Lupton

Question_Response

Okay, now I get it...

It's funny, when the novel begins it seems to be just a story about people who lived in this time and place, but as it progressed it relied more and more heavily on history. As a reader, I felt kind of betrayed when I when the equation Isom=Sid Hatfield dawned on me. After he and Albion's murder on the steps of the courthouse made that so painfully obvious, I have a hard time thinking about Isom's character, and my mental picture is changed from a grubby miner to all the photos of smilin' Sid. I suppose I really should have noticed earlier, but I guess I was just being dense. I'd be interested to know, though, did anyone have the same reaction as me?

Beyond that, I thought that the afterword was quite interesting. It was kind of novel to hear another voice, and that voice did such a good job of illustrating the futility of everything that happened. Even though the union is in West Virginia now, the coal companies still make egregious waste of the land. I think the afterword was another reason for me feeling unsettled at the end, though. The way I understood it was that the entire narrative, everyone's voices, had been filtered through the viewpoint of Dillon, but not telling me this until the last page upset me a great deal. So, whereas all of the loose ends of the narrative were tied, the novel posed a few questions toward the end that leave me with a very strange feeling.


Name: Martha O'Dell

Question_Response

Okay, let me try this again... I messed up the first time. I didn't get to read everyone's response to the novel, but I think I read most of them. I agree with most everyone that the novel did a good job of giving us an idea of how actual people survived the mine wars. I was confused at times by Rosa as well, but the truth is, I often forget about the people who weren't great heros in the mine wars. Not surprisingly some people were emotionally and psychologically traumatized by the living conditions. For that reason I am glad that Rosa was included. I was so proud of Miles in the end standing up to protect his family, even after the way Carrie had treated him and knowing it might cost him his job. I would have like there to have been more about his bosses and their reactions to all that was going on. Miles kind of showed us what the owners were thinking, but I would really have liked there to be a character who was an owner, because from everything we have read it is very hard for me to imagine what they were actually thinking. I loved the novel, I love Carrie Bishop, and I found that by the end I had completely forgotten about the mine wars and the strike and was concerned only about Carrie and her baby. It wasn't until the last little page about what happened that I realized that I forgot what was going on, but I was sort of glad it ended that way.


Name: Martha O'Dell

Question_Response


Name: Rachael Taft

Question_Response

Giardina’s novel is great. I loved it. I really felt it brought me closer to the personal lives of the miners and gave me the ability to imagine myself as a person in that time. I liked the little details of coal life. I like the point where Carrie mentions she couldn’t grow flowers in front of her company house because the coal dust killed them off. Just the little things that wouldn’t be mentioned in a news article, or documentary. I also liked at the end when you got both Carrie and Roland’s views on the same events. The different voices of the book are great. I love the fact you can see the different events from a personal viewpoint. I loved the dialect. I guess that why she switched between dialect and normal english was perhaps to make it easier on the reader. It also could have been to help show when the character was thinking it was not ignorant, that was just the way they talked. I enjoyed reading the way they would have sounded.


Name: Laura Parrish

Question_Response

i loved the story about the women marching to town and looting the company store. was this an actual historical event? regardless of its historical accuracy, it is an interesting illustration of the advantage women had in 'fighting' simply due to their gender. as demonstrated in the novel, at this time, men were still afraid to shoot a woman and consequently, the women actually experienced more freedom from the so-called gun thugs than did the men.


Name: Laura Parrish

Question_Response

I assume that miners were required to sign an agreement with, or make an oath to the union in order to gain union membership. did this oath ask anything of the miners or obligate them in any way? in other words, did the miners have to agree to actively participate in union activities in any way, or could they basically be only 'along for the ride?' i guess there was also an enormous amount of pressure among the miners though, as well, to participate (people being threatened, shot, etc. for not marching).


