Post your reader responses here: Choose a line from the text and explain why it stands out to you. Does this line shock you, confuse you, or seem important in some way? Does it make you ask a question? Can you make a connection to your life or another text? What is this line saying about people, or the world, in general?
Then, respond to someone else's post. Agree or disagree, but make sure that you add something new-- a new idea, a reference to another part of the book. Include textual evidence as you push the conversation forward. Ask more questions to keep the dialogue going...
"Mommy's tears seemed to come from somewhere else, a place far away, a place inside her that she never let any of us children visit..." (Pg. 50)
ReplyDeleteThis quote makes me really think about Ruth (James's mother). Why would a mother not tell her children about her past? Parents usually always tell everything to their children. Children should know of their parent's past and listen to the stories of their past. But Ruth never tells her children anything. She hides everything from them. I feel as if she doesn't want to tell her past to them because her children might look at her differently. Or, she's scared of remember the past herself and bringing back her past when she tells them.
I agree with you. I think that Ruth does not reflect positively on her past, and maybe that is why she is so closed-off with her children. Or, maybe it is because her parents were never very expressive and never really explained things to her. I think that this quote also shows how Ruth does not want to appear weak, so she downplays her problems in front of her children.
DeleteI think that Ruth, decided not to tell her children about her past because it is to painful to relive and also because they're children and they won't understand. The children would probably ask question after question and she probably wouldn't know all the answers. I also think that she keeps her past a secret because she doesn't want to seem weak in front of her kids. She always acts very strong and maybe talking about her past would bring out a soft spot in her which she rather not show her children. Ruth probably sees her self as the rock of the family and believes that she always haves to stand up straight and keep her family united.
DeleteI agree, I think Rose doesn't tell her children about her past because she doesn't want to relive it. However, I think she also doesn't tell them because she doesn't want anybody, especially her children to pitty her. She wants them to think of her as she is now, not as she once was, or who she could have been.
DeleteI kind of disagree with you Steph.I think that it is normal for parents to not tell their children many things about their past.(I still dont even know my mothers real age)I do agree with you,when you say that Ruth should tell her kids somethings about her past, just so that they feel closer to her in a sense that they are in her inner circle.Other then that i do agree with you where Ruth maybe is afraid of her past, but I think we should read more to really be able to say that given, that we only know some of the things she is running away from.
Delete"Any time he had a chance , he'd try to get close to me or crawl into bed
ReplyDeletewith me and molest me. I was afraid of Tateh and no love for him at all."
Pg 42
I chose this quote because it shocked me. I was surprised, disgusted &
even afraid of Tateh myself. This quote explains so many things and
answers so many questions. Tateh was the authority figure in her family,
maybe that is why she dislikes authority figures so much. This quote
reminds me a bit of Holden from The Catcher in The Rye when he stated he
had many weird encounters before not just with Mr.Antolini.I felt so bad for Rachel and what her own father had done to her. This is also why Rachel doesn't talk about her past and that has brought curiosity to James as a child. Why did his mother tell him always to mind his business? Probably to keep him safe.
I agree. I really like how you connected this to Catcher in the Rye. I think Ruth is ashamed of this which is why she keeps her past to herself. It shocked me too when I read that. She doesn't want her children to know until they're much older about what happened to her.
DeleteYeah what he did was absolutely sickening and monstrous. I was extremely shocked when I read that. I feel so bad for James mother for having to go through that. No one deserves that
Delete"I was ashamed of my mother, but see love didn't come natural to me until I became a Christian"
ReplyDeleteRuth didn't tell her children anything because maybe she feared them being ashamed of her. She fears her children feeling the same way but instead maybe they'd be ashamed because of how she is different. She doesn't want them to know about her mother because maybe she's still ashamed of her and her past. Ruth hated how she grew up and doesn't want to relive it by telling her children about it. She wants to forget about her past. She didn't like being jewish because no one accepted her especially when she married a black man. Is she ashamed of herself?
I wrote about the same quote :) look bellow
Delete"'Naw. If they put Jesus in this picture here, and He ain't white, and He ain't black, they should make Him gray. Jesus should be gray.'" Pg 53
ReplyDeleteI like this quote because it brings up some really complicated issues about race. It shows how Richie, the older child, is confused about his own identity as a mixed child, and about the whole concept of race and segregation. He also gets very involved in the Black Power movement. Why is it that Richie seems to be the child who is most unsatisfied with his mother's explanations of race and inequality? James is not yet questioning his mother or anyone else about segregation and injustice. Maybe it's just because he is the oldest.
