11/4/12 Alexander Ho

After reading the last part of the book, I felt that the ending was less than I expected. I expected that Royal would buy be trying to buy Emmie Hubbard's land. None of the adults could buy the land because they did not have enough money, so it must be a child who has been saving his money. Mattie had no intentions of buying the land because she planned to move to Bernard, so only Royal is left. Royal wanted to buy "that land for [him and his Mattie]"(330) to live on and to farm, so the Hubbard's land would be the best choice being between the Gokey and Loomis land.
     As I read on in the book, I found the murder seems to have had a great impact on the shaping of Mattie's life. I now think the author included the murder to develop Mattie's character by showing how she would deal with burden knowing that Grace was killed. I believe that Jennifer made Mattie keep the secret to herself to show how much she has grown since the beginning of the book. For example, if Mattie found out the truth about the murder at the beginning of the book, she would most like have told the truth, but through her life experiences through the Glenmore and with people like Weaver, Grace, Ms. Wilcox, and table six, she learns there is a place and a time for everything. When thinking about whether or not to shine a light on Grace's death she thinks about "where [Ms. Wilcox] voice got [her]" (362). Ms. Wilcox voiced her opinion and was suppressed by many others, and Graced voiced her opinion about Chester and she died. I also believe the author did not have the truth revealed to every character in the book because she did not want to skew the historical aspect of the book. The link tells about the historical part of the murder which I do find very interesting.   http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/classics/chester_gillette/index.html
     After reading the book, I also think I understand the author's choice for the title now. A Northern Light is a symbol for the search to better ourselves and to persevere through hardships. I think the Northern Light is another term for the North Star, which guides people at sea in their desired direction. The sea could be a metaphor for the hardships the characters must live through. As demonstrated throughout the book, Mattie tries to better herself when she says she tries to be unselfish when talking to Ms. Wilcox, but cannot always be. She lives through her mother' death, and her brother's running away. She definitely must persevere through the hardships life has presented to her. Mattie betters herself by traveling in a northern, or positive direction towards "New York City. To [her] future. [her] life" (380). I think that the quote is a great way to end the book.

11/2/12

11/2/12

I was slightly disappointed by the end of the book. I had really hoped the ending would be far less...predictable. Honestly, I felt the last line of the book was extremely cliche, "To New York City. To my future. To my life." (380) I don't think that such a dull and common ending does the rest of the book justice. It's as if Donnelly was tired of writing and just wanted to finish the book so she ended with a boring, flat resolution.
However, I was pleasantly surprised when Royal gave Mattie her birthday present. In Mattie's own words, "I couldn't believe it. He might as well have said it was a diamond necklace." (334) It shows how far he was willing to go to make things work with Mattie. I think it's unfortunate that know one really understands Royal's motivation to marry Mattie though.
My favorite part of this section of the book is when Mattie flashes back to a time with her mother. She uses beautiful symbolism to describe how her mother used to prepare fresh strawberries for her family. She describes the strawberries by saying, "I think that what they tasted of was happiness." (301) She'd had a difficult life, and she thinks leaving will sole her problems, but I really do hope that everything works out for Mattie.

