The seventh paragraph of the story plays a significant role in the overall story. It is on page 347. It shows how the woman begins her obsession over what it is she is looking for. She displays so much of an obsession that she begins to talk to whatever it is she is looking for and begins to dig frantically.
The woman also displays how she believes that she is coming to the rescue. She is obviously alone and very lonely and in need of some type of companionship. This is displayed when she describes how she wants nobody to see what she is up to. It reflects on human nature because humans are always out to help other humans. This is shown when she whispers "Yes, yes I am here". It also shows that she wants nobody what she is doing because she whispers this.
She is so obsessed with this thing that she performs actions that she would not normally perform. This is evident when Oates writes ,"it was a pity she'd rarely used gardening implements in all of her fifty years". It shows that she is so determined to find out what is summoning her that she exercises behavior that she normally does not display. The extensive labor that she does, so much to the point where she is "grunting", shows her determination. When she finally uncovers the bones and takes them to her room, it shows why she had worked so extensively for something she obviously believed in to the point where she nearly worshipped the bones. Also, when she talks to what she is trying to uncover, it shows a form of prayer. Later in the story she builds a shrine to the bones in which she was praying to.
This paragraph of the story shows the obsession of this woman to discover the unkown and sets up the rest of the story by showing how extensively she worked to solve the mystery of the sounds. People become obsessed by the unknown and the seventh paragraph displays that obsession in the bones she wrapped in an antique velvet cloth. The obsession later leads her to create a shrine. The fact that she whispers to the bones shows that she does in fact have neighbors, but she lives alone and wants a companion.
-Quote the Ravin
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with this close reading. Oates definitely made her obsession with the sound clear in the earlier paragraphs which lead to an even greater obsession of the woman trying to save the remainder of the child’s bones. I also think some of the earlier paragraphs and the descriptions of how determined she was to find what was making the noise set the tone of the story. It set it up so that the reader knew something was to be found. Also she said the sound was like a "baby's cry, terribly distressing" which foreshadowed what was to be found was in fact a baby or small child.
ReplyDeleteWow, good job. I never thought of it that way.
ReplyDeletei liked how you were able to pick out the small things throughout the story. as i read it there were many things that i didnt pick up on until i read this. it really made me rethink what my orginal thoughts were
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty crazy how she builds a shrine for the bones. And she even kind of knows she's being weird because she doesn't want anyone to see, it's just that she's that desperate for a companion. I like how you talked about her not using the gardening tools before, I totally got that too.
ReplyDelete