Friendswood Pages 1-30

     Within the opening 30 pages on Friendswood, three main characters are introduced, each getting their own sections of the novel. The first of the three is Lee. Lee is a middle aged woman who cares and helps those in need in the community due to the recent hurricane. In the opening scene, Lee brings blankets to a local church for those affected by the hurricane. Lee often visits the area of her old neighborhood, which is now polluted by the oil company dumping chemicals in the area. As she travels around the area, she recalls memories of her daughter. Lee is highly invested taking care of the Rosemont grounds. She is now "the unofficial guardian" (pg. 6) of the Rosemont Estates, due to the fact all the men on guard left after the houses were torn down.
     The second main character is Hal. Hal is a realtor who is struggling in his field due to large internet sales and the declining real-estate in Friendswood due to the hurricane and the pollution from the oil company. Like Lee, Hal also has ghosts from his past haunt him from time to time. He had an affair with a woman for seven weeks which often caused heavy guilt whenever he would see his wife, which ultimately made him turn to alcohol to relieve his guilt. Now Hal has ended the affair and has moved on from his alcoholic past. Hal has also became more religious. He stops to quickly pray

This is an example of oil and chemicals seeping through the ground.

multiple times, such as before he opens the door to the last house he shows Mr. and Mrs. Coller. Hal prayed "that the key would work" (pg. 17), and he also prayed before the call with Avery, "He'd pray good, and he'd pray right. Avery might just offer him what he needed" (pg. 19). Hal is optimistic that this deal with Avery may revive his real-estate career.
     The third character introduced is Willa. Willa is a high school student who suffers from hallucinations and she isn't sure why. Willa seems very shy and hesitant to tell anyone about her issue, fort she hasn't told her best friend Dani about nor her highly religious father. She is also very scared to lose her friend Dani like her mother lost her friend who turns out to be Lee. Willa "couldn't imagine not being friends with Dani" (pg. 24), because without Dani, Willa would be all alone.
     The setting of the Novel takes place in Friendswood, Texas. Recently Friendswood has been experiencing issues with pollution from the local oil companies. Due to chemicals seeping out of the ground, families have been moving and houses have been torn down. Friendswood also seems like a very religious town, as seen by multiple characters making religious remarks. While at dinner with her family, Willa thinks about her church after her father scolds Willa's sister for wearing devil horns. Willa states that "there seemed to be a lot of reverence for Satan at their new church" (pg. 23). Religion typically plays a large part in books that take place in the south, like To Kill a Mockingbird for example. Religion may continue to play a large role in the novel since it is shown multiple times in the beginning.

This video shows an example of what can happen to a person who is exposed to oil for a period of time. The man in this video is permanently harmed from the fumes and chemicals he was exposed to.