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.
Dear Alexander,
ReplyDeleteI thought the book was a little more predictable. However, I was a bit baffled when Royal did not attempt to purchase Hubbard's land. I thought that would be one of his top priorities. Royal was always saying how much he wanted to have land just like Mr. Gokey's, I was surprised he didn't take this opportunity to make his dream come true. Anyways the murder was a big impact on the story. I like how you said that it really shows how Mattie has changed. She seems to have matured since the beginning of the novel. Moving on, that was very interesting when you said the words A Northern Light can be compared to The North Star. I never thought of that and I find that very clever. I had some different thoughts about the last quote, however. I found myself at a pause after reading it. I thought there would be more. I thought we would know what happens next. What does Royal and Mr. Gokey think of Mattie now that she's left? How does Mattie like college? Is it everything she's always wanted? Anyways you make some very interesting points in your response and I found myself a bit puzzled after reading this book.
Sincerely, Brandon.