Connecting Storylines

A connection between the life of Ruth May and President Lumumba seems to be present. They both portray a common role as the innocent, loving character in their unique, individual situations. They were both liked within their own communities. The Congolese were fond of Lumumba, and Ruth May was well liked by the children of the Congo, who often played “Mother May I” with her. Both Lumumba and Ruth May in that sense assumed authoritative roles, he being the leader of the Congo, she being the leader of the Congo’s children. I also find it interesting that these two assumed leadership roles because of the nature of their status. Patrice Lumumba was a postal worker, while Ruth May was just the Price’s youngest. If I were to choose a leader, I wouldn’t exactly consider those roles to amount to something greater. Additionally, and perhaps ironically, these two leaders would also die on the same day. Lumumba was freed of imprisonment through his death, and Ruth May was freed of her illness through her death. And the way the Africans grieved and the way the Prices grieved due to these losses can also be viewed as a connection, or a similarity.

Through Rachel's Eyes

I’ve never seen a high school quite like this one. It looks like less of a learning facility and more like people put these buildings together with the ugliest pieces of material they could find. Some buildings don’t even match. Or if there is some sort of pattern, I haven’t figured it out. And the rain is pouring. I don’t know if the builders realized this scattered building situation could post a problem. There’s this thing in the middle of the whole sidewalk, and I’ve seen people avoid it and walk around it. I wonder if it is some kind of forbidden thing to do. Whatever the case, I wonder what it is there for. I’ve seen many girls wearing the same shirts and skirts. It doesn’t look like it’s a strict uniform, and if that’s the case, I wonder if they are embarrassed that they all showed up in the same thing. I also noticed that there is a lot of animal interaction going on over here. One example of this are the birds. I guess most people would find their chirping as a natural, soothing thing, but I just think that it is plain irritating. I don’t really care for random squeaks, and they need to get together to figure out some kind of four-part harmony soon before I go extremely insane.

Orleanna and Judges Connection

At the beginning of each book, Orleanna’s narration serves as almost a prologue of what series of events is to follow. And while she doesn’t directly come out and pronounce each event so that it is crystal clear, she discusses things that allow for interpretation, and allude to what is to come. In the book of Judges, Orleanna tell us, “The day does come, finally, when a daughter can walk away from a man such as that- if she’s lucky. His own ferocity turns over inside her and she turns away hard, never to speak to him again, instead she’ll begin talking to you, her mother, demanding with a world of indignation: How could you let him? Why?” (191). And while none of us would ever suspect that it would be Leah and Nathan that she was talking about, after reading the rest of the book, I know that it was Nathan and Leah that Orleanna was subtly describing. We see toward the end of Judges, and into Bel and Serpent that Leah’s faith in and respect for her father quickly diminishes and she is no longer his biggest fan, but his worst enemy. It is cool to go back and reread portions of Orleanna’s sections, because after reading the rest of the book, some of what she speaks of that was earlier dismissed, now has a whole new meaning.