Richie grew up in a society where he was thought of as "beneath" white people. No matter how hard Richie tried, he would not be good enough. He is questioning Jesus's race because he is angry. If they are worshipping a white man, what does that say? He knows he is no less a person than anyone else, and should be treated as such even through society never will. Richie is questioning Jesus's superiority.
DeleteI liked this quote to, because you never really hear of jesus being gray, but we do hear the debate about the race of jesus but i like the gray think. I think its funny that someone would think of jesus as gray, such a bland boring color.
Delete"I was ashamed of my mother, but see, love didn't come natural to me until I became a Christian."
ReplyDeleteRacheal really did love her mother. They shared some of the same pains and all of the same hardships. I think its really interesting that she is unable to come right out and say that she loves her mother. Racheal wants to get as far away from her childhood, and loving her mother makes that difficult. She probably feels guilty about leaving her mother behind. No matter how much you hate your family, it is hard to completely leave and start over.
I agree. I think that Rachel tries really hard to put her past behind her, but she struggles with it because it's impossible to completely forget your past. I also agree with the idea that the main cause of her struggles of leaving her past behind is the love and connection she felt for her mother.
DeleteI agree with you! I don't understand why Racheal can't just come out and say how much she actually loves her mother. But I think it's a way of showing how she wants to get away from her childhood and by not showing the love she had for her mom is helping her with that.
Delete"Of course I had something to run from. My father did things to me when I was a young girl that I couldn't tell anyone about"
ReplyDeleteThis quote stood out to me because I think it tells the reader a lot more about James' mother and gives a whole new perspective on her personality and why she is the way she is. I also think that this is one of the main reasons why she tries so hard to forget her past and shield her past from her children. She does not want them to know about her childhood because of this. I also think that this is the reason why she is so protective of her children. She grew up in a family where she never felt safety or comfort, and I think that is why she tries to make sure that all of her children are always safe, and she puts their lives before hers.
I completely agree with you. She does act protective and probably because of that horrible experience she went through. I wonder why she never told anyone, even eventually. It must've been so bad that she was too scared to tell anyone and therefore she doesn't want to risk her kids going through something as awful as what she went through.
DeleteI also agree with you. She grew up in a family that didn't give her any freedom, or at least her father didn't. She wanted to be free, and the only time she could do that was when her father wasn't home and she went running with the wind blowing her hair in every possible direction and the sun beaming down on her pale skin. These moments were described as the best times of her life. She even talked about how she wished that she could go to the place where the Jewish messiah, Elijah would be. Over a home where her father wouldn't crawl into her bed at night. She described it as the nightmare that would never end. I think she hated him for this and that is probably why she married a man completely different than her father.
Deletei definetly agree with what you're saying, i think that having an experience where you are sexually abused or harrased really sticks with you and puts a great affect on every day life descions. Which it really shows on how she brings up her children and the way she speaks to them. A question you could maybe ask is, is it because of that exposure of molestation that kind of isolates Mcbride from the rest of society?
Delete"Whether she is still in this world today I do not know.She would be the last of my mother's children still alive other than me." (pg.38)
ReplyDeleteThis quote stood out to me because it show's how Ruth is trying to get away from the life she is trying to forget. Which was Rachael. But she is struggling because she still loves and cares about her family but she continues not to show her feelings, since it's apart of the idea of starting a new life as Ruth.
"What color is God's spirit? It doesn't have a color, she said. God is the color of water. Water doesn't have a color."
ReplyDeleteThis is indicative of (mother) Rachel's world view and her values. She would seem to be a believer in Reverend Martin Luther King's dictum : That a person should be judged by the content of his/her character rather than the color of their skin. It would be interesting to see the different interpretations of their mother's view amongst all of her twelve children. Also important, in her lifestyle, was the role of religion in helping her cope and survive. It's of interest to me finding out how her children viewed her dependency on religious worship.
“It was the only time I ever saw her cry… Mommy’s tears seemed to come from somewhere else, a place far away, a place inside her that she never let anyone of us children visit, and even as a boy I felt there was pain behind them.” (p. 50)
ReplyDeleteThis quote stood out to me because I think it shows a lot of things about his mother. It shows that she really only feels safe in church. That is the only place where she feels its okay to let in her past and accept her problems. But why is she so scared to be open with her problems anywhere else? Why in church? I think the reason she is so comfortable in church is because her first husband was a minister, and introduced her to Christianity. He was also the person who allowed her to escape her horrible father, and overpowering yet unloving life. Christianity and church were here initial escape from this, they saved her life. For these reasons she feels as if she can really open up there, because they saved her once, they can save her again.
