Reflection on The Stories of Breece D’ J Pancake

These stories were generally pretty depressing, and I definitely think this was a big theme with Pancake. However, I also agree with what Andre Dubus III writes in “A New Afterword”. He writes that one of Pancake’s central themes is “…his characters’ constant striving for goodness up against the seductive pull of the darkness within them,” (184). As far as I can tell, Pancake really captures the Appalachian environment with stories that seem to describe the people of Appalachia in normal situations.
My favorite story by Pancake is “Time and Again”. I like how Pancake adds an element of mystery right in the first paragraph. “…I write everybody I know about my boy. Some of my letters always come back, and the folks who write back say nobody knows where he got off to,” (83). We soon learn that the main character drives a snowplow and in this story he picks up a hitchhiker. The hitchhiker mentions that he has heard that a lot of hitchhikers have gotten killed in the same county that they are in, but the main character doesn’t really say anything. Finally, near the end of the story, Pancake adds some more suspense. “I grip the wrench. ‘Look under the seat for my flashlight, boy.’ He bends forward, grabbing under the seat, and his head is turned from me. But I am way too tired now, and I don’t want to clean the seat,” (87). I liked how Pancake creates the possibility that the man in the snowplow is the killer, but Pancake never really reveals anything definite. I think that this makes the story better in some ways because it is unexpected. Much of the conversation and other parts of the story have to do with death or something almost as dark and negative. When the hitchhiker mentions all the dead hitchhikers in the county, I thought it was almost definite that this hitchhiker was going to be killed as well. However, in the end, he unknowingly escapes his demise.
I think that the story that I liked the least in this book was “The Way It Has To Be”. In my opinion this story is the most depressing of all of them. The story starts off with disappointment on the first page. Alena left West Virginia to see cowboys out west, but she still has not seen any. She and Harvey then go to a hotel, where Harvey urges her to drink, but she feels sick. After a heated conversation, Harvey ends up pointing a gun at her. After she throws up from fear, Harvey decides to get drunk and leaves. Even after this, there is more depression. Her mother basically rejects her, and then Harvey comes back. The last line of the story is, “…and his hand brushed against the revolver as he reached for another cigarette,” (131). Just like “Time and Again” Pancake leaves the possibility open that there may be a death occurring. On the other hand, Pancake lets the hitchhiker escape in that story, while in this story; the possibility that Alena will be killed is certainly open.
I found most of Pancake’s stories to be pretty depressing, but I have to admit, most of them were very interesting and provided what I imagine to be a relatively accurate glimpse, with some fictional suspense thrown in, into the lives of people from Appalachia.