The Yares of Black Mountain

The novel of The Yares of Black Mountain, can be related back to the children theories we have read earlier in the semester. I believe that the presence of child in the story makes a difference in the way the "the mom" Denby is treated in the novel. The child and mother relationship is what interested me most in the story, there were several instances in the novel where it can be seen that the mother of the sickly child, Charley is treated good becuase of the fact that she has the baby, I think that otherwise she wouldnt have been offered a rocking chair, food, or a petticoat. "That baby's not wrapped warm enough for a night like this," said the woman of the house, and forthwith dragged out of a wooden box a red flannel petticoat, ragged but clean, and pinned it snugly about him. (pg. 247). This part of the novel was my favorite because it was a very nice and kind act of the lady to offer her petticoat to Denby to keep her child warm, it also proved to Mrs. Cook that people do do nice things to help others. In another instance Jonathan milks a cow to feed the poor child. It is interesting to see how many people are willing to help the woman and her child.


Throughout the novel the mothers purpose was to save her child, even though she knows that the baby is ill she stays positive and open minded that things are going to turn ok. I liked Denby's character because she is willing to leave and put her own life at risk all to safe her child. I still wonder what her actual reason was to leave her home and go to the south but to me it seems like her purpose of leaving New York was because she was running away from death, and in the end the child wasw able to live through the help of others.