Abstract
This paper closely analyzes the personal narrative of Earl E. Scott, Jr., a third generation low-wall coal miner from southwest Virginia, as a hero story. Low-wall mining, as Earl narrates it, is the descent into an unknown abyss, unearthing treasures brought back as boon to the above-ground world, retrieving from the underworld an energy source that, out of darkness, brings light to the world. Because I see Earl as the humble hero of his own stony, I use Joseph Campbell's model of the hero's journey to illuminate his narrative.
Erratum
The author of "How Could a Timber Hold up a Mountain?" is Hannah Blevins Harvey.
Recommended Citation
Harvey, Hannah Blevins
(2005)
"How Could a Timber Hold Up a Mountain?: Earl E. Scott Jr's Coal Mining Narrative as Hero's Journey,"
Storytelling, Self, Society: Vol. 2:
Iss.
1, Article 5.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/storytelling/vol2/iss1/5