Plainsong

In Plainsong, each generation has to deal with soul searching and defining themselves. For some such as Victoria, definitions produce strength in the hardest of times. Her pregnancy leaves her underprivileged and overwhelmed, but her intelligence guides her to safety. She learns more about herself through the eyes of her caretakers. Each person is like a diamond with different facets, and different sides to their personalities. Ike and Bobby are left emotionally abandoned by their mother and through that tragedy they learn how to take care of themselves. Even the older characters the McPheron brothers are still learning lessons about their idenitites. Victoria ressurects their tenderness and allows their compassion to blossom, reassigning their stereotypical roles of "rough and tough farm hands". Perhaps identity is never fully defined, but rather shifted and molded, getting better and more concrete with age...