The little boy was the only one who got sick (raging sore on his face) and yet he and the little girl were both eating the same diet (possum,etc.... whatever the dad could hunt and bring home)--yet she remained or looked to be perfectly healthy without the milk and vegetables the doc told the mom to give to the boy to cure him?
Just wondering......it seemed odd to me.
The movie had a number of inconsistencies like this. I guess the best answer is to just allow for a healthy amount of 'artistic license.'
I thought the young wife - Nona - looked WAY too peachy throughout the movie, considering she was a hard-scratch farm woman living in an environment that was little removed from squalor. And yet, she always looked like she had just stepped out of the beauty parlor, hair neat as a pin, etc.
“I woke last night to the sound of thunder…. How far off, I sat and wondered” — Bob Seger - “Night Moves“
Yes you'd think she'd at least sweat! ha? The only people who actually looked like they were hard working farm folk were Granny and that mean neighbor/farmer who wouldn't share his garden goods or well water or milk (except grudgingly).....but he took credit for catching that giant catfish quick enough!
Good movie, but the inconsistencies do stand out unfortunately.
I believe he had pellagra, which was mentioned, along with "spring sickness", in the film:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pellagra
I thought the young wife - Nona - looked WAY too peachy throughout the movie, considering she was a hard-scratch farm woman living in an environment that was little removed from squalor. And yet, she always looked like she had just stepped out of the beauty parlor, hair neat as a pin, etc.
Did you ever consider that this was how the main character saw her, this is a novel come to life, they were happy with each other, they had everything to live for.
shareMaybe the same way that multiple people may be exposed to a disease and only a few of them contract the disease. It's all in how strong your immune system is.
Mountain Man
Absolutely!
Was he older or younger than the little girl? Granny said her three children who died of the "spring sickness" were dead by the age of six.
Maybe it takes longer for pellagra to develop.
The treatment described by the doctor could alleviate symptoms attributable to several vitamin deficiencies. Pellagra is caused by deficiency of vitamin B3. The best sources are meat products, but green vegetables and milk are also good sources. In modern times, milk is a less desirable source for these vegetables because it is dense in calories and we tend to be overweight already. Prior to WW II and the mechanization of "everything," many people lived as subsistence level farmers and lacked good nutrition. Milk would be a good substitute for everything that they lacked.
I'm not a doctor, but I suspect that Pellagra and other vitamin deficiency related diseases would show up first in people with the lowest fat reserves and with the highest metabolic rate. A growing boy might well be the first in the family to show symptoms due to vitamin deficiency, but the others would follow soon unless the vitamins showed up in their diet.