World Made by Hand (Kunstler)

Discussion Questions
1. What was your initial impression of the narrator Robert Earle? What kind of a man does he seem to be?

2. Kunstler has painted a grim picture of a crippled America after the end of available oil, the global economy, consumerism, jihadist bomb attacks on major cities, and the reintroduction of wide-scale plagues. Can you imagine yourself living without electricity, motorized transportation, a regular job, lack of medicines, and contact with the outside world? Do you think that you would be able to survive in this new society? What skills would you rely on? What skills would you no longer need?

3. Does the new organic farm based local economy described in World Made by Hand seem more gratifying than our contemporary life and culture? In what ways? In what ways does it seem inferior?

4. "Plenty of mayflies would still get their one ecstatic night of reproduction in the treetops. They would return to the river to die the next morning. It was called the spinner fall. They’d been doing it for millions of years before we showed up" (p. 4). Cite some of the numerous other insightful observations of the natural world throughout the book. Do you find it paradoxical?

5. At the end of the second chapter Robert says, "I tried to avoid nostalgia because it could destroy you. I was alone now..." (p. 14). Is he really alone? What is his relationship to the greater community? Do you think that his attitude is helping him or hindering him from becoming resigned to all that he has to cope with in his new reality?

6. In chapter 3, Robert says to Jane Ann, "Maybe I’m crazy. I live with hope...that we’ll recover some. Maybe not back to before, but some. I live in hope that my Daniel will walk into this house again some fine morning, and your boy with him" (p. 18). How would you describe Robert’s relationship with Jane Ann? In addition to his optimism, what helps him to be a survivor in the face of his wife and daughter’s deaths and everything else that he has suffered?

7. "The general was run at first as a public cooperative, under the illusion that the ongoing catastrophes would ebb and normality would return. But the flu and the bombing of Washington put an end to that illusion, and the general eventually came under the management of Wayne Karp and his gang of former motorheads" (p. 28). Wayne Karp is the cult leader of the remnants of the basest layer of society, who now live separately in Karptown. Their attitudes and amorality lead to young Shawn Watling’s death. What is the outcome and reaction to this senseless murder emblematic of in the new society? Did the reaction of the townspeople surprise you? What could they have done?

8. When Robert and Loren first encounter Brother Jobe and learn of his acquisition of the high school for himself and his New Faith Brotherhood, they feel a bit troubled. When the brotherhood attends Shawn’s funeral, they start to interact with the rest of the town. How are Brother Jobe and his followers different from the people of Union Grove? Why are Robert and Loren apprehensive?

9. "As the modern world came apart, and the local economy with it, Bullock took the opportunity to acquire at least eight other properties adjacent to the original family farm.... Stephen Bullock had a comprehensive vision of what was going on in our society and what would be necessary to survive in comfort, and I don’t think he ever deviated from that vision for a moment" (p. 85). After Robert introduces Brother Jobe to Stephen Bullock; he says, "That fellow is a dangerous man" (p. 92). Even though Bullock is nominally the town magistrate, his community is somewhat removed from Union Grove. What makes Brother Jobe react to him in that way? Is he another cult figure like Wayne Karp? How is his community organized? What does he offer his followers?

10. How did Brother Jobe’s influence on Robert figure in his heroic rescue of Britney Watling and her daughter from the fire, his dominance at the board of trustees meeting, and his installation as mayor?"It’s like we’ve been living in...Jell-O. Trapped. Immobilized. Watching everything around us slowly fall apart through this thick, gummy transparent prison of Jell-O, and unable to do anything about it" (p. 205). Is Robert aware of Brother Jobe’s effect on him?

11. Why does Britney Watling decide to throw her lot in with Robert? Consider Jane’s comments to Robert: "You’re quite the hero. First the fire, then you shove Dale off the plank, then the Big Breakout, and now the water system finally gets fixed" (p. 204). Did you think about how Robert could have used his new status? Many other men in this story have done less and reaped more. Who are they and how did they do it?

