Reply To: The Searcher: How does the author address current affairs?
Amazing discussion here that includes so many details of the characters and Ardnakelty. I think the idea that French captures well, and that is one that underscores much of the policy around and discussion of poverty, is the idea that it is a character flaw, that being poor is somehow earned because one doesn’t work hard enough or made bad choices or have an attitude. That is makes them a candidate for manipulation, “A freebie, even a little one, does that to poor people; it loosens them”.
And if poverty is within a person’s capacity to change, then the responsibility to address its causes or ameliorate its effects is someone else’s. That, for me, captures much of the current thinking and actions in the U.S. government but it is also an insidious view that can influence individual’s as well.
I won’t even begin to try to acknowledge all of the examples folks have already cited. I think “The Searcher” captures so many contemporary issues facing our communities and society. Ardnakelty is a microcosm of contemporary societal and social justice issues. I think it could have been plunked down in Appalachia, or Mississippi or rural New Mexico and the only difference would be the setting (and the colorful characters); one could write a similar story about the effects of poverty.
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