When Two Feathers Fell From the Sky

Content Warning: This section of the guide describes and discusses the novel’s depictions of racism.

Although Verble’s cast of characters represents a variety of different racial, ethnic, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds, each of them contributes to the novel’s thematic interest in the lasting effects of grief and trauma. In particular, the characters of James Shackleford and Clive Lovett demonstrate the profound effects of war and violence on the human psyche. For Glendale Park manager James Shackleford and his wife, the tragic deaths of six of their ten children lead them to profound and lasting grief. Although Shackleford’s baby daughters have been dead for years by the time the novel begins, they “still [ruin] his sleep by crying in their cribs at night and awakening him so thoroughly that he invariably check[s] their room, and then often [has] to read until light” (53). The use of the active, present tense verbs “crying” and “awakening” in this passage demonstrates Shackleford’s ongoing experience of grief, which allows him to feel that his deceased daughters still have an active presence in his home. For Shackleford’s wife May, grief takes the form of a firm belief in the possibility of life after death. As she explains to Clive, “[I]f I didn’t believe in an afterlife, I would’ve drowned myself in the creek long ago” (287). That May Shackleford’s grief leads her to suicidal ideation demonstrates the profound effects of grief and the trauma of loss.

Shackleford, who was forced to flee his home during the American Civil War, also experiences war-based trauma which he carries with him throughout his life. The trauma of his experiences as a war refugee remains with Shackleford into adulthood: “[W]ell over half a century later, he still [wakes] up at night running through woods, pursued by invisible bushwhackers, deserters, and Yankees” (61). Again, the use of the gerund “running” suggests that Shackleford carries his traumatic experiences with him into the present. The zookeeper, Clive, carries similar trauma from his time as a soldier during the Great War. Clive’s trauma, which Shackleford refers to as his “illness” (61, 114) manifests primarily as anxiety about his physical well-being, and he “harbor[s] an irrational fear of bursting stitches that he [hasn’t] needed to hold his wounds together for years” (301). This fear stays with Clive even during moments of celebration, such as the party he attends with Helen Hampton. The novel suggests that both Shackleford and Clive are unable to shake the horror of their experiences in two very different wars war, highlighting the profound effect of this kind of trauma.