Thursday, April 14, 2011
Bel and the Serpent
In Leah's first section of What We Learned, I noticed that she had finally stood up for herself but talking back to Nathon. Her father as well as the other men in the village did not belive that a female should hunt along with the men. Nathon stating to Leah, "You're only causing trouble, and I forbit it." Finally, Leah stands up for herself yelling back "I'm going with the men and that's final." showing that she now is making a transformation and is deciding to stick with it. No longer will her father push her down or treat her like she has been treated. As Kingsolver had stated, Nathon went crazy. That night the girls were terrified and even slept with knives, and metal pans. When reading this I could picture all the girls extremely terrified and just shaking under their covers. To think that Nathon was the total opposite of now is almost unbelieveable. Things definitely changing and I wish we could discuss the rest of the chapter as a class.
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I agree,I thought the image of the girls with knifes was really disturbing. Those poor girls were scared out of their minds!
ReplyDeleteI personaly think this is one of my favorite parts of the book...novel, whatever. It was a little disturbing to imagine Nathan whipping a sugar cane (kind of plant) untill it snaps and falls down. He could have killed Leah if she didn't run away! But I'm so glad Leah stood up to that daddy dictator. Although it's tragic that he pushed her from Christianity...
ReplyDeleteAlso, one of my favorite quotes is in here. I don't have the page number, but I believe Rachel says it. "Ruth-May peed her pants again just because dad coughed." it shows just how much fear comes from the wrath of Nathan.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this part too... It shows the violence and volatility of Nathan. Although Kingsolver has hinted at his aggression throughout the story, in this section we begin to see exactly what this man is made of. It made me sad to think of Orleanna helplessly trying to protect her daughters by pushing furniture against the door and arming them against THEIR FATHER. But this also makes me think of the poor AFrican citizens helpless to protect themselves against aggressive and oppressive outside nations.
ReplyDeletei agree with ross about that quote, it really shows how much fear he makes them feel and how irrational he is.
ReplyDeleteI really like the fact that leah finally stands up to her father
ReplyDeleteThis section of the book makes me really sad! I've never been exposed to that kind of violence or fear so i have no way to even begin to imagine what those poor girls have to go through. I cant imagine ever sleeping with something for protection when my father gets angry. I hope we see the girls find some freedom or relief from Nathan as the story goes on!!
ReplyDeleteI like what ross said about ruth may peeing her pants. Thats good stuff
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