In addition to all of the class issues, there are also political and intimate issues surrounding the Untouchables. For one, Velutha is not wanted to be in the Communist marches because he is an Untouchable. Next, Ammu has an affair with Velutha, which is almost unheard of. As the in-class AP quiz suggested, "Social rules are more powerful than love." This type of thing is unjust, considering the huge disadvantage Velutha has been given.

I think that this is just a very very very weird occurrence that explains Estha's strange and withdrawn behavior from that point onward. On a side note, this is another example of how Estha and Rahel are connected. Rahel felt that the Orangedrink Lemondrink man was not to be trusted even though Estha never told her about the molestation. Yet again, these twins are shown to be connected in an almost magical way.

I agree, their "oneness" is very interesting. For example, when the family went to go see The Sound of Music at the theater and the Orangedrink Yellowdrink man violated Estha, Estha felt dirty, and Rahel kind of felt it too. Later that night, when Rahel said goodnight to Baby Kochamma, Estha, and Ammu, she felt sad. She felt sad because she knew that the Orangedrink Lemondrink man did something to Estha. As twins, Rahel and Estha can sense each other's feelings without explicitly knowing.

I would agree that the book is really confusing, but similar to Beloved and Heart of Darkness, the changes in the time the story is being told make the book more interesting. By starting with Sophie Mol's funeral, the pivotal moment in the book, the reader is already drawn into the story. From there, Roy unravels the story behind Sophie Mol's funeral, which kept me interested in the book. I must admit, however, it took a while for the storyline to make sense.

I think that Sethe is referring to when memories come back to haunt you (a rememory). When she first talks about it, it seems as though she is referring to how Beloved has come back to "haunt" her, but she broadens it to places like Sweet Home. No matter how hard she tries to repress her memories, some of them will always come back. As Sethe phrases it, "Where I was before I came here, that place is real. It's never going away. Even if the whole farm--every tree and grass blade of it dies' (Morrison 43). Some memories will never die out...

That's a really good point! I always thought that there were no chapters either because she did not feel like putting chapters in or just because she could. In this light, Morrison's deliberate omission of the numbers helps defeat the stressing of "normal" timelines in many other books.

In addition, when I think of Hightower, I think of a church steeple. This is significant because Hightower is a minister, so he is related to the church steeple. Also, Miss Burden's name could also signify that she is the town's burden. The whole town does not like her because she is a yankee and is suspected of having interracial relations.

I think that the town was angry with Hightower after his wife cheated on him because they blamed him for not putting in an effort to uphold their relationship. The town knew that Hightower was aware of his wife's actions so they faulted him for ignoring the fact that anything was wrong. Hightower was consumed in his work ever since Hightower moved to Jefferson. Throughout chapter 3, Faulkner never once mentioned a time when Hightower and his wife's relationship was going well. All he ever talked about was Hightower's sermon about his grandfather. All in all, the town faulted Hightower because of his inability to maintain a relationship with his wife.

I agree that Jean is pulling Marie and Matthew together (although not on purpose). Jean would love nothing more but for Marie to stay away from Matthew. However, by being so mean, Jean is bringing Marie and Matthew closer together because nothing brings friends together more than a common enemy. My freshman year, one of my future best friends and I could not stand the way one of our classmates acted around us, and we became friends as a result. Thus, (even though she did not mean to) Jean brought Marie and Matthew together by being their common enemy.

Maybe being single and pregnant is just a cliche way of trying to characterize a woman as naive or stupid. However, in both Trust and Light in August, Lena and Marie both use people to get what they want (like Lena using Mr. Armisted for transportation and shelter). They realize their situation and use it to their advantage. So maybe both Trust and Light in August are playing on what we thought we knew (that a woman who is single and pregnant is naive/stupid)? This, in itself, is fairly controversial. I wonder what other types of misleading stereotypes we will run into in Light in August.

In my opinion, Hartley may have been trying to show that in order for someone to become an existentialist, they would have to go through a drastic change. I am not saying that it is necessarily realistic for all of these changes to happen at the same time. I am saying that it was interesting to know how someone could become something as radical as an existentialist. In The Stranger, Camus never tells us why Meursault becomes an existentialist. There must have been a drastic change in his life (like in Truth). I find it interesting that someone like Meursault (who is in a society where everyone seems to share the same values) could be so radically different than anyone in his society. It would have been nice for Camus to tell the reader what caused Meursault to be an existentialist because it would have made the bizarre story a little more relatable.