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One Foot In Eden Literary Analysis

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One Foot In Eden Literary Analysis
In One Foot in Eden, Ron Rash uses many different themes to compel the story forward and make the plot interesting. One of these themes is family and relationship. The relationship between Billy and Amy is especially interesting because they have to deal with arising conflicts constantly. The biggest one, however, is the the murder of Holland Winchester. The murder changed not only the relationship at the current time, but also laid down a bumpy road for Billy and Amy’s relationship in the their future. The teasing, social pressure from peers, and desire for a baby became too much for Amy. After hearing the devastating news of Billy being infertile, Amy went to Widow Glendower, a wise woman, where she prescribed her a tea and a ritual they …show more content…
It was feared that if Billy came too close to either Isaac or Amy, they would catch whatever it was that Billy had, and become sick as well. With Isaac only being an infant and Amy weak from childbirth, the possibility of them becoming sick and dying was high. Billy was not allowed near Isaac or Amy. Billy only became sicker. It seemed as though as Isaac began to grow and become stronger and healthier, Billy became weaker and closer to death. “Yet as the weeks passed by, the stouter Isaac got the punier Billy seemed” (104). Amy was scared that Billy would die, leaving Isaac fatherless and her to raise him alone, so she decided to seek out Widow Glendower for medicine. However, it was winter at the time. It was cold and snow was covering the ground. The path was not an easy one. Amy decided to risk it nevertheless, and as a result, she almost lost her life. The cold became too much, but because of her will, she persisted on. Amy would not allow herself to die on Isaac. At one point Amy thought, “After all you done to be his momma, you ain’t going to leave him without a momma” (107). The trouble and difficulties of trying to have Isaac made it hard for either Billy or Amy to give up. Amy was willing to risk her own life to save Billy’s, to make sure that Isaac had a proper father growing up. Even then, Amy was not going to allow herself to not raise the child she had worked so hard to

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