The Overstory

Patricia Westerford, in her chapter in "Roots," grows out of her "ugly ducklinghood" to become an attractive and self-confident young woman in college. She has many "suitors," but only one sticks around, a boy named Andy. The narrator describes their first sexual encounter with the imagery of trees:

One boy sticks around, month after month. Andy, the English major. He plays in the orchestra with her and loves Hart Crane and O’Neill and Moby-Dick, although he can’t say why. He can get birds to land on his shoulder. He’s waiting for something to come and redeem his aimless life. One night, over cribbage, he says he thinks it might be her. She takes him by the hand and leads him to her narrow bed. Clumsy and green, they peel back the shields of clothing. Ten minutes later, she’s turned into a tree just a little too late to be spared.

Cite this Quote