1. Mr. and Mrs. Rigley treat Elizabeth Bates (the main character) with respect (par. 95, 110, among other examples). Why do they, do you suppose?
2. Notice that Mrs. Rigley speaks differently from Elizabeth Bates; and Mr. Rigley speaks in yet another way. Can you describe these differences?
3. The mother of Walter, Elizabeth's husband, enters at par. 131. How would you describe Walter's mother? Can you explain how such a mother would have a son who causes trouble as Walter apparently has? What kind of trouble do you think Walter has caused?
4. Just so we're all clear on this--how does Walter die? Briefly explain the circumstances.
5. Elizabeth's preparations (166-167): what do they tell us about Elizabeth, or what qualities of hers do her actions reinforce in our minds?
6. Can you identify anything that is heart-breaking in this story, from its beginning to par. 167?
7. Choose a sentence or phrase and comment on it.
14 comments:
Hey Guys
So, there is one sentence in particular that stood out to me in this particular section of the story and I would really like to share my opinion on it, leading into the conclusion that I will be answering question # 7 today. "The children had their hands and faces wiped with a flannel. They were quiet. When they had put on their nightdresses, they said their prayers, the boy mumbling. The mother looked down at them, at the brown silken bush of intertwining curls in the nape of the girl's neck, at the little black head of the lad, and her heart burst with anger at their father who caused all three such distress. The children hid their faces in her skirts for comfort". Although long, I feel this is an important passage to discuss. To be so scared to the point where you are practically crying and so sad or frightened where your body begins to do unusual things it's not used to is very strange and suggests something about the mother and the power she demonstrates towards her students. Does anyone else feel the mother have a very powerful part in this story?
I'm going to answer 4. and 2.
4.) Elizabeth's husband, Walter dies from suffocation. Miners often die from tunnel collaspe. The text says he wasn't harmed, but obviously trapped in a small space, he ran out of air/ was smothered.
2.) Mr. Rigley speaks very poor english. He leaves out a lot of words and it's hard to make out his pronounciation. Elizabeth, however, speaks more clearly and is better spoken. Maybe this indicates that she is more educated than Mr. Rigley whose life is all about the mines. I'm also not sure, but is Mr. Rigley speaking in an Irish or Scottish accent? Because I can easily see his words sounding like that.
To get on the same page, Walter dies because he runs out of air and his body shuts down. He ran out of air because he was caught in the room and your body cannot function without air, therefore, he collapsed and died.
Hey Everyone,
I am going to answer question number 6. The most obvious part of the story that is heart breaking is when Walter is dead. This is not only heart breaking for his wife but also his old mother. It is sad because the author tells us what the wife and mother are doing while they find out what has happened. Walter's mother shows a lot more emotion and is uncontrollably crying while his wife is more shocked and in disbelief. It is extremely heart breaking because Walter had several children as well as a wife and a mother. Therefore his death affects a lot more lives and all the more heart breaking. It is also kind of heart breaking or sad that the smell of chrysanthemums has such a large impact on Walter and his wife's relationship. In the very beginning she picks up some chrysanthemums and smells them and then later puts them in her apron belt and at the end of this part when she has found out he dies she mentions how the room smelt of chrysanthemums. It is rather sad or heart breaking that the smell of chrysanthemums will always remind her of her husband and how much she loved him even though he was a lot of trouble. It's just so heart breaking to experience this situation with the characters and watch it play in your mind.
Hello!! My response is for number 5. I figured I would try to tackle it because I made some comments about her personality yesterday and thought I could continue my analysis of her.
Again, I got the feeling that she is a very strong, resilient woman. She cries a bit, but she is in no way as upset as Walter's mother. She almost immediately tackles the logistics of the situation, such as where to put his dead body, and still keeps her children in mind throughout all of this. She is comforting and protecting others, when really, she should be the one who needs a shoulder to cry on. While I take this as resilience, it could also suggest that she really did not love Walter. However, I feel that she does love him.