Response 4 Brandon McGuirk

I knew it.  As I stated before in one of my previous posts, Mattie would have to make a decision whether to stay at home with Royal or go to college in New York, I knew it all along.  Anyways, to begin our last part of A Northern Light, by Jennifer Donnelly, Mattie receives a letter stating that she has been accepted to attend college in New York.  Wait, hold on one second, before I say anything more, yes, these last 80 or so pages are about Mattie saying goodbye to her old life and saying hello to her new one.  She even returns the ring that Royal gave her after proposing.  Anyways, instead of writing about Royal, I would like to talk about Mattie's best friend Weaver.  They have been through thick and thin together, and now, it is time for them to say there goodbyes.  As Mattie was saying her final fair well to he father, he gives her some shocking information.  "'You know about those men who beat Weaver?' 'Only that they were trappers.  And that Higby put them in jail.  Why?' 'They must've got out.  Weaver's mamma says they're the ones did this.  Killed the hinny and most every chicken she owned.  Pig got away, at least.  Ran off across the field into the woods.  Got the Loomis boys out after her.'" (350)  Weaver was an African American.  This is why some evil men beat him when he was younger.  Mattie even knew that .  But what she didn't know was that the men that had previously beaten Weaver, have gotten out of jail.  The first thing that these men did was go after Weaver's family.  They even went so far as to steal money from Weaver's mother, then burn down her house.  All of this information may be a bit harsh and come off as if Mattie would be better if she hadn't known, but her father knew that she should know this information about Weaver because after a couple of days, she will never see him again.  Anyways, moving on, Mattie finds another letter from Grace to Chester.  She decides to read it and says some interesting things after she finished.  After comprehending this, she reminds herself of Miss Wilcox and how much they have been through.  "Voice, according to Miss Wolcox, is not just the sound that comes out from your throat but the feeling that comes from your words." (361)  Mattie finally understands what this statement means.  This means that your voice is not just words spoken out, your voice is what makes you, you.  Your voice is what makes you sound like you.  Yes, this might be a bit confusing, and this is very hard to explain, but, for example, my voice is what makes me sound like Brandon McGuirk.  It what  makes Alexander Ho sound like Alexander Ho, Joshua Hess sound like Joshua Hess, and Mary O'Connor sound like Mary O'Connor.  Therefore, what Miss Wilcox is trying to say is that your voice is what makes you, sound like you.  However, to reflect on EVERYTHING that has gone on in Mattie's life, she leaves us with one thing to say: "I reach for his hand and clasp it.  He hoists me onto the 10:51 southbound.  To Utica and Herkimer.  And all points south.  To Amsterdam and Albany and beyond.  To New York City.  To my future.  My life." (380)  That's it.  Mattie decides to follow her dreams in which she had stated all the way towards the beginning of the story.  To attend college in New York.  To conclude my final response, I have decided to post a song written and sung by the band Falling In Reverse.  http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/fallinginreverse/sinkorswim.html  Yes, I do know that it may not fit many people's desire in music, but if you really listen to the lyrics, they explain how one can move on in life while leaving others behind.  If one can only have that courage to choose to "swim+" rather than "sink" than they will have that opportunity to succeed tin life and accomplish what they've stated to be their goal.

Response #4 11/2/12

     Now that the book is over, I have some take away thoughts from the book. Mattie's final decision is her biggest yet, and lasts for well over 50 pages. It is whether or not to go to college or stay with royal. This is a big deal, considering she thinks she is trapped and doesn't want her friend Weaver to stay and tells him "just go! Before you're stuck here forever. Like an ant in pitch.' Like me," (pg358).She knows her outcome and tries to save her friends before its too late. But her mother has always wanted her to grow up, go to college, and be successful. It is good that Mattie sometimes "miss [her] own mama so much that it hurts," (pg300), because it shows that she cares for her, unlike before where she was mad for her leaving all the motherly chores to do. I'm glad she finally forgets the past and starts to see more clearly. And at the very end, she decides to go to college! Hooray! She didn't want to be cooped up in the town, knew college was a once in a lifetime chance, and knew she could do so much there, so she made the choice to get onto the train to take her home. And we all must talk about the last line, "To New York City. To my future. My life," (pg380). Some people think it's good, other people think it's cliche, but I don't know what to think. What I do know is that it summarizes the next step in Mattie's adventure fairly well. Sure it isn't original or interesting, but it makes the point the author wanted to make, I assume.
     In my case, I think the book title means a guide to your destination. The Northern Light reminds me of a star that helps traveler know which way to go to get home, so it is like a Northern Light symbolizes the onward push people need to follow to succeed.
~Hess