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The characters in THE TALL WOMAN, HUNTER'S HORN, ORAL HISTORY, and IN THE TENNESSEE MOUNTAINS lived on self-sufficient farms. Each member of the family had responsibilities to help on these farms and around the house. Books were often treasured, but "frontier conditions were such that the descendants of settlers sometimes could not read the classics cherished by their ancestors" (Manning 621). Education was not the most important thing for people on these farms; survival was the top priority. There were many people who saw the importance of education, even though it may not have been the top priority. Many characters in our novels thought that education was important and many of the characters went to school. I will discuss these characters briefly below.

~In HUNTER'S HORN, Nunnelly Ballew is the son of a schoolteacher and believes that education is important. His daughter, Suse, has a dream of going to high school and beyond. She is always found reading and dreaming of a better life. Sadly, Suse's experiences with her teacher Miss Burdine leave her disillusioned towards school. Nunn's top priority is catching a fox, so he can not afford to buy Suse shoes to wear to high school. Suse then gets pregnant and ruins her chance of getting an education.

~In Lee Smith's ORAL HISTORY, Jink Cantrell is a bright young child that Richard Burlage wants to tutor, "[he is] very smart . . .unusually intelligent, and I wanted to give him some additional tools to use when he goes on to high school" (117). Jink's sister replies that "he won't need no tools" (117). Richard later finds out that Jink's sister, Dory, is the only one Mr. Cantrell has allowed to finish school at the little schoolhouse.
Richard Burlage, however, persuades Mr. Cantrell to let Jink continue his education at the schoolhouse.

~Charlotte Pentland in McCrumb's SHE WALKS THESE HILLS is working on her Master's degree in geology in order to understand her heritage and the ancient history of the Appalachian mountains. Nora Bonesteel does not claim to have a formal education, but she is well-read (quotes Thomas Wolfe) and knows about herbal remedies and other survival skills.

~In Giardina's STORMING HEAVEN, Carrie Bishop's brother Miles goes to Berea and becomes the superintendent of a coal mine. According to Carrie, "he should have gone out to get himself a piece of land, or married and settled on the Homeplace," but he wanted to go away to college (34). Carrie goes away to school herself, to become a nurse. She uses her education to help other people. She disowns Miles because uses his education to gain power and money, and has little use for "common folk."

~Lydia McQueen in THE TALL WOMAN grew up reading with her father, who loved books and learning. He calls Lydia, "a quick scholar . . .I'm counting on you to having proper teaching one of these days" (155). But the war comes, and Lydia gets married, and doesn't have time for books. Her lack of education strengthens her desire for children to have one, "a school means everything to me" (178). Some of the richer people in the town do not see the need for a school so Lydia has to fight for one. She also encourages her brother Robert to go to law school.

Many people have stereotyped the Appalachian people as being ignorant, especially before the last few decades. Appalachian people are far from ignorant, and the above characters show that education is an important part of Appachian life.


Education

The characters in THE TALL WOMAN, HUNTER'S HORN, ORAL HISTORY, and IN THE TENNESSEE MOUNTAINS lived on self-sufficient farms. Each member of the family had responsibilities to help on these farms and around the house. Books were often treasured, but "frontier conditions were such that the descendants of settlers sometimes could not read the classics cherished by their ancestors" (Manning 621). Education was not the most important thing for people on these farms; survival was the top priority. There were many people who saw the importance of education, even though it may not have been the top priority. Many characters in our novels thought that education was important and many of the characters went to school. I will discuss these characters briefly below. ~In HUNTER'S HORN, Nunnelly Ballew is the son of a schoolteacher and believes that education is important. His daughter, Suse, has a dream of going to high school and beyond. She is always found reading and dreaming of a better life. Sadly, Suse's experiences with her teacher Miss Burdine leave her disillusioned towards school. Nunn's top priority is catching a fox, so he can not afford to buy Suse shoes to wear to high school. Suse then gets pregnant and ruins her chance of getting an education. ~In Lee Smith's ORAL HISTORY, Jink Cantrell is a bright young child that Richard Burlage wants to tutor, "[he is] very smart . . .unusually intelligent, and I wanted to give him some additional tools to use when he goes on to high school" (117). Jink's sister replies that "he won't need no tools" (117). Richard later finds out that Jink's sister, Dory, is the only one Mr. Cantrell has allowed to finish school at the little schoolhouse. Richard Burlage, however, persuades Mr. Cantrell to let Jink continue his education at the schoolhouse. ~Charlotte Pentland in McCrumb's SHE WALKS THESE HILLS is working on her Master's degree in geology in order to understand her heritage and the ancient history of the Appalachian mountains. Nora Bonesteel does not claim to have a formal education, but she is well-read (quotes Thomas Wolfe) and knows about herbal remedies and other survival skills. ~In Giardina's STORMING HEAVEN, Carrie Bishop's brother Miles goes to Berea and becomes the superintendent of a coal mine. According to Carrie, "he should have gone out to get himself a piece of land, or married and settled on the Homeplace," but he wanted to go away to college (34). Carrie goes away to school herself, to become a nurse. She uses her education to help other people. She disowns Miles because uses his education to gain power and money, and has little use for "common folk." ~Lydia McQueen in THE TALL WOMAN grew up reading with her father, who loved books and learning. He calls Lydia, "a quick scholar . . .I'm counting on you to having proper teaching one of these days" (155). But the war comes, and Lydia gets married, and doesn't have time for books. Her lack of education strengthens her desire for children to have one, "a school means everything to me" (178). Some of the richer people in the town do not see the need for a school so Lydia has to fight for one. She also encourages her brother Robert to go to law school. Many people have stereotyped the Appalachian people as being ignorant, especially before the last few decades. Appalachian people are far from ignorant, and the above characters show that education is an important part of Appachian life.