Chapter six begins with Maggie in her dark room developing a photo she took at the falls. It is of Herb Kowalsky looking down into the river were his daughter's remains lie. The photograph makes Kowalsky look defeated and shows him wiping away a tear from his eye. The photograph makes quite a splash in the office when Maggie begins to show colleagues. They are all very impressed with how powerful the simple photo of Kowalsky is. Lee says, "Sweet Jesus. That's the father?" You can tell right away that this photo is going to make quite a splash with everyone in Maggie's hometown because of the emotional response it is going to evoke regarding the Kowalsky's and their suffering. Shortly after Maggie shows Allen the photo, the two go to get coffee. When Maggie is crossing the street she is almost hit by a car. This hits close to home for Allen, and we finally hear the background story regarding the death of his wife and daughter. They had been on their way to pick Allen up from the airport. Allen and Maggie's romantic relationship also progresses in Chapter 6. Allen comes over to Maggie's for dinner for a date. On the date, Allen explains that writing this article has given him a second chance to be a good father. He says, "But this situation with Ruth Kowalsky, it's like I've been given another chance to be a good father by helping another man's daughter out of that river." Maggie tries to explain that Luke is not so different, but his good cause is the Tamassee River. Chapter 6 also goes into more detail about when Ben was burned, or more specifically his recovery and life after being burned. He had a difficult time being in public and social situations and their father only made things worse by forcing him to attend all the school dances and baseball games. Ben tells Maggie that she should let things go and forgive their father, but Maggie insists that she is not a big enough person to ever forgive her father. At the beginning of Chapter 7, Maggie receives and email from Luke regarding the picture she took for Allen's article. He says that he expected Hemphill would side with the Kowalskys but was disappointed in Maggie. He says, "A lot of people have devoted a significant part of their lives to saving the Tamassee. You have betrayed every one of those people." This later causes a little tension between Maggie and Hemphill. Chapter 7 also offered some insightful background on Maggie and Luke's relationship when they were younger. When it is time for the town meeting Maggie is surprised to see her father is present. She tells Allen that he is too sick to be here. She is even more perplexed when her father speaks about how dangerous the river is. Ellen Kowalsky speaks to the meeting about her daughter and every one in the meeting is immediately affected by her despair. Right away Luke and the river rats are aware that they have lost the battle. After the meeting Maggie's father approaches her and tries to apologize for Ben being burned that night so long ago. Maggie still can't seem to forgive him.
VOCABULARY:
Caulked: to seal a gap or hole with some substance
Blood Meridian: A western novel by Cormac McCarthy about a gang of scalp hunters who massacred North American tribes.
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