Please respond to one of the questions:
A. Unpack Lusa's dream on page 79. What does the dream mean?
B. In chapters 6 and 9, both named "Old Chestnuts," we start to learn more about Garnett's views on the relationship between man, the environment, and God. How would you characterize his viewpoints or his brand of environmentalism? What is the relationship of man to nature?
C. On Tuesday we noted that one of the themes in the book is language and (mis)communication. Look at the conversations that happen in Chapter 8 between Lusa and members of the Widener family and examine the different forms of communication that are occuring. How is Lusa both part of and apart from the Widener family?
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Well....the dream.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard for me to know exactly what this dream is all about, but I am willing to entertain a few notions.
First, Lusa has obviously just gone through an incredibly confusing and significantly debilitating (in some ways, liberating in others) loss, and it has left her empty. Unable to sleep, things have become a bit strange due in large part to her exhaustion. This dream is somehow a fulfillment of at least some of that emptiness.
In one sense, it may be her husband, Cole, or his spirit in some sense that is coming to visit her and provide her with some sort of reassurance. THe fact that she has already likened their deep love to that of moths is evidence that would make the fact that she is suddenly in an erotic embrace with a giant luna moth somewhat understandable.
Another theory is that perhaps this is her being on a higher plane, somewhere untouchable in her daily life, that she only reaches when the circumstances in her world become utterly unbearable. I think this moth character, which she also endows with mountain/woods/nature characteristics is showing her that there is something beyond what she can explain. As Kingsolver puts it, "What he'd reached out to tell her that morning, as she sat by near the window, was that words were not the whole truth." I think that she was connecting with her spirit world, with her spirit animal...but that's just my guess.
Question C
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 8, the conversation between Lusa, Ricky, and Herb is made even more interesting and important by their body language. Kingsolver’s details about the way that each are standing, the glances they give each other, Lusa’s blushes, tell more than the dialogue does. You really get a sense that Lusa is being ganged up on by her brothers-in-law from Kingsolver’s descriptions. On page 103, Lusa asks skeptically, “to tell me it’s supposed to stop raining, you came up here?” Then analyzes their similar faces for the truth, saying, “looking from one sun-toughened face to the other for some clue. It was always like this…the sense of having wandered into a country where they spoke English but all the words meant something different.” Then, ‘“Yep,’ said Herb. Ricky nodded to corroborate.”
The nonverbal clues give more away and are more significant than the actual dialogue. I love when that happens in stories. It is more interesting to follow as a reader. We really sympathize with Lusa by the end of their interaction. Especially with this line, when she is defending herself for the first time, ‘“It’s my farm now,” she said aloud. Her voice quavered, and her fingers felt hot.’ This description is brilliant. The details are so perfect and capture just how uncomfortable she is in this moment. Her relationship with her deceased husband’s family has never been stable; they never warmed to her, and now there is the assumption that she immediately changed her name back to her maiden one not even a week after her husband died. The Widener’s judged her from the start and never got to know her. Now they are still judging, but their accusations are so inaccurate, and there is no foreseeable way for her to make them know her side. She feels like she doesn’t belong and thinks they hate her, and they think she thinks she is too good for them. It is a complicated miscommunication that adds such an interesting layer to the story as a whole. This relationship and its parallel to nature (the moths) is beautifully done and captivating.
It is often said that when someone has a dream it is frequently related to the last conversation or thought that they had before falling asleep. I think this applies to Lusa’s dream as well. Prior to her slumber, Lusa begins to question whether she will spend the rest of her life alone. Jewel attempts to reassure Lusa that she will be able to remarry and, on account of being young, will be able to spend an entire lifetime with her mate. The stranger Lusa meets in her dreams says that he knows her and has observed the shape of her body. Upon hearing this, Lusa feels an erotic sensation rush through her being. I think this suggests that Lusa may fall in love with someone unexpected who has been beneath her nose the entire time. I also think that she will find such love in the one place that she has been so eager to leave behind – Zebulon Mountain. Her newfound love will undoubtedly be different than her love with Cole, for she now knows that love is more profound when it is spoken in a language other than words.
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