How did each of the siblings feel about their relationship to the family property, in your opinion? Were they all equally impacted by the family’s history on the land? Did that change by the end of the novel?

How did each of the siblings feel about their relationship to the family property, in your opinion? Were they all equally impacted by the family’s history on the land? Did you find that it changed by the end of the novel?

CeCe didn't care about the property. She wanted out of the poverty of small town Diggs. She wanted a big job with designer clothes. She would have been happy to sell initially. But then she realized money didn't buy what she really wanted. She reunited with Ellis and finally with her family and was glad to help them keep the land.

Mance loved the land - maybe even more than King.

Junior felt he failed his father as the oldest son who should have been the one to work the land and take over the business. Eventually, he came home to his rightful place.

Tokey never felt like she fit in. Then she found out her mother thought she wasn't King's daughter. Apparently we are to believe Miss Jessie convinced her otherwise and after helping raze the house, she felt she belonged after all.

I don't think the children really cared overmuch about the property. Mance had his own ten acres, CeCe never wanted to stay in Diggs, Junior escaped with a career in education, and Tokey was there because she had nowhere else to go. I do think Mance was probably the only one who felt the importance of land ownership.

I agree with everything scgirl said. The girls didn't feel the love of the land as much as the boys did. I am from a small town in Nebraska and my grandfather and uncles were all farmers. They all loved the land and several of their children and grandchildren are still farming the land. They love their land dearly.

It seemed as if Mance was the one most connected to the Kingdom. It surprised me that Junior took part in defending the property near the end of the novel. He was not a very aggressive character throughout the story and his actions took a big turn toward the end of the novel.

In addition to the previous comments, I appreciated that the home was the connection to the family's past and place within the community. Earlier in my life I lived in a small town, and everyone and I mean everyone was associated with their home. There was a history and connection to the past, even if someone didn't feel they personally connected to the home.

Mance is clearly his father's son, and he carries the burden of his ancestors physically and emotionally. His love for the property and carpentry cements him in place. CeCe, on the other hand, hates it with a passion. Junior is afraid to love the property because he believes it splits him from who he really is. Tokey wants a family, the where is not really important but the "house" is the most likely place for it to materialize. In the end, they discover it is not about the house, which was never really a home, after all. It appears the land will continue to bind them and future generations long after they are gone.

I didn't feel the siblings were connected to the land at all. Some may have wanted King to be proud of them ( Why , wasn't really explained) but it seem to be the focus for them only after King died. Tokey wanted a place to be together, but it seems anyplace would do, she was so hungry for family.Her childhood there was so unhappy. We learned nothing of family gatherings, traditions, memories of place, that at all convinced me that the land meant something to them

I feel the siblings until closer to the end of the book care so much about the land (other than Mance even though he had ten acres of his own).

I thought Mance and Tokey were the most connected to The Kingdom, maybe because they chose to stay there. Although, Tokey may have been more of a prisoner to that life than choosing it. But they did all seem to understand that selling the land was not an option in their family, even if some of them considered doing so as a way out of their own issues. In the end, all of them except Tokey seemed to find their connection to The Kingdom and felt it was home.