Peace Like a River: Chapter

Peace Like a River: Chapter Breakdowns Chapter One - Clay The title "Clay" is significant in both explicit and symbolically suggested ways that are presented in the first chapter. The dramatic entrance of the narrating character into the world presents first the ghastly image of a 'clay' boy. Described as such because he was unable to breathe, declared dead by the doctor and laid on a metal table to become 'grey' and cold, he appeared as 'clay.' He was described as if an inanimate object. However, there is yet another meaning in the term 'clay' which proceeds from the novel's inherently messianic nature. Its constant allusion to the bible is not to be overlooked here, where the narrator describes his father returning him to life from the dead. Or more accurately, Jeremiah implores God and demands of the inanimate child to come to life. As God would draw the clay of the earth to make Adam, so too would Jeremiah render the life of his son from nothing. It is herein that the use of the image of clay plays in important role in identifying several core themes of the text, including the performance of miracles and the relationship between the family and God.

Chapter Two - His Separate Shadow Chapter 2 introduces the reader to the character of Davy. We have already come to understand Jeremiah as being explicitly heroic in some nature. To Reuben, he is declaredly so and therefore to be seen as a man separate from others. In chapter 2, we find that some similar disposition is accorded to Davy. As the chapter notes, he has inherited the "iron in his spine" (4) from his father. In the sequence where he helps Reuben to kill his first goose on a hunt, he is shown to be powerful, confident and affectionate. His qualities as an older brother here mirror Jeremiah's as a father. We also find in this chapter that Reuben is due to no small account of hero worship. The disposition of this sickly boy relative to those of his father and brother help to distinguish these as separate and towering figures for him. Still, there is a distance which is clear between Davy and Jeremiah which we must deduce will foreshadow the coming disruption of the family.

Chapter Three - "Escalation" might be an appropriate and less abstract title for this chapter. Jeremiah's analogy of war and escalation as a way of explaining the events transpiring between Dolly, Tommy and Israel, and Davy. Here, the narrative would escalate with the description of this incident and the tarring of the door.

Chapter Four - Your Toughened Heart At the opening of this chapter, Reuben seems to quote the bible phrase in which Jesus speaks, "Forgive them Lord, they know not what they do." Of Israel and Tommy, the chapter begins by noting that they did not know what they were doing. Malicious creatures to be sure, they had no concept of that which lay in store for them for their continued violation of the family and its household. Culminating with the toothless but frightening kidnapping and returning of Swede, the young men are clearly due for a harsh recompense. The story's connection to themes of revenge and biblical justice foreshadow the redemption that Davy will soon choose to deal out. Here, the chapter questions, "who understands the hatred as bedeviled that doomed visitor? Who would believe his boldness as he knocked? But Dad had spoken correctly: They did not know they'd already lost." (34) Truly, when they are killed for posing a threat to the family, this observation comes truly to pass.

Chapter Five - Peeking at Eternity One of the core differences between Davy and his father, and one which serves as an undercurrent of conflict between them, is the impression endorsed by the latter that the family could brave out any situation and expect things to arrive at the best case scenario. Davy, notably more active in his pursuit of that which he believes is right, is instead driven by the desire not to be abused by the world. As Mr. Land characterizes it though when he remarks upon 'plunging' his hands, it is to be understood that he is willing to accept the worst of what God has to offer with the faith that all will be resolved in the hereafter. Another emergent conflict in the story, Swede's wavering conception of good and bad is challenged further by the conception that her brother is now to be seen as the villain, pursued by the lawman. Therefore, to kill the character of Valdez would be to apply a one-sided ending to a plight in which she now saw herself as being emotionally involved.

Chapter Ten - The Substance of Things Hoped For The purpose of the sequence shown here is to suggest the complex state of right and wrong. In the scenes where we witness Reuben and Mr. Finch interacting, we find a new nuance for the narrator. His empathy for Davy and his understanding of right and wrong are not undermined, but are deeply challenged by the experience here. He comes to understand that a sense of loss and victimization may appear on any part of the spectrum of human tragedy.

Chapter Thirteen - Something Warm The first and most striking hint that Reuben offers is on page 177, where he recalls that "it's hard to look back and describe Roxanna to you as she was when we first saw her." This turn of phrase indicates that this would be the first of many interactions with her. Moreover, the hint applied here is that after coming to know her on a personal level, the features which had seemed so physically salient upon first encounter would eventually be softened by the kind brush of familiarity.

Chapter Sixteen - The Throbbing Heart of News The 'throbbing heart' here is the terrible and sickening revelation for Reuben, concerning the nature of good and evil. So dedication to the recognition of Andreeson as the family's nemesis, the recognition when face to face with him that he was indeed human and impelled by some internal sense of good and of duty, casts greater doubt upon Reuben's understanding of his brother and of the previously assumed gap between good and evil.