What is the significance of religion in Crow Lake? How does Mrs. Stanovich’s Evangelicalism affect the narrative and set her apart from the rest of the community? In what way does Presbyterianism characterize the Morrisons?

How is Daniel’s family constructed as a foil to Kate’s family, and what is the purpose of this contrast?

What does the narrative conclude about the relative importance of nature and nurture? How does this dichotomy interact with the sense that the Morrisons are pursuing a specific destiny, set down by their great-grandmother?