July's People

Much of the narrative is constituted by the Smales family’s adaptation to primitive life. Comparisons are drawn between the life in July’s family settlement and the modern life in the city where the Smales had many rooms, cupboards for glasses that they only used for guests, a swimming pool, and a master bedroom where the kids didn’t go. Though they adapt substantially to living all in one room, walking with bare feet, washing in the river, cooking over a fire, and though they often seem comfortable in these circumstances, they cannot let go of their desire for their modern life. The kids, however, never complain, as though primitive life comes easy to them.