Key Facts
full title ·
Pigs in Heaven
author · Barbara Kingsolver
type of work · Novel
genre · Novel of social critique; escape narrative, journey or quest narrative
language · English
time and place written · Tucson, Arizona; early 1990s
date of first publication · 1993
publisher · HarperCollins
narrator · Omniscient
climax · The major climax of the novel occurs at the tribal council meeting, when Turtle's custody is decided.
protagonist · Turtle, Taylor, Annawake
antagonist · Injustices surrounding Native American experience (white America), separation of mother and child (Annawake Fourkiller)
setting (time) · Mid 1980's
setting (place) · The novel opens in rural Kentucky, and weaves through Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming and Oklahoma.
point of view · Omniscient
falling action · After Turtle's custody is decided, the Cherokee community follows Cash to his home where he destroys his television, so that Alice will marry him.
tense · Present
foreshadowing · Alice's yearning for community foreshadows the way she finds a life in the Cherokee Nation. Alice's comfort in the Nation foreshadows the way that it becomes a welcoming community for her granddaughter.
tone · Both thoughtful and feisty.
themes · Community versus individual life; Native American experience and culture; family structure; motherhood; gender; homecoming
motifs · Laws of nature; luck /chance
symbols · Pigs, birds, horses, picture cube, old flame, Gabriel Fourkiller, Barbie, television.
