The land that the Fentrys farm is one of the small "tilted and barren patches" that lie in the hills east of Jefferson. Talking aloud with Gavin and Chick, their neighbor Mr. Pruitt, whose "land . . . was better" (95), wonders aloud that the Fentrys have even been able to "make a living for themselves and raise families and pay their taxes" from the corn and perhaps cotton they could grow on it (96).
