Point of View

How Much of These Hills is Gold is predominantly narrated in third-person limited from the perspective of the protagonist Lucy. The time frame shifts in each part of the novel, so the reader sees Lucy at ages nine, 12, and 17. This is significant because the author shows how Lucy's thoughts and feelings about her life and her family shift as she matures and gains life experience. In many ways, this is a coming-of-age novel. In Part II, the reader sees Lucy at her youngest and most idealistic. She begins attending school and becomes attached to her instructor, Teacher Leigh, whom she views as the epitome of civilized white society because he is white, educated, comparatively wealthy, and comes from the Eastern part of the country. She believes these factors make him better than herself and her family and she aspires to emulate him and be accepted...