Swallow Hill

Swallow Hill is one of the novel's primary settings. Swallow Hill is a turpentine camp located in Valdosta, Georgia. Both Del and Rae Lynn hear about the camp in conversation with others. Therefore, when they both run into trouble, they flee to the camp, hoping that it will allow them to start a new life.

The longer the characters stay at Swallow Hill, the more brutal this environment proves to be. They reside in squalid huts infested by fleas. They work long, hot days in the woods. They are constantly in debt with the commissary. Therefore, even when Del and Rae Lynn have the impulse to leave, they feel incapable of exacting their escapes.

Del finally decides to leave after Crow is fired. Rae Lynn decides to leave when her relationship with Cornelia creates conflict at the camp.

Rae Lynn and Warren's Home

Rae Lynn and Warren's...