Mode of Program Participation
Academic Scholarship
Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
Appalachian Epic: John Ehle’s _The Land Breakers_ and the Diminishing Returns of Mountaineer Mythology
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
This paper pairs that most extreme of literary modes—the epic—and the Appalachian novels of John Ehle. I will argue that with The Land Breakers (1964), Ehle creates an epic of the Southern Highlands. Detailing settlers’ arrival to the mountains above Old Fort, North Carolina, the novel frames the work of taming the frontier using epic motifs. Like the heroes The Odyssey and Gilgamesh, Ehle’s protagonist, Mooney Wright, makes perilous journeys and is constantly in combat. In his Appalachian context, however, he most often battles the embodiments of wilderness: a primeval forest, malevolent predators, and sickness. His struggles lead Mooney to fear what he calls “the single mind” of the mountain. Though initially defeated by this supernatural allegiance between all the elements arrayed against him, Mooney refuses to abandon his home. He concludes that because “every death and loss had driven him deeper,” he “would have to stay” (401).
Such a statement illustrates the way that epic formulates ideology; that is, epic provides a mythology and cements an identity, but also cultivates a mindset that directs a culture’s future course. In The Land Breakers, Mooney’s deepened commitment to a diminished place describes a possible genesis for the Mountaineer’s (in)famous “stubborn attachment to the land.” And in the balance of his Appalachian novels (several of which include Mooney or his descendants), Ehle examines how a land ethic build around loss creates a downward spiral. Thus, to conclude I explore the detrimental effect Mooney’s example has upon his biological and cultural descendants.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Ethan is an ecocritic and Assistant Professor of English at Mars Hill University where he coordinates the Regional Studies program and teaches American Literature, Appalachian Literature, and composition.
Appalachian Epic: John Ehle’s _The Land Breakers_ and the Diminishing Returns of Mountaineer Mythology
This paper pairs that most extreme of literary modes—the epic—and the Appalachian novels of John Ehle. I will argue that with The Land Breakers (1964), Ehle creates an epic of the Southern Highlands. Detailing settlers’ arrival to the mountains above Old Fort, North Carolina, the novel frames the work of taming the frontier using epic motifs. Like the heroes The Odyssey and Gilgamesh, Ehle’s protagonist, Mooney Wright, makes perilous journeys and is constantly in combat. In his Appalachian context, however, he most often battles the embodiments of wilderness: a primeval forest, malevolent predators, and sickness. His struggles lead Mooney to fear what he calls “the single mind” of the mountain. Though initially defeated by this supernatural allegiance between all the elements arrayed against him, Mooney refuses to abandon his home. He concludes that because “every death and loss had driven him deeper,” he “would have to stay” (401).
Such a statement illustrates the way that epic formulates ideology; that is, epic provides a mythology and cements an identity, but also cultivates a mindset that directs a culture’s future course. In The Land Breakers, Mooney’s deepened commitment to a diminished place describes a possible genesis for the Mountaineer’s (in)famous “stubborn attachment to the land.” And in the balance of his Appalachian novels (several of which include Mooney or his descendants), Ehle examines how a land ethic build around loss creates a downward spiral. Thus, to conclude I explore the detrimental effect Mooney’s example has upon his biological and cultural descendants.
