Grace

This study guide will help you analyze the novel extract entitled “Grace” by Philipp Meyer, from the novel American Rust (2009). You can also find a summary of the text, as well as inspiration for interpreting it and putting it into perspective.

Philipp Meyer (b. 1974) is an American writer of novels and short stories. “Grace” is an extract from Meyer’s novel American Rust (2009), which focuses on the decline of the American manufacturing industry.

Excerpt

Below, you can read an excerpt from our study guide:

Throughout the narrative, Grace is mainly melancholic as she thinks about the past. For example, she recalls the times when “there had been so much life” in the town of Buell that workers “clogged the streets”. Back then, Grace was young and ambitious: “She remembered being a teenager and being sure she would leave the Valley; she had not wanted to end up a steelworker's wife – she would move to Pittsburgh or even farther”. However, when her father forced her to work at a steel mill, she abandoned her plans.

As Grace thinks about her life, her melancholy soon shifts towards resentment. She recalls being forced to abandon her studies “when the layoffs came”, which meant that she did not have the opportunity to educate herself and earn better wages. She also seems to resent not being allowed to decide for herself – “Both then and now, she thought, it's some man making half of your decisions”. However, ...