Name: Laura Parrish

Question_Response

In the first question set, you noted that in the Paint Cabin Creek 1912-13 strike, the primary goals were (1) recognition of the union; (2) abolition of the mine-guard system; (3) reform of the docking system; (4) a checkweighman representing, and paid by. the miners; (5) trade with any store they pleased; (6) cash wages; and finally (7) an increase in pay. could these goals (and their ordering) be considered as those of the united mine workers, in general? i am wondering whether the union had a set of objectives that it was trying to accomplish for all mining, in general that matches this list, or if different demands were made in each situation. also, how closely did the objectives of the union meet those of the miners? i know there were sometimes conflicts as the miners were more concerned with their own conditions than with furthering the union, but how different were union objectives from those of the miners?


Name: Julia Imholt

Question_Response

This is in response to Theresa's last entry. I agree that the author did a wonderful job with the portrayal of the baseball leagues. I think that she used baseball as not only a metaphor for freedom but a wonderful way to show the discontentment of the minors. I believe that she used it as a way to show that some of the minors were so unhappy that they would use anything as a means of rebellion to fight for that elusive freedom which they were so desperately searching for.


Name: Theresa Young

Question_Response

It is Sunday afternoon, and I have about 90 pages to read yet, but I wanted to make a few comments. I guess I shouldn't have read the comments written by everyone else since I haven't finished the book, but it's too late now.

Even though a work of fiction, Giardina has used factual incidents within her novel to show how tragic the coal mining life and strike were. The incident with Isom and C. J. Marcum were reminicent of Matewan as Sarah has already mentioned. But I was intrigued by Giardina's portrayal of the baseball leagues. I wonder if she was using baseball as a metaphor for freedom? What is more American than freedom, apple pie and baseball? After all, it is called the American past time. The miners had little control over their lives. The coal companies owned their land, their homes, their jobs. They were paid in script which in turn caused them to "owe their souls to the company store." (Quoting Tennessee Earnie Ford's "Sixteen Tons") Baseball appeared to be their one outlet where they could make their own choices. And the fact that they won the game against the company team even made the win sweeter. I'm curious to know if there were baseball leagues or if this is a part of fiction that Giardina included.


Name: David Shepherd

Question_Response

I also found that the Baldwin-Felts were strangely in the background of this story. I felt like they were a much less threatening prescence in this book than they had been in the previous accounts and research I had read. For instance, when the women marched down to the coal camp to loot the town the armed thugs were not around, and only a few state troopers showed their face during the attack. The thugs had less power in the towns, especially Annadel, than I was used to. Rondal thought it was a better strategy to stay out in the open, with witnesses than to go underground, where his possible destruction would go unnoticed. Even when the thugs did approach him, after and during his train ride, they did not kill him, which is surely what the real Baldwin-Felts would have done.


Name: david shepherd

Question_Response

After finishing Giardinia's novel, I must agree that I have clearer picture of the daily life of the people that had to endure these hard times. This is the area in which i was naturally most interested in when we started studying the West Virginia coal mine wars, and I found this novel to be a good way to understand how people were affected by the wars. I understand that the novel cannot be taken as the absolute final say on how life was in that period, but I think it gives its readers a good point of departure to explore the posibilities. While I can see that four different points of view already makes the novel a somewhat complex endeavor, I still find my self longing to hear the story told directly from the point of the owner of a coal operator, or someone higher up in the coal operator side of the story. I recognize that Miles was pointedly included in this novel for the purpose of communicating this point of view, but I see his character as identifying too strongly with the West Virginians to represent the coal miners point of view. I would be interested to see a character that had come in from out of the area to either run the mines, subdue the people (baldwin- felts), or to buy the land. I wonder if there is any good in these men, because from the evidence that I have seen in the research and the way they are portrayed in the novel these men appear to be almost entirely evil.


Name: Tamara Harris

Question_Response

Someone had a question about the Rosa character. Is it that she was driven a bit crazy by everything that happened to her. The only creatures she could relate to and empathize with were the capyured butterflies. How sad. I was so glad when Rondal did not have the heart to tell her he was not her son. I think she found happiness in taking care of him and washing his face.


