Another theme in the book is death. A lot of characters meet their death throughout the book and there is even the segment of the book where it is said that “nothing is permanent, not even death” because graves are being dug up in order to benefit coal companies. There is also the death resulting from Black Lung, mine roof collapse, Rachel’s heart problems, and many others. Different ways of dealing with death are found throughout the book as well as traditions and rituals. Dillon portrays the traditional approach to death by burying the trophy skull that Rachel brought back from the war. He believed that it should be respected, even if it was the enemy's. He also took great care of the family cemetery and wanted Rachel to be buried there in a simple and traditional way. Dillon also believed that death could tell a story. He goes to clean up the graves where a Polish coal miner had been buried in order to show it to Lech Walesa to get him to relate to the deaths in and of the coal mines. The death of coal mining towns was also included in the text. It shows the progress of the industry and how fewer people have the ability to stay in the area. As more of the jobs are mechanized, more people lose their jobs. The money stops following everywhere and the town starts to slowly die, one family and one business at a time.