A Spool of Blue Thread

The Whitshanks try keeping up appearances in a variety of ways, including their obsession with their house on Bouton Road. The Whitshanks take great pride in keeping the house in pristine shape, and since the family operates a construction and landscape company, they fix every aspect of their property. Their upkeep of the house is symbolic of an individual’s upkeep with his or her own appearance, whether physical or mental. The Whitshanks operate largely as one body, a seemingly cohesive unit. When the house shines, the family unit shines, and vice versa. For instance, Junior admits that ‘“[in] this house, we insist on quality,’ he said […] So ‘this house’ really meant ‘this family’ it seemed. The two were one and the same’” (63). Junior’s son, Red, makes a similar pronouncement when his family considers selling the house. ‘“Houses need humans,’ Red said. ‘You all should know that […] when a house is left on its own. It’s like the heart goes out of it’” (92). Once the children consider selling the house, tragedy follows. Red’s wife, Abby, dies. Abby is the symbolic heart of the family, which means that the family unit as a whole suffers from her death.