At the same time, he realizes that his desire to join the Quality is a fantasy and that their power is based on cruelty and lies. After nearly drowning in the river Goose, Hiram looks for but cannot find his coin. More broadly, it represents his desire to escape slavery and gain access to the privileged world of the Quality. At first, the coin represents Hiram’s ticket out of the Street and into the mansion of Lockless. The symbolism of the copper coin shifts as Hiram matures. The walking stick is a symbol of the importance of memory and the danger of forgetting. Yet Harriet implies that remaining in touch with those painful stories is crucial for the power of Conduction. It is natural for humans to try to forget traumatic events that are often too painful to face. But she always carries a walking stick made from the branch of a sweet gum tree, which reminds her of the worst days of her life working in the timbers. Often, she would like to forget those trying times. She performed backbreaking labor from a very young age and her masters beat her daily. Harriet tells Hiram that she had an extremely difficult childhood.

That Howell's son Maynard is stupid and without charm only further highlights that this Virginia class has no future.

As the land becomes impoverished and the tobacco crop fails, a new generation of entrepreneurs finds success further West. In this way, Howell is an allegory for the decline of Virginia and the early settlers of the East, whose success depended on the tobacco crop. Yet he is “the last of a particular species,” since the wealthy class of Virginia has fallen on hard times. Howell Walker has all the appearances of a gentleman of “the Quality.” He wears refined clothing and holds elaborate social events. Buy Study Guide Howell and Maynard as the decline of Virginia (Allegory)

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