World Made By Hand w/Spoilers

[AngieB]

I just finished and World Made By Hand by James Howard Kunstler and really enjoyed it, but I thought the ending was a bit strange and it left me with a lot of questions. It almost seemed like Kunstler took two different books and swapped the ending or something. Throught the whole book it was a simple end of the world as we know it book, which I have read many of. Then the last 2 chapters it suddenly becomes some sort of super natural thing. Did anyone else find that odd? He left the end with a lot of unanswered questions for me.......Here comes the spoilers.......


It was never explained how Brother Jobe got into the cell or if he didn't do it then what happen to Wayne.

What became of Jane Ann (Loren's wife) after Roberts hooked up with Britney?

[Trinitty]

Hi Angie,

I really enjoyed the book too; read through it very quickly because I couldn't put it down. I liked it for many reasons, mostly because it portrayed a world that had gone to seed, but hadn't gone to Hell, at least, not everywhere. It seemed to allow for human dignity and decency.

I agree that the ending seemed rather.... different. I was left thinking "And what just happened there...."

But, when I mulled it over, I thought it wasn't that strange.

There was always something special about the New Faithers, something different. Why did they come to the Valley? How did they manage to get through all of the chaos of the rest of the Eastern seaboard.... and mostly, how did they KNOW to come there? It's not like they Googled and found out that there was a place almost unchanged since the wheels fell off of the modern world. The valley was a place that was pretty peaceful and forgotten in comparison to the rest of what was left of the States. They still had running water, plenty of food production, and the land owner even had electricity on his property.... and this special group of Christians knew to come to this place to re-build. The leader even said that God told them to go there. And, the place needed them. They were in need of some law enforcement, some organization and some real planning (the lawmen, the water works, the laundry, etc)

Also, remember how strange things kept happening while the main guy was travelling with the Brothers? Two people ended their lives while in their presence, almost in hope of being properly buried and read rites. They seemed to have true Grace.

So, I think that you are supposed to think that in the end, humans left to their own secular devices can get pretty far (look at how the land owner managed his people so well and produced so much, yet he wasn't a religious man) but in the end, there needs to be something else, that something extra, to lean on when it comes to right and wrong and to justice and goodness, like when there was a murder in the sleepy town.

I think that you are supposed to think that Brother Jobe does represent God, either through that Queen Bee figure or along side of her. He was able to cause what happened to Wayne as an "Eye for an Eye" punishment for what happened to his son. Whether you want to picture him just phasing through the bars, or just leaving his own cell and having it happen without him near, whatever you picture, it was Brother Jobe's doing and perhaps meant to be God's will.

Remember at the end, when the legends started about "Eye for an Eye" up there in the Valley? That would have spooked some of the less desirable people when they heard it and may have put a damper on future raiding trips, protecting that special little town, keeping it precious and innocent, after the sacrifice of the Son (of Brother Jobe) was made.

Maybe the other went this route because he wanted to give stable hope to the reader in the end? That you were left with some comforting assurance that the little town would endure, because it was chosen? That the rest of the country might one day be able to be saved as well?

After I thought about it, I thought it was really neat.

Trin.

[AngieB]

Thanks Trinitty,

You really gave me a lot to think about. What did you think about Britney and how she fits into the story?

[Viola]

Originally Posted by AngieB

What did you think about Britney and how she fits into the story?

To me she seemed like Kunstler's fantasy girl. You know, if the world ends, women will be content to stay out of the government, get barefoot, pregnant and back in the kitchen. Young nubile women will be throwing themselves at older, established men for protection those men can provide.

I always think of that book as World Made By Men rather than By Hand. I know that's a negative interpretation, and I thought it was an interesting book, but women were just like an after thought in this story.

I thought the supernatural part was just freaking strange, and didn't fit in the book.

[Trinitty]

It's interesting that you brought up Britney... I thought she was a loose string at the end too.

After thinking about it though, I think that perhaps she was meant to represent fertility... youth.... newness.... something of that nature.

Now, why she had to get with the middle aged widower isn't too clear at first glance, but, like she said, there weren't many single men around in the town, she didn't want to join the New Faithers and it wasn't safe for her to live alone... so it made sense for her to be with him, in a practical way.

Also, he was a leader and was meant to do something important, remember the Queen Bee person who said he was special? Maybe their children would be builders in the new world.

As far as Jane Ann goes, I think perhaps that she portrayed the lack of faith, the old guard, the failed way of the old world. Her husband was a Pastor of the old faith and was impotent and he eventually lost his faith. She was sleeping with the main character, yet staying withe the Pastor for appearances and to help the community. A noble thing to do in the old days/ways, but a dead end as far as growth and fertility important to the NewFaithers go.

Viola, I see your points, and I was irked by the "women aren't leaders on council" stuff too, but I don't think it was the author's main point. I think he was trying to portray some drastic changes to our society, and that would be a believable one for a sleepy small town. In a town that by some fluke or grace is clinging to some sort of civilized life in a near Mad Max sort of world, I think it isn't much of a stretch to imagine that women wouldn't take that active a role in the "official" side of politics, especially when the council didn't really DO much, (women would be busy doing lots of practical, tanglible things) and also considering that there were hardly any children, so the traditional entry point to community service (schools and school boards) for many women no longer existed.

I think he could have done a LOT more with the female characters though, like orgainizing farming and food collectives, wellness centres, family record-keeping, nursing, midwifery, etc. He just didn't.

Trin

[Trinitty]

bump