mellymel
Moderator
Registered: 04/14/08
Posts: 12
|
|
|
Reply with quote | #1 |
1. What did you think about Alice as narrator?
2.What is the significance of the title? Who or what is the God of animals? What do the characters' interactions with horses demonstrate about human nature, power, and the natural world?
3.Alice struggles to make sense of her family and her world, and the Winstons' tendency to keep secrets and withhold the truth doesn't make it easy for her. What does she learn about her family, and in turn, about herself as the novel progresses?
4. My mother had spent nearly my whole life in her bedroom" (3). Discuss how this affects the Winston family dynamic. Why do you think Marian choose to live this way? Is it fair? Do you think her family accepts her or enables her? Or neither?
This is a start...more questions to follow.
|
| |
jill
peep
Registered: 04/16/08
Posts: 3
|
|
|
Reply with quote | #2 |
I have to admit I haven't finished the book yet. So, take my comments with that grain of salt:
I like Alice as a narrator. She makes me uncomfortable sometimes, and her directness while refreshing is sometimes scary. I don't want her to keep talking with Mr. Delmar. And, I think she is so ripe for heartbreak that it puts an edge on the book that wouldn't be there if it were narrated by someone else.
I keep puzzling about who the God of Animals is... thinking right now it must be Jody, but if he's the god, he's not a benevolent one.
The mother character bothers me... I know she serves as a very good foil for other women characters in the book, and the author seems to be working very hard for contrast (for example Grandma Winston vs. Mom). The mother character also breaks stereotypes. I wonder if she's also intended to reflect the horses somehow. She is certainly broken. And, at this point, I don't think she's the fool the others seem to think she is sometimes.
The missing character that is bothering me is Nona though. I can't see her value yet, although I am sure she's going to turn back up.
Why doesn't anyone love Alice?
__________________
jill hunt |
| |
mellymel
Moderator
Registered: 04/14/08
Posts: 12
|
|
|
Reply with quote | #3 |
there is so much here i think - the barren landscape, Alice's heart- the emptiness and lonliness was overwhelming at times.
jill - i think the mother is fascinating and i'm curious to see if your view of her changes at the end, even a little bit.
and i loved alice.  i felt very maternal towards her.
|
| |
Jude
peep
Registered: 04/15/08
Posts: 1
|
|
|
Reply with quote | #4 |
Okay, not sure if I will get all the questions answered in one sitting, but here goes...
1. I enjoyed Alice as a narrator. Her ability to remain believable as a tween age person, yet show the maturity her strange family forced upon her was impressive.
2.I thought, before reading the book, that the title would be relating to horses only, based on the cover. ( ) Upon completion of the book you, or at least I , came to think of the fact that God is not only the creator of these wild horses, but also these "wild" humans. Just as Alice's father had to break the horses, humans too need to be broken before they can be "rideable" as well. I mean that, if we are never challenged physically, emotionally, or by nature, we too, would be humans with unpredictable behavior. Our life lessons shape us, just as the training shaped the horses.
3. I think Alice learns that though she is inherently like her family, she is vastly different. I know that sounds contradictory, but she cannot help but possess some of her families traits, yet, you sense her longing to be different. (And by her choice to leave and "get out" she eventually displays that difference.)
Ok, gotta go... kiddos are needing me. I'll answer more later. Please forgive any and all grammatical and typing errors... LOL.
__________________
Jude |
| |