I can see your point but I don't entirely agree. The church is an environment where she feels she can safely display her emotions, and escape judgement and scorn. She may believe that but for her faith she would be a dead soul, but her strength of character makes me believe she would survive, in any case.
Delete" 'Does he like black or white people better?'
ReplyDelete'He loves all people. He's a sprit.'
'What's a sprit?'
'A sprit's a sprit.'
'What color is God's sprit?'
'It doesn't have a color,' she said. 'God is the color of water. Water doesn't have a color.' " PAGE 51
To me this quote was extremely significant because of the innocence in James demonstrated here. He is so curious about his identity, his past, his mother's past, his father's past, his religion, why it's his religion. He has a million questions and no one ever wants to answer them. He asks "what color is god's spirit?" and his mother simply says that he doesn't have a color. I think that his mother might've said this because of the fact that she wants him to know that although God is the father of all of man, he has no color. He is all colors, black, white, brown, all things in between. In a way this conversation reminded me of the bus ride to Dublin in Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. In that scene, Frank asks his father about cows and sheep. He had never seen them before so he says, "What's that?" His father says "A cow." He says "What's a cow?" His father says "A cow is a cow." This was so similar in the way that James' mother doesn't want to answer the questions she doesn't know how to answer or is too ashamed to. For example, her past. She is so ashamed of it and that's way she married a man who was the complete opposite of her father, a man who came to America, only cared about himself and money, and threatened her and her mother that he would send them back to Europe. Hopefully, she will be able to answer questions asked and James will be able to reach some understanding of the world, his life, his family, and his religion.
I completely agree with you analysis! I also said that many parts in this book remind me of Angela's Ashes! Aside from what you said, I found that both Frank McCourt and James McBride were unsatisfied with the vague answers to their questions so they made it a goal to discover their own truths. I think that you're right when Rachel wanted to marry a man who is the complete opposite of her father and maybe she used this relationship as a coping mechanism to forget her horrible past. However, when he died, she found new hobbies to keep herself preoccupied, but physically she was busy while mentally she was confused, sad, and alone.
Delete"You know it's so easy to hurt a child". -pg.40
ReplyDeleteThis quote resonated with me because I felt a mix of emotions. I felt so sorry for Rachel (Ruth) because a lot of kids were making fun of her for her religion and she's had a hard life: moving from place to place and not having a stable and loving home. This would infer as to why Rachel would leave little James at the bus stop in chapter 1. Rachel had to navigate her way through a tough childhood all by herself and had to change religions (and become someone she's not). However, I think the most outstanding scene that shed light to this quote was the fact that her father sexually assaulted her as a child. This is probably why she seemed unfazed and passive about McBride's stepfather's death and why she wants to stay very private. Dramatic emotions are not shown in her demeanor because she had to bottle so many emotions as a child.
I agree, Rachel had a very traumatizing childhood. She had to keep all her emotions bottled up because she wasn't allowed to verbally express how she felt in her family. The link you created between her being assaulted as a child and James McBride's stepfathers death was very true. Those two tragic events are reasons why she stays private and keeps everything to herself.
DeleteI agree, the quote brings up a lot of emotions. Children are the most emotional of humans, and when we grow up, we don't lose that side. Ruth had a tough childhood and which hurt her in many painful ways, yet when she grew up, she hid those feelings and refused to feel hurt.
Delete"Every Easter we had to perform at the New Brown Church, playing our instruments or reciting a story from the bible for the entire congregation."
ReplyDeleteI could really relate to this quote. I used to go to church a lot more often when I was younger and I too went to Sunday school. On my first communion I had to recite a couple stories from the bible in front of the entire church. When it was my turn to speak I completely freaked out and forget everything I was planning to say, just like Billy. It was definately up there for one of the most embarrasing experiences of my life. It was really amusing to read that part in the book. Im glad my mom didnt hit me.
I thought that this section of the book was very interesting for different reasons. I don't go to church, but a lot of things they practice at church interest me, because I haven't experienced it. I'm not religious, but this part gave me a little insight on what the church communities are like.
