Both Harney and Frost have been highly criticized for the ways in which they depict Appalachian people in their articles. Both of which also depict Appalachian people to the extremes which can be problematic.
Harney explains the Appalachian life from a first person point of view. He uses such descriptive language so that the reader begins to imagine a rural country like region in fall of 1869. He says, “Over all this sweet rural scene of mountain, valley, river, and farm… Now brightened by the grace of a young girl…” I think his description is almost too perfect and can be seen as even a biased opinion if he is from there or has ties.
Frost on the other hand is the complete opposite of Harney. He compares the Appalachian people, “18th century folks”, to our modern day 21st century style of living. Frost statements regarding the Appalachian people seem in many ways negative. He says that “the entire region has one characteristic- the lack of natural means of communication”. Comparing that back to Harney, who may think there is nothing wrong with communication within their small communities.
Furthermore, both authors share ideas on the daily life of Appalachian Americans. They describe similar jobs such as spinning, farming, and trading. Their outlook on these jobs and the job descriptions are both polar opposites. Harney’s reading is more of a homelike experience. While describing farming he says that the Appalachian people believed the that moon influenced all their crops. Frost says that only the “upright farms” produced corn and those with great land are priced a up to two or three dollars more per acre because it is deemed more valuable.