Name: Tamara L. Harris

Question_Response

I absolutely loved this novel. Giardinia's writing truly brought to life the struggle of the Mine Wars. She made it real. I agree with Julia that the way the author brings together and connected all the characters is excellent and effective. It just shows how one thing that happens effects so many different people. Carrie Bishop is my favorite character. I see her as such a strong individual and only hope that I could show as much courage as she in a situation such as this. One aspect of the novel that greatly appealed to me is how her family (Miles) pulled through for her in the end, no matter what his political, economical loyalties, he had definite loyalty to his family. The novel was so bittersweet. Even though I wanted a "perfect" and "happy" ending, the way the author pulls it all together is excellently done. For the resolution to the struggle in real life I think was also bittersweet.


Name: Julia Imholt

Question_Response

The novel, "Storming Heaven," was well written and, I believe, allows for a wonderful yet horrible view of the West Virginia coal mine wars. I love the way in which she created characters that, at first, seemed to have nothing to do with one another but were all eventually tied in together. I also love the way in which she choose to actually write with the dailects of the native area. Although I do agree with Daniel that this can at times be confusing, I found it to be an insight into these characters. I believe that if the people had spoken as the coal operators and owners did that the mine wars would never have taken place to begin with. Because of the very strong accents of the people in the area, the coal operators assumed them to be lacking some intelligence. This was most likely the reason why the coal operators and Miles came to believe that the local people needed someone to care for them and make their decisions for them. I feel as though I must argue against Daniel's view point. I think that the author has C.J. use the word portentious to show that he is not lacking in intelligence, he has merely come to speak in the same native accent of the area. I grew up in Illinois and moved to South Carolina when I was ten. Going in to that area and listening to the accents of the people near me, well, truthfully I thought that I was surrounded by idiots who had never learned how to speak correctly. Now, nine years later, I too have a southern accent at times (especially when I am tired)and I can only guess at how an author would portray my accent. Ok, I am sorry that I have rambled on. I guess that, all in all, I really enjoyed the novel. My only negative comment has to deal with Maria, the Italian woman. I know that other people have said some very kind things about her character but I am still greatly confused. I really didn't understand what was going on with her.

I hope that everyone has a nice weekend. -Julia


Name: Sarah Skeen

Question_Response

Denise Giardina's novel "Storming Heaven" shows us all the function of literature in enhancing our understanding of history, and in making it real; almost every posting this week mentions how much more involved we feel with these fictional (presumably) characters than with documented characters. Of course fiction permits us to be intimate with characters' lives and thoughts in a way that "documented" histories cannot. Only in fiction can we eat, breathe, sleep, dream, and make love with Sid Hatfield in the way we can with Rondal Lewis, or Carrie Bishop. I, too, am very glad that we are reading this novel alongside "Matewan" and "Thunder in the Mountains". Like Rachael, I recognized elements of Matewan in the incident between Isom, C.J. Marcum, and the agents. And on page 207, Carrie recounts a scene in which Baldwin thugs repeatedly kick a pregnant woman in the belly---- isn't this from one of the hand-outs we read in class? And wasn't the "real" victim also Italian? I will try to find this passage and bring it to class on Tuesday. Aren't Albion and Isom's deaths a little familiar, as well? ... I look forward to speaking more about the novel in class on Tuesday.


Name: Tamara L. Harris

Question_Response

Response to Theresa-- I had a bit of the same problem you had with keeping track of all the various characters as the narrative flipped from one point of view to another


Name: Rachael Taft

Question_Response

I couldn't help going ahead and just finishing the novel Storming Heavens. I find it really fascinating. I am really interested in the quality of life the miners led so even though it is a fictional account it probably does portray the general qualities of life the miners had. I mean the little girl who got frostbite and had to have her feet amputated, that was probably common during the winter in the tents. When I read about Isom and CJ Marcum taking on the agents, that to me seemed like a fictional version of Matewan almost exactly. Isom the sherrif was getting warrants to arrest them, they had a warrant for him, CJ was the Mayor. Was that supposed to be so similar to Matewan? I am just curious it seemed more than coincedental.


