Peace Like a River

Chapter 20, “The Ledger of Our Decisions,” fits the Crossroads archetype, defined by a place or time of decision when a realization is made and penance results. Reuben’s decision to mislead the party looking for Davy results in a nearly fatal injury to a neighboring rancher, as well as a stain on Reuben’s moral ledger. As a plot element, Ford’s injury serves to demonstrate there are consequences to every decision and suggests Reuben made the wrong one. This choice is important to Reuben’s character arc as it propels his transformation.

Reuben’s comment that he’d later wish he spent more time praying about Waltzer particularly foreshadows Waltzer’s later attack on the Land family. That Reuben’s asthma is at its worst after the failed attempt to capture Davy at the cabin follows a pattern regarding his asthma attacks and the circumstance surrounding them, which suggests an inherent connection between emotional tolls and illness and between mind, body, and spirit.

A close reading of subtext in Chapter 22, along with knowledge from the following chapter that Reuben’s injury should have been fatal and Jeremiah’s shouldn’t have, demonstrates Jeremiah’s awareness that Reuben will die—or has died—and his decision to take Reuben’s place. When they meet in Heaven, Reuben says, “Even as I wondered at his ageless face, so clear and at home, his eyes owned up to some small regret, for he knew a thing I didn’t” (302). The thing Jeremiah knows is the fact of Reuben’s death.

Waltzer confirms his nature when he shoots Jeremiah and Reuben and continues trying to shoot everyone else, including Davy, Sara, Roxanna, and Swede. In light of that, Davy’s reaction to Valdez in Swede’s Sunny Sundown epic is noteworthy: “He was particularly attentive to her treatment of the bandit king Valdez, who he said was exactly right: savage, random, wolflike—and also probably uncatchable, right down through time” (298). Davy sees Waltzer in Valdez.

Enger continues to utilize setting to create atmosphere. The party going by horseback to search for Davy may be a bit of a contrivance to maintain the nostalgic feeling of old westerns, but it’s sufficiently justified by the rural setting and recent blizzards, which preclude the option of driving. The setting of the Red Farm offers the Lands a fresh start, freed from the trauma of their former lives in Roofing. Biblically, the color red is associated with both sacrifice and judgment. The Lands made great sacrifices before they moved to the red farm, and will make even greater ones soon after. They see the life they ultimately enjoy there as God’s reward for their faithfulness, the outcome of his judgment and justice.

The setting of Chapter 22 is dramatically different from any other chapters. Though not specifically designated as Heaven, it is presented as God’s Kingdom. Reuben refers to it as “the next country,” in contrast to “the little man’s country” of his dreams, which represents hell (298, 237). Here, Enger uses vivid imagery to describe the natural setting, with river, meadow, orchard, plain, stream, and mountains. This setting is further defined by a lack of identity or burden, laughter in place of language, and a sense of timelessness.

Enger’s style and narrative voice in this chapter, too, differs greatly from the rest of the book. The style is poetic, almost lyrical: “Moving up from the river the humming began to swell—it was magnetic, a sound uncurling into song and light and even a scent, which was like earth” (300). This line demonstrates Enger’s use of figurative language, which is minimal elsewhere in the narrative. The voice has a joyous quality and no longer reflects the same worldly burdens and perspectives of eleven-year-old Reuben. The style, voice, and imagery of the chapter are reminiscent of C. S. Lewis’s vision of Heaven in The Great Divorce.

The river of people Reuben and Jeremiah see in Heaven are not merely the souls of the recently dead, traveling to God’s kingdom. They have fearful faces. Some are on foot, others on horseback and bearing standards, “as though they marched in preparation for some imminent and joyous and sanctified war” (303). This vision recalls the Chapter 13 scene of Jeremiah singing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” The song, written during the US civil war, correlates the Union’s cause with God’s vengeance on the day of judgment. The song’s biblical allusions are realized in Reuben’s vision of this heavenly army.

Sacrifice remains a central thematic concept in this section. By doing the right thing to try to save Andreeson, Reuben sacrifices more than his sense of loyalty to Davy. He also suffers Swede’s anger and resentment. Her anger turns to indifference and emotional distance, which is even harder for Reuben to bear, showing his sacrifice to be neither short-lived nor easy.

An ironic development in Reuben’s experience of miracles shapes the book’s thematic message about faith. Before Davy and Sara’s appearance at the Red Farm, Reuben has given up hope of miracles. The last one he witnessed occurred just before Roxanna came into their lives. He comes to believe God felt overworked on their family’s behalf and Roxanna was God’s parting gift to them. The irony lies in the timing. Just after he’s given up on miracles, Reuben is blessed by the most powerful acts of all: He is brought back to life and forever cured of his asthma. The message illustrated by this irony is that miracles come on God’s terms. These miracles also demonstrate how Reuben’s sacrifices pay off in the long run, as God blesses him with health and a good life. Enger ultimately signifies that the Lord’s justice isn’t always apparent, but it is infallible.