Literature Circle 5 Reflection

I wasn't in class for our final whole class literature circle discussion, but here are a few of the major topics that we discussed in our small group discussion.

One thing that we talked about was religion. In the end, each character in the book had a different religion they turned to. Rachel, basically stayed like the same materialistic, self consumed teenager she was in the begining of the book. She only cared about herself, and only worshiped herself and her money. The only thing that she seemed to truly care about in her life was the hotel. Adah turned to the religion of science, and a life of balance. Orleanna turned to nature and taking care of her garden. It was her way of dealing with her guilt, and trying to forget what happened. The garden was something that she could control and start over with. Leah turned out to be a lot like her father by always giving everything she had to the Congo. She was on a mission to help Anatole and all of the other pro Lumumbaists, and in doing so she had dealt with her guile, just like Nathan did.

We also talked about the quote, "Lock, stock, and barrel" (531). Each of these parts represents the Price sisters according to Orleanna. The lock represented Rachel because she would lock up all of her emotions and try to forget everything that happened. The stock was Adah because she was always observing, and she distances herself from other people. Even though the stock is in the background, it is still important. The barrel is Leah because she always barrels forward . She always has to be first and she pushes hard in her efforts to save the Congo. The lock, stock and barrel are actually parts of a gun, and all of these parts are necessary in order for it to function.

One more thing that we talked about was the very last line of the book, “walk forward into the light” (543). This quote is significant because it was kind of like a palindrome, like the one Adah talked about when Ruth May died, life and death. It is also Ruth May telling her sisters and her mother that she has forgiven them, and that she wants the family to move on from that tragic event and live their lives leaving their guilt in the dark.