Name: Daniel Lupton

Question_Response

Well, I haven't read everyone else's postings, so I hope that this isn't replicated somewhere else, but I just wanted to bring up that when I was reading Storming Heaven I was incredibly distracted by Giardina's lapsing in and out of dialect. I have a mild bias against this apostrophe-laded dialect writing anyway, but it's particularly striking even from the first page, where C.J. (I assume it's his voice) cannot conjugate the verb "to be" in the first sentence, but uses the word portentious just a few lines down. It seems to me that Giardina just sort of removed apostrophes, mis-conjugated verbs, and abbreviated randomly, and I think that that really contrubutes to none of the characters (besides the Italian girl) having a truly unique voice. I'm not sure if it's my pessimism, but can anyone really tell whether CJ or Carrie is speaking at any given time?

I hate to bash this novel so much, because there really are parts I enjoyed. For instance, the first chapter (other than litttle glitches like the one I mentioned) is completely incredible, and moved me very much. Also, CJ's chapter on the baseball game was exciting, and well-written. However, as a whole I think that the writer's erratic use of voice is much too distracting.


Name: Tamara L. Harris

Question_Response

I love the novel. It brings to life just about every imaginable, and unimaginable part of the experience during the West VA Mine Wars time period. This novel is so much more effective at bringing to life the people who experienced so much hardship, much more than Thunder in the MOuntains or even the movie. The characters just make me realize how easy I have it. I mean growing up is hard enough now, add the Mine Wars experience to it and I do not know how these people were able to handle it.


Name: Theresa Young

Question_Response

Even though a work of fiction, "Storming Heaven" makes you aware of the many problems that developed because of the coal companies. Land was taken (stolen) without permission. If you didn't willingly sell, you were murdered. People and families were displaced. Relationships were changed forever. Family members became enemies. In some ways, it reminds me of what we did to the Indians when we wanted their land. If they didn't give it willingly, we just took what we wanted. They (Indians) retaliated by attacking the settlers and the soldiers brought in for protection. The miners fought back by striking. It seems history repeats itself and we seldom learn from our mistakes.

I think Denise Giardina writes a beautiful narrative using the four different voices to vividly describe the environment, the people and the times they were living through. The novel puts a human face to the suffering of the people. The only problem I had was trying to keep track of some of the characters as I went from narrative to marrative and back.


Name: Julia Imholt

Question_Response

I just wanted to add a quick response to the current novel, Storming Heaven. I have been enjoying the novel wholeheartedly. It does tend to actually bring home to the individual the true nature of the issues at hand. The way the author describes the young boys going into the mind and how the mother cried because she couldn't hug them to make them feel better because it would only increase the pain momentarily takes my breath away. I think that this novel was a very good addition to the reading list for this class simply because it has taken something that could have been seen in a cold, hard light and actually made it personal. It has allowed me to realize much more into the events and the nature of things and it has allowed me to understand people's motivation for their actions. The minors couldn't fathom that they would only continue to bring home "snake" paychecks. The boss man that they interfaced with was actually just trying to make it better too. I have truly enjoyed this novel.


Name: david shepherd

Question_Response

i see that laura parrish felt REALLY strongly about her response this week . . . . excellent


Name: david shepherd

Question_Response

The move into fictional has really been helpful to me because it has helped me make the connection between life as i know it and the life which i have been reading about in these books. This book presents accounts, which could have happened during the time in question (by this i mean that these accounts do not conflict with any of the factual evidence of everyday life that we have studied), and it explores the interpersonal behavior of the people of this time. I find that the different viewpoints are also helpful because they depict how people dealt with the oppressions from different levels of power, wealth, and resources. This is important to my study of the coal mine wars because it allows me to more closely identify with the situations that are not similiar to how i personally live, because i have the commondenominator of relationships to help me understand their thought processes (sorry for the excessive use of logic in this and all my other writings, but i am being trained to be a computer scientist and that is all we know . . .).


Name: Hannah Watkins

Question_Response

I am really enjoying the switch to a fictional, and I assume histortically-based, account of the mine war and the events that led up to it. It seems appropriate that we got the solid historical background first before moving on to more intimate, personal interpretations. The reading of Storming Heaven is an entirely different experience because we can actually get into the thoughts and emotions of these diverse characters. I have found the book to be moving and well-written so far. It's a pretty fast read as well because it's so engaging. I'm glad that the author chose to begin the book right before the coal companies started to swindle these families so that we got a brief glimpse of their former idyllic life. How historically-based is this novel? The characters are wonderfully believable and the events make sense within the historical background I've acquired.