Delete"...I used to see the empty chair we left for Elijah at the table and wish I could be gone to wherever Elijah was, eating over at somebody else's house where your father didn't crawl in our bed at night, interrupting your dreams so you don't know if it's really him or just the same nightmare happening over and over again." pg. 43
ReplyDeleteThis part stood out to me for many reasons, but firstly it made me think about how this sexual abuse was a large factor in her private ways and distrust of authorities, and overall the Jewish faith. Her father was a rabbi, one of the most well regarded men in Judaism, who did awful things to her. This part also made me think about how Holden in The Catcher in the Rye was sexually abused as well, and they both create these fantasies where they can go and escape reality. Holden does this by lying, and James McBride's mother does this by daydreaming and creating elaborate fantasies.
I completely agree with you. James mother, like Holden wishes that they didn't have to live in the real world because it is always harder than their fantasy day dream life. They both use the little space that they have and turn objects and phrases into their safe haven, Holden lying and Ruth the chair.
Delete"I cut the questions...though it never stopped me from wondering, partly because of my own growing sense of self, and partly because of fear for her safety, because even as a child I had a clear sense that black and white folks did not get along, which put her, and us in a tight space." (Page 25)
ReplyDeleteThis quote stood out to me because it showed James's maturity being the child he is. He knew that by asking his mother these questions what kind of memories he was bringing up, but he needed some answers. It's like he almost understood his mothers lack of answers when we as readers don't. James also sympathized with his mother because she didn't want to answer questions that was being asked and as a result James couldn't answer his own questions. They were both in a tight space, he couldn't explain his story because his mother refused to. They both also look out for each others safety. James doesn't want his mother to get hurt because they don't know her story in the segregated world they live in. His mother wants to protect him from what he might think of her after she tells him what he needs to know.
"Naw. If they put Jesus in this picture here, and he ain't white, and he ain't black, they should make him gray... Richie stopped going to Sunday school after that, though he never stopped believing in god."
ReplyDeleteThis part stood out to me because it seems like everyone in James family has a problem with their race and other people's race. Richie says that he is nite her black nor white but green. His mother refuses to believe that she is white and James doesn't know what he is. I think that the reason why Richie didn't go back to Sunday school was because he didn't know weather to believe if Jesus was a color of not. The children of the family need to have solid answer about other people's race because they are not even sure what they are. After Richie ask what color Jesus is and gets no reply he says that Jesus should be gray. I think this is because since Jesus is neither black or white then he should be a mixture of both, black and white mixed together makes gray.
"She would bow down her head and weep. It was the only time I ever saw her cry."
ReplyDeleteThroughout the whole book, sames always noticed that his mom hid her emotions. when she was mugged, she didn't cry and get angry. She simply walked away. She always restrains her emotions until something she really cares about is affected, like her children. She attacks people who go after her kids. But other than that, she seems hard, as if she doesn't know how to show emotion. But in this scene, you realize that her religion is a very important part of her. Her family abandoned her, which is a very depressing memory, and religion was one of the things that kept her family alive, before the store. I think that church is really that place where she can let go of constantly hiding her emotion and it gives us insight to her "character".
I agree. Church is Ruth's place where she feels comfortable letting out all her emotions. I think she only feels comfortable doing this in church because in church she is able to feel God's love and forgiveness. Knowing that God loves her no matter what, makes her feel like it's okay to let out her emotions
DeleteThis is really powerful and something i didn't notice. She doesn't cry in signs of trauma, but when she reflects on the trauma is when she starts to show emotion. Rachel is a strange woman emotionally, and her outer expressions are a lot different than what she shows externally.
Delete"He taught me about a God who lifted me up and forgave me and made me new. I was lucky to meet him or I would've been a prostitute or dead...I was reborn in Christ." Page 23.
ReplyDeleteI think that this quote is significant because its show how much Ruth appreciates God and how God changed her life. I can visualize Ruth becoming a new person after becoming Christian. Her past didn't matter to her anymore. Having faith in a God that could forgive her made her feel like she had a place in this world. She feels love, an emotion that she has had difficulties feeling in her past. Ruth converting to Christian seemed like it was a fresh start for her. I think that a lot of people can relate to Ruth. I know that there are a lot of Christians in the world who have deep faith in God and that keeps them going in their life when they are struggling with problems. For example many Christians often pray and praying gives them faith. Christians believe that God sees all people as equal and loves every human, which means nobody is judged. Judging is something that Ruth dislikes and feeling loved is something she needed after she left Judaism and God could provide those things for her.
