There are no chapter numbers for the eleven titled sections in The Goats. Each section is identified as the current location where Laura and Howie find themselves.

Since this survival novel is about the odyssey of two runaways who are constantly on the move in the Wisconsin countryside, their location changes frequently. For example they move from "The Island" to "The Cottage" to "The Municipal Beach" in their early search for shelter, clothing, and food. A sense of isolation seems present in these locations as suggested in "The Cottage." "It was small and empty. A summer cottage. Large board shutters had been fastened over the windows. Behind it was a grove of dark trees. He [Howie] could hear the drum of tires as someone drove by on a hidden highway. There was nothing else."

Cole is not preoccupied with lengthy description and detail; instead he sketches with precision...