Echo Mountain

The mountain on which Ellie and her family make their home is a multi-layered symbol of The Duality in All Things, representing home, nature, provider, and wildness. On one side of the mountain live Ellie’s family and four neighboring families, all of whom came to the mountain after the stock market crash to survive during difficult times. On the other side of the mountain live Cate, Larkin and his mother, and the other people who have made their livelihoods on top of the mountain for generations. The mountain acts as a divider between these two worlds, but it also connects them when Ellie and Cate meet and develop a bond. Cate’s home, where Ellie initially trespasses in search of help, becomes like a second home to Ellie. At the novel’s conclusion, Ellie welcomes Cate into her home. Ellie realizes that the mountain belongs to all of them, but at the same time, “a mountain didn’t seem like something that could be owned” (191). During one of the most difficult periods in American history, the mountain provided a home and source of life and sustenance for Ellie’s family and their neighbors.