She seems to be in a bit of shock (she is pale, perplexed, and shivering) which makes it all the more impressive that she is able to be productive at all. Anyways, I still feel that Elizabeth is a strong woman and puts others needs and necessities before her own. I feel that this is also a bit of a habit, and even if she wanted to just break down and cry in someone’s arms, she wouldn't let herself. She is too used to being resilient.
Thanks! Good night all!!
7. Choose a sentence or phrase and comment on it.
While reading the story "The Odour of Chrysanthemums" I found a sentence that was interesting. I picked this sentence because it has a good imagery. "They sat down to tea. John at the end of the table near the door, was almost lost in darkness. Their faces were hidden from each other. The girl crouched against the fender slowly moving a thick piece of bread before the fire. The lad, his face a dusky mark on the shadow, sat watching her who transfigured in the red glow." (Pg.335) This sentence makes me visualize what's going on in the story. The arthor of the story describes the shadows of the characters and the fire. Reading this sentence brings relaxation in my opinion.
3. The mother of Walter, Elizabeth's husband, enters at par. 131. How would you describe Walter's mother? Can you explain how such a mother would have a son who causes trouble as Walter apparently has? What kind of trouble do you think Walter has caused?
Walter's mother could be described as dramatic and exaggerated. She is crying before they even find out that Walter is dead and it seems that she isn't crying because he might be since when Elizabeth brought it up she acted as if it were impossible. She was crying in a way that seemed like she babied Walter. She may have annoyed him with the way she obsessed over him and maybe he rebelled against her later. The mother-in-law also seems annoying because I believe she tells Lizzy to calm herself when she then proceeds to cry and moan. She is very talkative and doesn't give Elizabeth much space or respect when she tells her the news of her husband. All she cares about is telling Lizzy about how she raised him and how he was a good boy before and doesn't understand that Elizabeth needs space. She seems to be in denial that she raised a boy who became a burden to his family. I could see her having a son who doesn't appreciate her and grows up to be like Walter because of the way she has to be the center of attention and fails to realize when she's done something wrong. She didn't realize that Elizabeth wanted her to stop talking or that she was moaning and it was disrupting the children's sleep. She seems to be in her own little world where she has done nothing wrong. Walter must have grown up to be an alcoholic. The story implies that he comes home late twice a week from partying and has been brought home passed out and was immature about handling his responsibilities as a father and husband. His wife takes care of him when he's drunk and sick and it seems to be enough of a routine that the children are familiar with it. He probably doesn't father them because Elizabeth mentions that the children are "her business". Overall, the only good he brings to his family is the money he earns and this is evident when the first thing Elizabeth thinks about when imagining that he is dead is how will they live on a smaller income.
Hello,
She wept a little, unknowing, while the old mother rocked herself and moaned. Elizabeth remembered that they were bringing him home, and she must be ready...standing a moment pale and perplexed. I look at this quote because it shows the reaction from his death. Now we all see clearly that the father's mother is extremely upset over the news. I think the reaction difference from Elizabeth is not surprising. Mother's sometimes believe in the purity and innocence of their children no matter how much evidence proves otherwise. Elizabeth, however, knows what really lies with the dead corpse. I just find this quote insighting because oft the initial reaction she has.
1. Mr. and Mrs. Rigley treat Elizabeth Bates (the main character) with respect (par. 95, 110, among other examples). Why do they, do you suppose?
I suppose Mr. and Mrs. Rigley treat Elizabeth Bates with respect because she works hard as a housewife and stays faithful to her husband, even though he is an alcoholic. They feel sympathetic towards her because they probably believe that she does not deserved to be treated coldly and left alone to worry when the husband was drinking at a bar, avoiding to come home. When Elizabeth asked Mr. Rigley about her husband, he told her that he was at “Prince Wales.” Upon seeing her distressed face, Mr. and Mrs. Rigley pacified Elizabeth that she did not need to worry and that her husband will be coming home soon. Overall, they did not want her to be too concerned over her husband because they probably think she has a lot of weight to carry on her shoulders.
7. Choose a sentence or phrase and comment on it.
"She silenced herself, and rose to clear the table."
