The Sweet Hereafter Before and After the accident synopsis

In the final section of the novel, The Sweet Hereafter, Banks seems to be using the demolition derby setting as a place for everyone to meet and see just exactly how things have changed in the town of Sam Dent since the tragic bus accident that happened the previous winter. It serves as a place that can be compared and contrasted with how the townspeople act this year versus the previous years. It is also …

…that I see this town as well. It definitely resembles what I would think that a windblown scattering of isolated individuals would look like. Clearly this accident has affected the whole town in a way that might never be repaired. And the last section that takes place at the demolition derby was a place for them all to come together and show each other exactly how different it all was. <Tab/>