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| Plot Summary of Dancing at the Rascal Fair |
"This book can be considered historical fiction in that it offers a view into the beginnings of the US national forests, World War I, and the Great Influenza Epidemic. It is, however, generally thought of as a book written in the Western genre.
The story is that of two 19 year-old Scottish boys, Angus McCaskill and Rob Barclay, who emigrate to the US in the late 19th century. They move to Montana and become homesteaders, deciding to raise sheep for a living. When the price of sheep begins to fall in the market Angus becomes a school teacher. He meets a neighboring teacher, Anna, and falls in love with her, but this is to be an unrequited love.
Angus marries Rob's sister instead, but his unrequited love for Anna drives a rift between himself and Rob. Rob attempts to confront Angus about this problem but his attempt bring great changes to Angus's life: Angus's wife leaves him for a time, and his son becomes estranged from him. Anna, Angus's true love, dies in the Influenza Epidemic, but as the novel comes to a close Angus's son marries Anna's daughter; and Rob drowns in an accident, leaving Angus to write his remembrance of his longtime friend and enemy.
"
Billy Pashaie, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Dancing at the Rascal Fair |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- American wild west period
Romance/Romance Problems
Yes
Kind of romance:
- love triangle/polygon
Poverty, surviving
Yes
Kind of living:
- farm poverty
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Lover is
- totally uninterested
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- teacher
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- natural phenomena
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- throughout most of the book.
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 10 ()
United States
Yes
The US:
- Midwest
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
Prairie?
Yes
Farm/Ranch?
Yes
Farm/Ranch:
- lot of descript of animal care
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- actual description of hetero sex
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Ivan Doig Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
Billy Pashaie 
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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