How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #10
In four days' riding he crossed the Pecos at Iraan Texas and rode up out of the river breaks where the pumpjacks in the Yates Field tanged against the skyline rose and dipped like mechanical birds. Like great primitive birds welded up out of iron by hearsay in a land perhaps where such birds once had been. (4050)
Oil fields are compared to big primitive birds in the closing paragraphs, before John rides off into the dusty plains. What do you make of this—is the novel saying anything about the relationship between technology and the land here? Who do you think wins in that comparison? Does anyone?