Name: Laura Parrish

Question_Response

Reading through Storming Heaven, I have realized the intensity of the West Virginia Mine Wars in relation to families. As with the Civil War, family members warred against each other. For example, Miles is on the side of the Coal Companies while Carrie, as a nurse, realizes the struggles of the miners and cannot completely side with her brother. These differences cause major divisions in the families as one member works for the company and therefore cannot tolerate union sympathizers, though members of his own family may be in the union. Also, I was not aware of the magnitude of the problem of people losing their land and homes to the mining companies. To many, their homeland was all they had, and had lived on for generations. I was under the impression that most of the land used for mining was previously uninhabited or purchased fairly by the companies. However, I now realize that in many cases, the land was virtually stolen, though it may have been presented as a business deal. I wonder about the initial responses of the townspeople about the coming of the coal mines. Did they realize from the beginning that this would not be good for their community, or were they encouraged by the increased business they would acquire. I suppose this depends on the person's previous status in society.


Name: Laura Parrish

Question_Response

Reading through Storming Heaven, I have realized the intensity of the West Virginia Mine Wars in relation to families. As with the Civil War, family members warred against each other. For example, Miles is on the side of the Coal Companies while Carrie, as a nurse, realizes the struggles of the miners and cannot completely side with her brother. These differences cause major divisions in the families as one member works for the company and therefore cannot tolerate union sympathizers, though members of his own family may be in the union. Also, I was not aware of the magnitude of the problem of people losing their land and homes to the mining companies. To many, their homeland was all they had, and had lived on for generations. I was under the impression that most of the land used for mining was previously uninhabited or purchased fairly by the companies. However, I now realize that in many cases, the land was virtually stolen, though it may have been presented as a business deal. I wonder about the initial responses of the townspeople about the coming of the coal mines. Did they realize from the beginning that this would not be good for their community, or were they encouraged by the increased business they would acquire. I suppose this depends on the person's previous status in society.


Name: Laura Parrish

Question_Response

Reading through Storming Heaven, I have realized the intensity of the West Virginia Mine Wars in relation to families. As with the Civil War, family members warred against each other. For example, Miles is on the side of the Coal Companies while Carrie, as a nurse, realizes the struggles of the miners and cannot completely side with her brother. These differences cause major divisions in the families as one member works for the company and therefore cannot tolerate union sympathizers, though members of his own family may be in the union. Also, I was not aware of the magnitude of the problem of people losing their land and homes to the mining companies. To many, their homeland was all they had, and had lived on for generations. I was under the impression that most of the land used for mining was previously uninhabited or purchased fairly by the companies. However, I now realize that in many cases, the land was virtually stolen, though it may have been presented as a business deal. I wonder about the initial responses of the townspeople about the coming of the coal mines. Did they realize from the beginning that this would not be good for their community, or were they encouraged by the increased business they would acquire. I suppose this depends on the person's previous status in society.


Name: Martha O'Dell

Question_Response

I was reading through a few of the short descriptions of who we would be if we lived in this time, and also reading through Storming Heaven. It really struck me how terrible the conditions were, and how, try as I do, I can't begin to imagine living everyday of my whole life like that. I think because this novel is written from so many people's personal perspectives it really brings to live the horrible conditions they lived in, and that to them most of it was just not a big deal. You had to learn to deal with it, not think about. I especially like Carrie, probably because she is a young woman that I can relate to, and I really liked her telling of Mile's life. He was fortunate enough to go to school, go to college and get a very well paying job, and all of the sudden he is the enemy. I really feel sorry for Mile's because he worked so hard and is so proud of what he achieved; it turns out he loses the respect of his family and now his life is probably in danger. I supose he had choices just like everyone else in the the novel. I am glad that Mile's was included in the book, it is very important to the balance of the story I think. I hope he comes back into the story at some point.