The+Maker+of+One+Coffin

This chapter is important because Jess encounters Death for (probably) the first time when Johnson dies, but he really learns about death when Uncle Runkin visits. Jess wonders what it is like sleeping in Uncle Runkin's coffin and describes it as "scary but exciting, and as cool and dark as eternity". I think Jess feels like that's what dying feels like. He also realizes there are two ways to approach Death-to live your life in fear of death, or to accept the fact that you have to die someday and live your life to the fullest. In the chapter Joe Robert admits that he doesn't look forward to death and jokes about Uncle Runkin's superstitious beliefs and his obsession of death, and Jess doesn't follow suit. Jess says he "admires the way he (Uncle Runkin) never got depressed by the gravestones". Uncle Runkin teaches Jess about putting a good motto on his coffin. "You see that motto a lot, but it ain't just going to do. People don't remember you after you're dead. That's why you have to do it beforehand." This is the reason that Uncle Runkin decides to hide all of the bones, because he wants the Kirkmans to remember him even after he's gone. (Elliott, Brothers)
 * The Big Questions: How does this chapter fit the novel as a whole / Why is it important / What should a good reader take away from this chapter?**

This chapter shows how he has grown up and changed - even though this is one of the few chapters where he isn't consciously trying to grow up. The way he accepts death as a friendly presence instead of a ticking time bomb is very mature in its own right. Yes, it is a strange story, but not totally unbelievable. His dreams may seem untrue, but they are definitely True; this perspective is a comfort that most people don't like to think about. Once again, he is having mature thoughts at age 11, but it isn't until years later that he fully understands its importance - and that is why he is including this story in his collection of memories. (Morgan and Virginia)

Uncle Runkin is in a seemingly strange mindset - he looks forward to death. He not only accepts that it is all around him, but he looks for examples wherever he can find them. Jess experiences this for a few moments in that coffin. He experiences a feeling similar to a rush of adrenaline when in that coffin, a feeling that Uncle Runkin looks forward to when he goes to sleep every night. For Uncle Runkin, death is the opportunity of a different future. Though he doesn't ever show it, he is fond of Jess and treats him as an adult (unlike some of the other uncles). He tries to teach Jess his understanding of death when he shows him the graveyard, preparing Jess as he has prepared himself. Uncle Runkin told him, "'There's a lot of wisdom on these stones, if people would just take the opportunity.'" (Morgan and Virginia)

I wanted to try it. I wanted to sneak into Uncle Runkin's coffin some hour when he was away and lie down in the coffin and see what I thought about it. "I wouldn't do it," my father said. "I'm no great believer in signs, but there can't be much good luck in lying around in coffins all the time. I don't much look forward to death myself; it's like knowing you have to go to the dentist. "I don't think it's like that. I think it would be real quiet." (Elliott, Brothers)
 * Important Quotes (and commentary)**

//"But none of these visions were frightening; they were comforting, and I began to know that death was the Meadow of Vision, where dream was wrested from the marrow of the stars."// - Jess. As Jess lies in the coffin, he finds that death is more like a comforting presence than a ticking time bomb that could go off at anytime. He finally understands why his Uncle carries around such a morbid symbol. (Morgan and Virginia)

//"'Well, see, he's gone all right, but he's plumb forgotten too. You see that motto a lot, but it ain't going to do. People don't remember you after you're dead. That's why you have to do it all yourself beforehand.'"// - Uncle Runkin. Uncle Runkin's response to the "//Gone but not forgotten//" gravestone shows what a complex character he is. Though he seems to be obsessed with death, he recognizes that life is also a blessing. Without life there is not death, and without death there is no life. (Morgan and Virginia)

//"Just the other day - twenty years afterward - I found in a old tackle box a kneecap. It brought back tender memories."// - Jess. This gives a bit more structure to the story, actually telling us that this is an older Jess relaying treasured memories. We no longer have to assume that this is older Jess - we now have proof that our assumptions are correct. (Morgan and Virginia)

"A sky full of stars arranged itself in an readable tombstone motto. A great silent galleon with black silk sails lifted off an ebony ocean and floated into the sky, straight into the full moon. A flock of crows flew through a snowstorm, then changed into a rain of blood and fell, staining the snowy ground scarlet. A sinister monk opened the orange-lit door in a mountain and stepped out; he was dressed in a loose black robe and made arcane gestures with his bony hands, causing a spiky crop of skeletons to rise out of the ground and giggle." (Morgan and Virginia)
 * Moments of astonishingly good writing**