[pg. 45 - 54 Summary] [Chapt. 5 Honest Dirt] This chapter explores the differences in the decades, challenges, relationships, and mannerisms among the siblings still residing in the Westover home. Faye focused on providing her children with a formal education and addressing Tyler’s speech impediment and Luke’s learning disability. Gene, however, prioritized solely practical skills over everything else, primarily math and reading. Tyler becomes the central figure in this chapter due to his choice to pursue a formal education in the end.
Because of his speech impediment, Tyler’s tongue was described as heavy and quiet, and Tara mentions that they seldom spoke. Ultimately, Tyler was the only sibling to “abandon the mountain to join the illuminati” — a term used to describe college. Tyler abandons the practical trade, such as truck driving, welding, or scrap work, his father had prioritized. The phrase “Honest Dirt” refers to the term Gene used to reference his blackened fingernails after a long day’s work, when seen by Tara.
The chapter concludes when Tara, at 10 years old, watches Tyler leave home to attend college. She notices his room emptied of CDs and sees him washing his car, preparing to leave. They hug, and Tyler tells her he’ll miss her before driving down the hill to the highway. Tara watches until the dust settles, closing the chapter by noting she would not see him again for five years, until she was 15. This was described as a critical moment and the chapter closes on that.
