Introduction
Harry Caudill wrote the book “The Mountain, the Miner, and the Lord,” and he is a well-known American writer, legislator, lawyer, historian, and environmentalist. He was born on May 3, 1922, in Whitesburg, Kentucky, United States. The key theme in approximately all of Caudill’s writings was the historic underdevelopment of the Appalachian area, mostly Southern Kentucky, where he was born and raised. Utilizing mainly stories, Caudill draws the significance of people’s quality of life in the Southern Kentucky Mountains. Caudill’s thesis explores individuals with persistence, charisma, freedom, personal vision, and self-reliance that surpass most of us today.
Book Summary
Caudill’s manuscript has 12 chapters that begin with expert introductions in which he elaborates and explains the background of each speaker. It commences with the tale of the visit to the statehouse in its first chapter. The narrative of Little Luggie, who experienced many challenges, is in chapter two. The following section is a story that illustrates the life of the mountain miners and people and how mine owners mistreated them.
Chapter five explains the War in States, the Civil War, and the Southern Independence War. In part six, there is a narration about the marriage of Samuel Tate. Tate was a famous person who had jammed many villains and shot three people. The story is well captured in the book, contributing to its key theme.
Additionally, the novel contains other episodes on the Straight Shooter, the Frontier, and Francesca. The Frontier concerns Betty Sexton Fields and Melungeon, who fought during the Revolution. Francesca Monjiardo entails a chapter narrating her profile in Kentucky. The Straight Shooter is in chapter ten and speaks about Fess Whitaker and his accomplishments. A story revolving around a juvenile criminal who reformed is found in part eleven. The Ghost of the Czar concerns section 12, which discusses Monroe Lucas.
The Book’s Critical Analysis
Caudill has succeeded in capturing the quality of life in the Kentucky Mountains in the book. His works have helped to link the gap raised by the misconception between the Appalachian areas of America and urban. The sturdiness of the backpacker, his wit, and his sorrow control draw the attention of readers, informing them of the events that happened in the past; besides, his volume goes further to discharge the various stereotypes related to the area. Hence, Caudill offers a detailed contrast between the existing metropolitan and regional mountain values and approaches and how this has influenced urban values.
Furthermore, from the various tales, it is clear that the earlier does not come tainted with rose-colored specs. The brutality of the owners of the mine arises mainly from one of the tales in which the mine owner killed and bullied mine protectors to fulfill his wife. When reading this story, one might get the wimp of the bittersweet craving for the Grapes of Wrath.
Moreover, a wide-ranging description of Kentucky Mountain life, where Franklin Roosevelt’s spirit also emerges in one of the narratives told by Bad John Wright. He aroused the anger of most people when Wright staged the trap of the Ku Klux Klan. Bad did it in revenge for the flogging of one of the womenfolk in his community, and this later made him become a law enforcement official. Later, Franklin Roosevelt visited and slept in his bed and house.
Moreover, humanity and Rooseveltian enthusiasm surface in the story “Christmas Comes to Lord Calvert.” It is in which a young folk from Chicago was incarcerated for operating a car filled with moonshine through Letcher County. Later, a teenager was helped by Cleon Calvert as he was moved by the honest consistency of youth that he did not understand what he was performing in a truck. The youth claimed that he had taken the work so that he might receive money to look after his ailing brothers and mother.
However, other than outlining significant themes, the writer proficiently positions the chapters, making them easy for readers to comprehend. The manuscript for all these 12 episodes begins with competent introductions. The tales vary from first-hand cases to a large number of chapters incorporating different narratives from diverse sources at the same time or in person.
The accounts deal with varied human qualities, such as self-sacrifice, courage, and love, while other characteristics are hatred, revenge, and guile. Anderson’s (1981) review shows that the life of an average individual in Appalachia surfaces from the pages of Harry Caudill’s volume in a manner that purveys both the pathos and the joys of Kentucky Mountain life. The anthology of tales concerning the folk of Appalachia avails monographs of life in the writer’s native area.
Conclusion
Caudill’s book has outlined the quality of life for people and miners in the Kentucky region. His work has gone a long way in bridging the gap of misconception between Appalachian and Urban America. This manuscript’s stories celebrate individuals with persistence, charisma, impartiality, personal revelation, and self-sufficiency that evade most people today. This document’s humor, rigor, and sadness enchant the readers.
Bibliography
Anderson, R. W. Review of “The Mountain, The Miner, and the Lord, and Other Tales From a Country Law Office” By Caudill Harry. M, The Oral History Review 9, no. 1 (1981), 153-154. Web.
Caudill, Harry M. The Mountain, the Miner, and the Lord, 1st ed. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1980.