Please answer one of the following questions:
A. Why do you think this book is entitled Prodigal Summer? In what ways do all of the characters display "prodigal" characteristics?
B. The three major story lines are named "Predators," "Moth Love," and "Old Chestnuts." Why, besides acknowledging her respect for coyotes, spiders, and other predatory creatures, are Deanna's chapters named "Predators?" How does Lusa's life mirror the life cycle of her beloved moths? How does her love of insects lead to her emergence from her cocoon (i.e. her relationship with Crystal)? How do Garnett and Nannie remind you of "old chestnuts?" Are they extinct or going extinct?
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Prodigal Summer is a book enriched with unique and personal experiences in which three individual stories intertwine with an unexpected connection focusing on their relationships with each of their environments. During a summer’s time, these three separate stories are full of experiences underlining the main themes of love and happiness while interacting with nature. These plentiful experiences take an impact on each character making it indeed a “prodigal” summer. Although all of the story lines throughout the book seem to intertwine, it seems that each character in the book has a different approach to the term, prodigal. Deanna, in predators, seems to have a lack of abundance. She lives out in the wilderness, away from a prodigal lifestyle. She is much of an observer, and likes to guard the mountain in order to protect it from the harm of visitors. She lives on bare minimum. Lusa, on the other hand, has a very different summer. She lives around a large extended family, surrounding herself with all the factors that go along with that amount of people. Lusa gains a product off of the goats that she has managed, providing her with much more of an abundant life. The last story follows Garnett. Garnett owns a lot of chestnut trees and is very much obsessed with them. The summer treats him well, with the good luck of harvesting, supporting his love of the growth of his trees. I consider his life to be full of abundance as well.
ReplyDeleteBy definition, according to Websters dictionary, prodigal means profuse or wasteful expenditure, or yielding abundantly. I do believe this book is appropriately named because there are a plethora characters who are all different, incorporating their own views and opinions quite often and in great abundance. The stories of these characters intermingle creating a story with a natural setting and a theme of love.The numerous views portrayed by these characters come together to create a prodigal summer as Kingsolver saw it. Deanna likes to live simple which is not a very prodigal lifestyle, whereas Garnett enjoys his orchard of Chestnut trees and displays a much more complex and lavish lifestyle, which i most definitely see as prodigal.
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