The Coffin Quilt Analysis

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Analysis of “The Coffin Quilt”
Love is considered a wonderful connection between two people that brings happiness to many. Although without hate no one would realize how marvelous love truly is. Does this mean hate is more powerful than love throughout the world? Hate overpowers love because there may be so much love in this world, but with the tiniest bit of hate everything could be changed in a split second. Hate is an indestructible power that will demolish anything in its way, like it did in The Coffin Quilt, by Ann Rinaldi. Roseanna McCoy and Johnse Hatfield’s love was simply not powerful enough to defeat the hate that came along with the love. Roseanna and Johnse had something most people dream of, love at first sight. They were so in love that they didn’t care about what consequences being with each other had, but they should’ve. Their spark just wasn’t strong enough to hold up against all the hate. The hate …show more content…

In this feud, in just one night, the Hatfields shot and killed two innocent McCoys and burned down a house that should’ve lasted many years. Not only that, but they injured Ma McCoy, who was very ill at the time, by shooting her multiple times. “The world seemed to be gone howling mad around me” (192). Fanny states this as she watches her childhood house go down in flames. In this story the hate everyone has for each other is way more destructive than the love a few people have. By the end of The Coffin Quilt no one seems happy or cheerful. It is very visible that all the hate changes people’s personalities and outlooks on life. Ma and Pa McCoy highly disagree about violence. Roseanna doesn’t see the purpose of living anymore and eventually wills herself to die. As Franny puts it, “She sought destruction of herself. And she’d dragged so many of us with her” (213) Life was no longer the same because a little bit of hate can go a long

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