Ecology of a Cracker Childhood

Blog 7 ECC

Ecology of a Cracker Childhood was quite a work of environmental and historical art. The double meaning inside of this novel is very alluring as it strives to reach out to two sets of audiences. The southern stories seem to reach out to the general public and touch anybody, while the environmental meaning behind the novel is targeted more towards environmentalists and ecologists. Never before have I read such a novel with a double meaning that somehow ties the whole story together, and I think Ray does a great job of doing so.
The stories Ray tells about her life are extremely interesting in that, it is hard to find similar ones elsewhere in the world of literature. Growing up in the south for Ray was a truly distinct and different experience especially with her poverty and junkyard ridden life. It seems that Ray's childhood was highlighted by the explorations of the junkyard and a truly imaginative mind. These imaginations as a child really help set a precedent for her life of love demonstrated to where she grew up, and the environment. No where else can you find such humor, and at the same time love for a person's life. Being a southern cracker and living off the land and what she could get, there are humorous stories like the pretending to drive to Canada in an old car that strike particular humor in me. At the same time, when I hear stories like that of Ray struggling to fit in at college, or stories about her childhood, it strikes a certain love and compassion in me which reserves a soft spot in my heart.
Ray's writing style is truly distinct from any other style I have ever come across. Almost every other chapter strays from the main story of the novel to include a quick or elaborate excerpt on the deforestation and destruction of wildlife in the forested areas of southern Georgia. Ray strives to catch two audiences', one to hear the story of her childhood, and the other to learn more about the destruction of the Georgia wildlife habitat. The fact that Ray writes this way really makes people who aren’t particularly looking for an environmental meaning in the novel to be forced to think about this environmental aspect in a truly serious manner. For example, when Ray talks about the Gopher Tortoise, it tells a story of her childhood, while at the same time making the reader aware of the danger the animal is in. This truly highlights the example of how Ray incorporates her two audiences into one story, this does not happen very commonly in the novel.
Ecology of a Cracker Childhood is a novel that is one of a kind, and nowhere else have I ever read such a novel. I have not read for two audiences in one before, so it was a little confusing for me, but at the same time insightful as I got a lot out of this novel especially because of my own knack for environmental love in my heart.