| dc.description.abstract | On Stony Ground chronicles the adventures of Goose, a young runaway, and his friend Henry, a mentally handicapped man who helps Goose survive in the small town of Cimarron, Oklahoma. Goose's journey begins when he is expelled from the storage unit that he is living in with his meth-addicted mother after a run-in with his mother's new boyfriend. It is at this point that Goose meets Henry and the two develop a friendship that shapes the novel and provides the majority of its conflict. Goose's father, who has recently been released from prison and is cooking meth in a local motel, soon abducts his son. Before Henry can rescue Goose, Goose must face not only his abusive father but also the Deer Woman, a Native American curse. Goose soon learns that Henry's grandmother has died, and the two attempt to bury the body in an effort to prevent the inevitable institutionalization of Henry. The two are caught, however, and separated by the courts. Goose is sent to live with his maternal grandfather while Henry is sent to live in a home for the mentally disabled. Goose's grandfather subjects the boy to his fanatical Pentecostalism, and Goose eventually accepts the beliefs as his own and begins to believe that he has been chosen by God to save his family. These plans are interrupted, however, when his mother's return leads to infighting and familial strife. Goose runs, and in an attempt to rescue Henry from the home in which he has been placed, ends up getting both of them mixed up with the Goodwin brothers, two escaped convicts. The Goodwins hold the two hostage, along with Goose's father, who owes money to the escaped convicts. On Stony Ground climaxes with the subsequent shootout and fire that the hostage situation creates. Goose survives, but Henry does not. Goose is forced to examine his role in his best friend's death, an examination that reiterates the theme of sin that is central to the novel. | |
