White Smoke

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of addiction, substance use, racism, graphic violence, and mental illness. 

Photographs and videos are a motif in the novel that supports Community Memory and Its Generational Impact. In particular, they help Marigold learn the truth about Maplewood and the ghostly goings-on in her family’s house. More than the sights and sounds Marigold experiences during the day and night, which always have an element of doubt (since she may be half-asleep or dreaming), photos and video help solve the mysteries as real and tangible pieces of proof. For example, Eden Kruger is a board member of the Sterling Foundation, but as evidenced by the family photo on Reverend Clark’s set, Marigold learns she is also Reverend Clark’s daughter. Reverend Clark peddles the scam of “holy” seeds to Maplewood residents, collecting their donations in exchange for sending the seeds that will supposedly absolve their sins. This moneymaking scam contributes to residents’ socioeconomic struggles, which indirectly benefits the moneymaking goals of the Foundation.

Videos and photos of Devil’s Night don’t seem to exist when Marigold looks for them on social media. Her friend, Tamara, comes through, explaining that Instagram footage of the burnings only seems to exist outside of Cedarville.