Archive: Angle of Repose

Plot Summary
The main character, Lyman Ward, Goes to his grandparents house in Green Valley, California. He is in a wheel chair from a progressive bone disease. He returns to try and Study his grandmother through news clippings about her and Letters she had. He tries to fill in the gapes by imagining conversations.

Characters
Lyman Ward- He is a retired history professor. He is also a writer who returns to his grandparents house in Green Valley, California. He returns because he decides to try and piece together the story of his grandmother, Susan Burling Ward.

Susan Burling Ward- Lyman Wards Grandmother. she was married to Oliver ward who was a miner.

Themes
I think the theme is how when a substance like dirt will fall until it reachs a certain angle at which it rests. It shows how Susan and Oliver moved around until they finally settled in an area.

Significant Quotes
"Fooling around in the papers my grandparents, especially my grandmother, left behind, I get glimpses of lives close to mine, related to mine in ways I recognize but don’t completely comprehend." This excerpt is from Angle of Repose, Page #5

About the Author
He was born on February 18, 1909 in Lake Mills, Iowa and he died on April 13, 1993 from injuries he recieved in an accident. He won the Pulitzer prize for his book "Angle of Repose." He also won the Nation Book award for "The Spectator Bird"