Religion
The town of Holcomb is said to be “all equal, regardless of wealth,
color, or creed,” However, religion seems to have a lot to do with the class distinctions
in Holcomb. The little village seems to be made up of only Christian citizens.
In the surrounding county, (which falls in the “Bible Belt”) there seems to be
a hierarchy that everyone is aware of. The Garden City Country Club is a group
of successful, high ranking men made up almost entirely of Republican Presbyterians
and Episcopalians. In the book it is said that the occasional Democrat or
Methodist might find their way into the group, but for the most part, your religion
decides where you socially fall. This religious segregation is so predominant that
Nancy (who comes from a Methodist family) and Bobby (who comes from a Roman
Catholic family) are discouraged from seeing each other because an interfaith
marriage would be a scandal in this town. This kind of goes back to what I was
saying about how this town is so secluded, that it inhibits new ways of
thinking. People are very conservative and they don’t want things to change.
This makes it even more of a shock when the murders happen, because they’re so
trusting and wouldn’t expect any churchgoer to commit such an evil act.
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