AtDAtD1: The Light over the Ranges

[Tore Rye Andersen]

>From: "Dave Monroe" <against.the.dave at gmail.com>
>
>The Light over the Ranges (AtD, Pt. I, p. 1)
>
>The singular 'range' seems called for-- so why plural here?
>
>Range is defined in the Oxford American Dictionary as "a line or
>series of mountains or hills : the coastal ranges of the northwest,"
>so perhaps "range" or "ranges" can be used to denote a number of
>mountains.  'Ranges' may also refer to farms, homesteads and ranches
>in 1893 America. America was predominantly that in 1893. Cf. "Home,
>home on the range".

Note that this very expression appears at a very significant juncture later 
in the book, when Webb is tortured to death:

"Webb found himself crying out the names of his sons. From inside the pain, 
he was distantly surprised at a note of reproach in his voice, though not 
sure if it had been out loud or inside his thoughts. He watched the light 
over the ranges slowly draining away." (p. 198)

This is towards the end of the day, so on one level the light is just that: 
light - but on a metaphorical level, what drains away in the quoted passage 
is of course Webb's life. Retrospectively, 'the light over the ranges' also 
comes to stand as a metaphor for life, then.

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