Nicholas Schweers

I find that the two author’s depictions have both a positive and negative image of the Appalachian people. On the bright side, both Harney and Frost refer to these people as living simple lives, which were usually much more peaceful and happy than more civilized lives. For example, their lack of new knowledge and advancement led them to still use stone cottages, while the rest of the west seemed to move on to many different types of abodes (Frost). But Frost then goes on to show his readers why their ignorance, being behind the times is so negative.

“Ignorance makes men positive, and the barriers of orthodoxy have been raised to a very commanding height. The same positiveness leads to a multitude of sects, and is reinforced by the feudal spirit for following a partisan leader (Frost 316).”

Harney also shows how their perceived ignorance and lack of intelligence was negative by his example of the mountaineer’s word not being taken by his commanders during the civil war. This led to a defeat due to the lack of trust.

While both of these accounts share the fact that mountain people were not intelligent, it groups all people in the Appalachian range in the same pool. There is no way that everyone in those regions were incestuous, stupid, and non social. That is where the two authors depictions become negative. The stereotypes they portray would cause harm toward outsiders opinions of the people (smart or dumb), their services and their goods.