Literally speaking, we're dealing with two times in The River Between Us. We open and close with Howard's frame story, which occurs in 1916, but the bulk of the book is Tilly's main story, which occurs in 1861. As Tilly tells Howard her story, the two times meet, and Howard thinks a lot about how old the old people are and how he can't even imagine how long ago 1861 was. Howard doesn't have a ton of imagination, to be honest, since only 55 years separate the two stories. But still, time is definitely a factor in this book.
Questions About Time
- What do 1861 and 1916 have in common? How are they different? How does each time period help us to understand the other?
- Why do you think it's so hard for Howard to imagine the past and to get his head around how long ago the Civil War was?
- How would Tilly's story be different without Howard's frame story?
- Think of an event that occurred 55 years ago. How would you connect that event to today?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
While 1861 and 1916 seem like different eras, they have key characteristics in common.
Fifty-five years is both a long and a short amount of time.