"You know it's so easy to hurt a child". pg.40
ReplyDeleteThis quote stood out to me because it shows me Rachel's realization of how easy she was and could be hurt in life. I feel this relates back to my previous quote where Rachel trys to run away from her fears,past,and hurt feelings. So when i read this line i realized the significant damage that Rachels father and mother had done to her. They contributed to Rachels bolted up feeligns and mixed emotions on who to trust, and what to trust them with. This relates to life now because some people do bolt up their feelings and hide behind but not many are willing to admit or see the damage that it has occured. I think this is why people arent able to move on in life and grow from their mistakes, but get stuck in them, because they dont take the chance to step back and see the damage that is repeatedly being done to them.
I agree that Ruth is constantly running from her fears and her past. I also agree that all this pain she is feeling, keeps her from trusting a lot of people. I think Ruth likes to stay private because she doesn't want to attract a lot of attention and people won't judge her as much.
DeleteI agree and I felt the same way reading this line. You're right that Rachel's mother and father had done damage. But I don't agree with the last part about people growing up from their mistakes. How does this connect to Rachel?.
Delete"Folks will... say, 'Oh, she felt low, so she went on and married a nigger'. Well, I don't care. Your father changed my life." -page 43
ReplyDeleteSome people's experiences are so much more difficult than my own and they faces hardships that I cannot even imagine. Rachel is one of those people. Growing up she had to move, was poor, had a disabled mother that embarrassed her. Her father was mean, made her work and worse than anything, molested her. He terrified her and I think that anyone could relate to her if they were in such an awful situation.
Through all of her hardships, Rachel found the strength to marry the man she loved despite the difficulty of marrying a black man in the South. At that time it was illegal in many states for a white woman to marry a black man. I cannot imagine what they experienced. She could have been killed. She can still be killed. I feel happy that after so much hardship she found a man she loved and who gave her strength. I even feel proud of her because she is changing the world-moving forward. She loves her children and she raised them under more protection but only for their benefit. Rachel accomplished all of this through much hardship.
I completely agree with you on how Rachel is such a strong woman after going through such a difficult childhood and having a father that molested her. To me, I think she married her husband to almost defy her Jewish/whiteness and to find someone she feels safe with, and it doesn't matter to her because she deserves her happiness now.
Delete“…..but even as a boy I knew God was all-powerful because of Mommy’s utter deference to Him, and also because she would occasionally do something in church that I never saw her do at home or anywhere else...” Pg. 50
ReplyDeleteI think the church was one of the only places where James’s mother felt safe to express her emotions because nobody there would judge her. Church probably meant a lot to her because god was one thing that she believed everyone could share. Praying to god gave her a lot of confidence and hope since she was always in pain. I think James noticed how important church was to his mother, which was why he took it seriously.
Pamela Yiadom
ReplyDeletePg.39" I still remember the smell of the south".
This line stood out to me because it proved my prediction or more like point. And it did that by her actually telling us that she could still remember that smell. And that makes me think that this must be important if she remember's that smell. So far I've learned about her unforgettable past, but I wonder why she still holds on to certain things like the smell of the south. And that brings up another point, which is that maybe she is protecting her past but she doesn't want to forget it. Us humans do the same thing. We protect ourselves from the past and others too, but we still hold a lot of things from the bad experience. This line mostly confused me.
"We attracted a lot of attention when we traveled because we were poor and Jewish and my mother was handicapped...I was ashamed of my mother, but see, love didn't come natural to me until I became a Christian." P. 38
ReplyDeleteThis quote stood out to me because it shows that Ruth didn't really like the Jewish religion. As the daughter of a rabbi, it is common to follow what your father does, but in this case Ruth converts to Christianity once she moves to New York. It seems like Judaism wasn't comforting for her and she wanted to abandon her beliefs (Maybe because she saw her father being very rude to his African American customers). New York is a very diverse place and I think she found that Christianity was better for her and her children to follow because it promoted humility and patience.
"I'm crying because I'm happy"
ReplyDeleteThis quote really stood out to me because as much as Rachel hates Judaism, she really doesn't hate religion in general, and it shows that religion doesn't have to be harmful. She feels freer when she's at church, she said God made her reborn, and she felt open while at church. Her family life was nothing special, and her house was not a very lovey one, (her dad insulted her mom for being handicapped) Especially in a Baptist church, a sect known for happy sermons and a family like environment was where she could feel most at home. She feels that religion can be good for the kids too, and she gets them involved with the church as well.
I completely agree with you, but I also think that she turned her kids away from Judaism because of the horrific experiences she had there. I know that judaism can be a very comforting religion if interpreted a certain way, but that's not what Rachel grew up and she doesn't want to put her kids through that at all.
