Peace Like a River

“As Mother cried out, Dad turned back to me, a clay child wrapped in a canvas coat, and said in a normal voice, ‘Reuben Land, in the name of the living God I am telling you to breathe.’”

In the opening scene, Jeremiah’s miraculous success in getting Reuben to breathe acts as the plot’s hook. It also inaugurates the occurrence of miracles as a significant aspect of the plot arc. That he commands it in the name of the living God sets the tone for a thematic message connecting miracles to faith.

“I believe I was preserved, through those twelve airless minutes, in order to be a witness, and as a witness, let me say that a miracle is no cute thing but more like the swing of a sword.”

By explaining his role as a witness, Reuben justifies and gives weight to his telling of this story. Comparing a miracle to the swing of a sword engages the reader by foreshadowing conflict and tension in the plot. It also reflects a Christian vision of a mighty God and powerful protector.

“I will forget none of this. Nor the comfortable, fluttery feeling it gave me, as though someone had blown warm smoke through a hole in my center. Dad went perhaps thirty feet, paused, and started back. His eyes were still clenched shut; I don’t know whether he ever recognized how buoyant was his faith that night.”

Reuben is referring here to the miracle he witnesses in Chapter 2, in which his father walks on air as he prays. The combined literal and figurative use of the word buoyant makes effective use of metaphor to create a visual conceptualization for the reader. This line reinforces the idea that Jeremiah’s miracles are inseparably connected to his faith in God, an important thematic message throughout the book.