Honey's interactions with the far more sophisticated Pearl show a glimpse into innocence and youth, the old land waking up to modernism creeping in, and the mountainfolk caught between their old hard ways and the new advanced world. Though Honey has been well educated by Book Woman Cussy in writing, reading, and more, her isolated life has held her back in other ways. Honey's new friend Pearl is far ahead of her with modern gadgets, young men, parties, and drinking. What did you think of their differences, their strengths and vulnerabilities, and their adjustments to new environments? Did you find one woman's lifestyle more attractive than the other's?