As I said last night- this is an example (to me) of a perfect sentence. It is just so versatile. You could take this sentence out of this reading and make it work with many different circumstances (ie. happy, sad, angry, excited- it works) I also love the imagery of her being silent and then not leaving the table, but lingering and clearing it off of all its remains. I am probably way out on the speculative branch here but, I think the things she clears off symbolize her. Being picked up and carried from their origin their comfort zone... that is just one way of thinking about it.
Pall
#4
Walter dies from suffocation. The tunnel collapses behind him, trapping him in the tunnel. After a while, the air runs out and he suffocates.
2. Notice that Mrs. Rigley speaks differently from Elizabeth Bates; and Mr. Rigley speaks in yet another way. Can you describe these differences?
Elizabeth Bates, overall speaks in an intelligent manner, and in proper english. She pronounces everything without slang, and uses proper grammar and sentence structure.
Mrs. Rigley on the other hand speaks with some sort of accent or slang. For example: "Jack never said nothink about- about your Mester." This is an example of the way that she speaks with is in a less dignified way compared to Elizabeth. However, her english is downright perfect compared to her husbands which is practically incomprehensible. Her husband speaks in a way that is hard to follow for someone who does not know the slang or the accent. For example he says"Ah left 'im finishin' a stint loose-all ad bin gone about..." His manner of speaking shows that he is less educated than perhaps Elizabeth is. This may account for the respect that the Rigleys have for her. She is on a higher level than them when it comes to intelligence because it seems that she has gotten a better education, or was perhaps raised somewhere other than this town where the majority of people speak with a slang or accent that practically turns the english language into something else. Also, Mrs. Rigley may have better english than her husband because she is a woman, and is not out in the mines working all day. The fact that the men are in the mines shows that they most likely have not received an education because all their lives they knew they would work in the mines because that is all they knew. Mrs. Rigley, however, may have received higher education at some point, but it has left her since she spends so much time with her husband, who speaks in such a casual way.
(PS. I did this blog this morning because after showcase it was quite late and by the time I finished reading the internet had shut off.)
Hello,
Answering number six, I feel that Elizabeth Bates' situation is heart-braking and very tragic. To the readers she is presented as a caring, responsible person who has two children, another on the way, and cares for the entire household herself. It is a shame her husband is always drinking and involving himself in other such activities. However, the really heart-breaking moment is when Elizabeth finds out her husband is dead and we read of her going through the ways in which she might be able to keep her family afloat. It would seem Elizabeth raised the children herself and the children's relationship with their father was not a good one (note the part in the story when Elizabeth is putting the children to bed and they all fear for when their father comes home). Though there is not a solid relationship between Mr. Bates and his family, he seems to be the main provider of money for the family, as Elizabeth does mention that he works. The saddest part of his death is that Elizabeth now seems entirely alone to raise three children and manage a household on the probably very small earnings she receives. I think what makes this so tragic is that Elizabeth is a good, well-rounded person. She seems educated by the way she talks, she cares for her children well, and it seems she cared for her husband also. It is so very sad that she must now face the hardships of bringing a child into the world and raising three others all alone. Before, she was probably alone mostly but could rely on her husband's money. At the end of paragraph 167 it seems that she is entirely alone (with the exception of his mother who seems to be more of a nuisance).
Thanks
"When Mrs. Bates came down, the room was strangely empty, with a tension of expectancy. She took up her sewing and stitched for some time without raising her head. Meantime her anger was tinged with fear." pg 338
I feel this sentence is a huge part in foreshadowing what is to come. I feel that in some ways when Mrs. Bates could be angry at her husband for just going out after work and getting completely drunk, it was safe. She knew where he was and while angry that he was not with his family and with her, she didn't really have to worry about him.
Even though she doesn't know it at the time of this quote, the fear she is feeling is foreshadowed in a greater fear when he is not at the local bar and no one is quite sure of his whereabouts.
This one sentence made me a bit worried, but it also made me angry at him because he was making his wife not only angry, but worried about him. I feel that it is worse to be worried and fearful than it is to be angry. Anger can be released, but fear is overwhelming.
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