DeleteI agree with both of you! I think parenting really affects how the child parents her own kids. Rachel was affected by Judaism in a bad way so she felt that she needed to stay away from it when raising her kids. This is similar to catcher in the rye. Holdens parents were never really very open to him and they didn't seem to truly love him. When Holden grew up, he became lonely and some what isolated, I think this is a direct influence from his parents.
Delete“It was the only time I ever saw her cry"
ReplyDeleteThis quote really stood out to me because it showed just how much religion and church truly meant to James' mother. Christianity had literally saved her, and she is so happy that she was able to find peace. This gratitude towards religion is what drives her to enforce religion on her children. She hopes that by making them go to church, they can obtain the peace and wholeness that she was able to.
I agree with what you said about religion being very dear to James' mother. But I wonder how her past experiences with religion, growing up an orthodox Jew, would have affected her view on religion? One would think she would completely despise all religious groups, but she seems not too. This reveals how much she really depends on church or some sort of religion to stay as strong as she does, with so many children to care for.
Delete"He only wanted money. That and to be an American. Those were the two things he wanted and he got them too, but it cost him his family, which he ran into the ground and destroyed," (p.41).
ReplyDeleteI chose this quote because it illuminated the horrible childhood Jame's mother experienced, mostly due to her horrible, abusive father. I think this is why she chose run away from her family. Also, her childhood experiences are what probably drove her to want to have such a large family, which she tries to care for and love so dearly. But I wonder why she would make this so hard on herself by having so many children, especially if she had experienced poverty before? Why put her children though a similar situation?
"Of course I had things to run from. My father did things to me when I was a young girl that I couldn't tell anyone about"
ReplyDeleteOut of the 2 chapters we read, this most definitely stood out to me the most. When someone is sexually abused as a child, then tend to become a harden adult and they don't share their emotions easily. And this is exactly who James's mother is. From her childhood, the distrust and fear from her father morphed into something she stores inside and becomes closed off to her kids.
"but see, love didn't become natural to me until I became a Christian" (P.38)
ReplyDeleteI think that this quote shows how religion effected her life in a nutshell. Orthodox judaism is a very somber religion and has excitement. So for a child like herself she must have a very negative outlook on judaism. I think that this view stuck with her throughout her life but then when she found christianity she learned to view things from a different perspective and see outside of the narrow mindset that she inherited from orthodox judaism. I think that she puts such an emphasis on religion with her children because religion changed her outlook on life so much, so she thinks that her children should share this outlook on religion and life with her.
"Of course, I had something to run from. My father did things to me when I was a young girl that I couldn't tell anyone about"
ReplyDeletei think that this quote was really significant to me because it shows how it may have possibly affected Mcbride from the state she is in, in the present of the book. i know that from prior knowlage when you are scarred by something so big in life like molestation or any kind of sexual abuse, especially from a father, when you grow up having that memory you become mentally unstable or more aggressive. And that tells you a lot about the character and how they may have been built up as very strong and cautious of how they bring up even their own children.
Oscar Belkin-Sessler
ReplyDeleteThe Color Of Water
Blog #2
“I love to sprint, just to feel the wind blowing on my face and see things and not be at home. I was always a running-type person.” (PG. 42)
I chose this quote because this is the second time Rachel mentions how she likes to run. In the next paragraph she talks about how she had something to run from. I wonder if she didn’t have something to run from, would she still be a running-type person? I think this part of her is very significant and foreshadows things in the book. I think that when she talks to her kids, she doesn’t like to talk about her past because of traumatic events and things that she is ashamed of. In a way she is running from her problems. I think being a runner is a good and bad thing. It is bad because like I said it involves running from your problems, but it can also be a good thing in the context of “Breaking away” and “Being free” Another significant part of the quote is “And see things and not be at home.” I feel like Rachel is most comfortable outside of home and in the unknown. I find that she likes to put herself outside of social norms. For example, in last nights reading, Rachel talks about how she goes to Red Hook and just walks around, even though in the sense of social norms she “Doesn’t belong there” Rachel is an interesting character and she is far ahead of her time.
"It wasn't bad up there really, but as usual Tateh's contract didn't get renewed and we had to leave"
ReplyDelete-pg. 39
This line stood out to me because I thought it was a display about how her life could of went. They're family was happy up in glen falls and if Tateh's contract was renewed then they would still live there and she could be happy but she wouldnt have had all of her kids. or if thay wen to NYC like her mother suggested they could of found a home there and a synagouge with a stable contract. We see here that her life could have been good and she could have loved her family.