The River We Remember

“Brody was a man who’d seen things in war that inured him to the shock of normal emergencies in a place like Jewel.”

This passage speaks to Brody’s characterization as well as to the theme of The Scars of War. Most of the men in Jewel are veterans and many of them are characterized in part through the impact that their military service during wartime continues to have on them.

“On his father’s death, James Patrick Quinn had inherited a thousand acres, and in his time he had added twice as much again. He was the largest landowner in the county, his holdings spread far and wide and managed by a slew of tenants, all of whom feared the wrath of Quinn.”

This passage speaks to Jimmy’s characterization. He is far wealthier than his neighbors and widely disliked, but it is interesting to note how much the inhabitants of Jewel rally around him in death, only because the man accused of killing him is Indigenous. This shows the depth of the Bigotry and Prejudice that characterizes so many in the area.

“A lot of farmers came into town in their faded, patched, and soiled biballs or dungarees, their boots crusted with barn muck. Not Jimmy Quinn. He claimed to be descended from Irish kings and he always rolled into Jewel looking like gentry.”

This passage speaks to Jimmy Quinn’s characterization. Jimmy is the wealthiest member of the community, and because he flaunts that wealth, he is resented by many in the area. Even his son J.P. blends in better with the hardworking farmers and agricultural laborers, and the income disparity between Jimmy and the rest of the inhabitants of Jewel is a continued source of tension.