Empire Falls | Teaching Setting, Symbolism and Objects

Object Descriptions

This section provides a short description of all the major objects in the book. This can be printed out as a study guide for students, used as a "key" for leading a class discussion, or you can jump to the quiz/homework section to find worksheets that incorporate these descriptions into a variety of question formats.

Objects

A Dead Moose - The carcass washes ashore and is trapped in an eddy at the building site of the Hacienda.

The Rectory at St. Catherine's - Miles and Father Mark call this The Rectum, a nickname growing out of youthful Miles' inability to distinguish between the two words.

St. Catherine's Steeple - Miles never manages to build up enough courage to paint this, a symbol of a fear he has developed in adulthood to risk new ventures.

The Thirsty Whale - An inexpensive restaurant on Martha's Vineyard where Grace takes Miles and...
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