The Orchard Keeper

“They came and went, unencumbered as migratory birds, each succeeding family a replica of the one before.”

The families that pass through Red Branch never leave much of a trace. They function as interchangeable illustrations of Cyclical Violence—particularly economic ones. The families are disenfranchised and pushed to the edges of society, left with little in the way of material possessions that might tie them to one place or community. Instead, they are part of a miserable, historic drift of people, as fleeting and as distant as “migratory birds” passing through an area (8).

“Well Goddamnit at least I never took her in no Goddamn church.”

The irony of Marion’s morality is that he laughs at the idea of sexual assault but balks at the prospect of profaning a church. In his bootlegging car, he sexually assaults women. When the idea of having sex with one such women in an outhouse causes laughter, the men agree that doing so would be far less reprehensible than having sex in a church.

“Sylder leaned his head wearily against the roof of the car. He knew the man had not misunderstood him.”

When Marion finds Kenneth in his car, he immediately recognizes the hitchhiker as a fellow criminal. Kenneth functions as a mirror for Marion, reflecting his own immorality back to him. Marion knows that violence is inevitable from the moment he gets into the car. He is exhausted by the situation, leaning his head “wearily” against the car roof as if accepting that violence is unavoidable for men like him and Kenneth.