12. When Robert undertakes the expedition to Albany to find out what happened to Bullock’s missing boat, the Elizabeth and its crew of four men, he starts to see what has happened to the surrounding area. What experiences open his eyes to the condition of the rest of the country? Draw some contrasts between our information age and the complete absence of media in the new society. How does this affect people’s perception of each other?

13. "Brother Minor was skinny and smaller than me. He had a sharp, weasely face and a joking demeanor, and when he laughed at his own jokes, which was often; his eyes creased and seemed to close up tight, while his laughter was nearly silent, more like air huffing through a pipe. He joked incessantly" (p. 124). Brother Minor has many aspects to him in addition to being a comedian. What are the qualities that set him apart? What is your overall impression of him?

14. "I showed Minor my hand and asked him how it was possible that such an injury could actually heal overnight" (p. 151). There are a number of things in this book that seem impossible to explain. There are some parts that may seem apocryphal. Remember a few and explore their meanings?

15. "A fellow makes a few things happen and the world falls at his feet" (p. 162). What kind of a government is Dan Curry running in Albany? How is he portrayed? The search party also encounters Lieutenant Governor Eugene Furman. How does he do his job? How is he portrayed?

16. " 'Abominable wickedness the Lord hates,' Joseph screamed at her, with the tendons standing out on his neck and blue veins bulging in his forehead, while he waved his pistol at the terrified woman. 'Then the just shall rejoice to see his vengeance and bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked' " (p. 176). Joseph and the other brothers are as adept at killing as they are at other gentler skills. Why are they so sure of themselves and where do they find their justifications? Are they free to do what they please because there is no legal system, no courts, and no real rules? Do you think that they were hypocritical?

17. "The levee at Stephen Bullock’s farm was the greatest social event around Washington County in decades, even going back into the old days, when television and all the other bygone diversions held people hostage in their homes after the sun went down” (p. 208). What made the party so enjoyable? In what ways was it different from parties of today? What place does music play in Robert’s life and in the lives of the people?

18. " 'The world has become such a wicked place,' she said quietly, just a statement of fact. 'There’s goodness here, too.' 'Where is it?' 'In all the abiding virtues. Love, bravery, patience, honesty, justice, generosity, kindness. Beauty, too. Mostly love.' " (p. 226). What does Britney offer to Robert that Jane Ann couldn’t? What can Robert offer Britney? What has prepared him to accept her and Sarah into his life?

19. "Look, old son. There’s real strangeness in this world of ours. Back in the machine times, there was too much noise front and back, so to speak, to keep us from knowing what lies behind the surface of things. Now it stands out more. Am I ever going to understand what I just saw?" (p. 262) What did you make of Robert’s meeting with Mary Beth Ivanhoe? Why is he chosen? Do you think he will understand?

20. What has changed in Union Grove that makes Robert and Loren willing to go after Wayne Karp and his boys for burgling houses during the levee? Why do they also decide to prosecute Brother Jobe for the forced shavings? Did Robert and Loren take on more than they could handle when they went to Karptown to arrest Wayne? Were they testing themselves?

21. "We returned to the jail room, Brother Jobe was now kneeling at his bed with his hands clasped on the mattess, his eyes closed and his lips moving soundlessly, the way little children pray" (p. 297). Do you think Brother Jobe knew that his son, Minor, had been killed before he was told?

22. "In the days that followed, stories circulated around town about Brother Minor and Wayne Karp coming to an eerily similar end" (p. 313). Did you find the identical killings, spooky, magical, apocryphal, biblical? Kunstler speaks of news reaching Union Grove of religious hysteria in other towns. Do you think that is what is happening in Union Grove? Do you think that might explain the curious happenings? Does it matter?

23."We believe in the future, sir. Only it’s not like the world we’ve left behind," Joseph said.... "We’re building our own New Jerusalem up the river. It’s a world made by hand, now, one stone at a time, one board at a time, one hope at a time, one soul at a time. " (p. 142). In the end do you think that Brother Jobe, Robert, and the people of Union Grove were ready to begin building their New Jerusalem?
(Questions issued by publisher.)

top of page (summary)