After reading from pages two-hundred and six to three-hundred and four of A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly, I was very surprised. During the ninety-nine pages, Mattie discovers the truth about the murder of Grace, decides to abandon her dream of college due to a promise she made a long time ago, and decides to marry Royal. The event that most surprised me was Mattie’s decision to give up college to take care of her family. Mattie’s life during the first part of the book revolved around her acceptance to Bernard. She worked days in attempt to raise eighteen dollars for a train ticket to New York City. The author wrote the book so that the reader would continue to think that Mattie would stay in Big Moose Lake. To support the promise, Jennifer sickened Mattie’s entire family while she was working at the Glenmore. Mattie finds out about the incident when Tommy says “ It’s your pa and sisters, Matt. They’re powerful sick” (283). Mattie will be prone to think that she must stay at home to take care of the family when they are sick, or everyone will die. Also, Royal comes to help save the animals when they the Gokey family is sick. Without Royal, all the farm animals would have died, so Mattie will feel obligated to accept his marriage proposal if he makes one. I think that at the end of the book, Mattie will be married to Royal, and she will not go to college. She will regret her decision just like how her friend, Minnie, married and had babies, but regretted her actions.
I am also surprised that after being beating up Weaver, the people are arrested and jailed. I am surprised because during the 1930's there was still a lot of racism, and the Jim Crow laws were still in affect. I do not think that the part in the book would be possible at during the time. People like Emmett Till were killed for breaking a Jim Crow law. The murderers were not found guilty in court. In Weaver's case, he defeated the White people which was unheard of at the time.
It is also revealed in the nine-nine pages that Emily Wilcox, Mattie's teacher, is really Emily Baxter, a scandalous poet who has been criticized for her feministic poetry. Mattie's teacher is my favorite character in the story because she is a social rebel. She speaks out against issues in the American society and criticizes them, and she finds trouble doing such as with the Society for the Suppression of Vice. The leader, Mr. Comstock, "says [she] is obscene" (219), but the causes that she writes for are valid since " It's not illegal, not yet at least, for a man to destroy his wife's home"(221). I believe Emily is writing for a good cause and she is being suppressed by men of higher power who believe that they are better than everyone else.
Dear Alexander Ho,
ReplyDeleteI was very surprised when Mattie decided to take the focus off of her going to college. I mean, that's what her big dream in life is. Although her reason was to take care of her family, I had always thought that this is something that would be way too important to her that she wouldn't give up ANYTHING for it. Anyways, on the topic of Weaver, I for one wasn't surprised when the men who beat him up were arrested. Even though this book takes place in the 1930's, violence was never tolerated. Anyways, moving onto your opinions on Emily Wilcox, I do respect the fact that she is your favorite character, and yes she is a good example of a social rebel. Yes, she is being "suppressed by men of higher authority who believe they are better than everyone else." I do like how she has the courage to act out against those who believe they can do whatever they like just because they are of higher status than you.
Sincerely, Brandon.
It was a big shocker to see Mattie deny going to college. When i read that, the little hope I had for Mattie making a good thing out of her life died a little. It just shows how quickly opinions can change I guess. She really wanted to go to college, but the obligations of being at home must have been to much for her to turn down.
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