Summary

Chapter 4 returns to the past, resuming the narrative after Fern and Edgar’s wedding. The young couple sympathize with the ideals of the hippie movement, but are not attracted to the lifestyle. They seek out a “real” life, where they “cultivate discomfort” by renting a small house in Kentucky coal country (67). Edgar wants to write about the coal miners, in part as an exposé of his father’s dirty money. He hopes that living among working people will give his life more meaning and honor. Fern, meanwhile, “wanted to play house” (68). She feels free of her parents and their life, and revels in her time with Edgar. The only shadow on this summer together is Ben, to whose army base in Indiana Fern sends care packages, letters, and phone calls. At the camp, Ben waits for a bird to fly into his window and...