Wednesday, May 25, 2011
5: The Lovers
When you respond to this chapter, DO NOT simply repeat the thoughts of others. Add something new to a previous comment. Comment or critique on a previous posting. BUT YOUR ULTIMATE goal is to add something new to the discussion. Also...don't forget to use as many direct quotes as possible!!!!
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So I sneak out to the garden to see you,
We keep quiet, 'cause we're dead if he knew,
So close your eyes,
Escape this town for a little while.
'Cause you were Romeo,
I was a scarlet letter,
And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet."
But you were everything to me,
Begging you, "Please don't go".
Ah, I love that song and those lyrics and it fits so perfectly with this chapter! :)
~Brittany Rowe
"And I said Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone, I'll be waiting all that's left to do is run." "It's a love story, baby just say yes!" :)
~Brittany Rowe
I think this chapter was really interesting. Not only was there a scandalous affair between Blanca and Pedro Tercero, but there was the major earthquake and the strange appearance and death of Ferula. This chapter also shows just how determined Esteban Trueba is. Even after being crushed by his house during the quake he still ran Tres Marias. Esteban's situation was described as follows "While the house was being built, they erected a shelter of wooden planks with a zinc roof, where they settled Esteban in his sickbed. From there, through a window, he could watch the work progressing and shout his instructions, boiling with rage at his protracted immobility. (164)"I think that was a strong demonstration of Esteban's stubborn and independent attitude.
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What is interesting about the affair Cassie?
It wasn't so much as the affair by its self that interested me, but the combination of everyting going on in the chapter. Like I said, there was the affair, which was interesting in that Blanca and Pedro Tercero never got caught and when Clara did realize she smacked Blanca and that was the end of it, but there was also the quake and Ferula's death. And another thing was how Pedro Tercero became a sort of hero in Tres Marias. He snuck in several times and each time everyone wanted to hide him in their homes.
In this chapter it is easy to see much people actually despise Esteban Trueba. There's Pedro Tercero who absolutely abhors everything about Esteban and there's Ferula, his own sister, who would rather live in extreme poverty then take pity money from him. Ferula stowed away the money as it says "In a cookie tin they found the unopened envelopes of money Esteban had sent his sister once a month for all those years" (152). If his own sister despised him then who wouldn't? What really shocks me is that Esteban knows that people can't stand him yet he does nothing about it! He felt Ferula's death "as a reproach to his own egotistical, sensual, power-hungry nature" (152). He even admits that his own wife had never even belonged to him. I think that it was very clever of Blanca and Pedro Tercero to devise such a simple way to communicate to one another without anyone finding out what was going on. Pedro and Blanca "exchanged burning letters, which he signed with a woman's name and which she hid as soon as they arrived" (153).
Yes, that's something, isn't it? She NEVER uses the money.
Why would Esteban care that people don't like him? Does that seem likely considering his character?
And that's the problem, right? Clara never BELONGED to him...which piggy backs on an earlier posting made about the theme of possession in the novel. Can/should a person BELONG to anothert person?
I believe that song really does fit Mrs. Matysak because they were from 2 different classes and of course the upper class father would not want his daughter with a peasant.
Tania
I agree this chapter was rather interesting, so much happened such as Ferula died, a massive earthquake and Nana died. The chapter began with Blanca and Pedro. Blanca hit adolescence and Pedro hide from her. She looked in the mirror and "she took off her nightgown and, for the first time in her life looked at her body in detail, and as she did so she realized that it was because of all these changes that her friend had ran away" (141). I found this to be funny because it's true that girls change faster then guys. I thought it was interesting how Blanca had to change back into her old clothes for Pedro to realize that she was the same girl he was in love with.
I thought Ferula was a very strong woman. I was shocked to find that she did not use a single bit of money that Esteban left her. She choose to live poor and it's kin of weird that when they found her she was wearing costumes.
The earthquake really shook the city up, I felt bad that Esteban had to basically restart his ranch over again. Maybe by the house falling on him it showed Esteban that nature is more powerful then him? I was disgusted when people went around stealing thing and cutting off peoples ears and finger (whether they were alive or not) that had any value to them. I think the earthquake was the start of disaster in the family, just as Clara said, "you can't keep the world from changing" (170).
-Janel
"Its about time, you're to old to be playing with that flea-ridden brat" (144), says Nana after she realizes Blanca is becoming a young woman. She says this not knowing that later in the chapter Blanca goes off to see her lover at night which is the "flea-ridden brat". I also agree that the song goes with their forbidden love for each other.
~SHELBY~
This is a very interesting chapter. So much happened in it. Everything that happened really took a toll on the family and really changed them. From the earthquake to the death of two really close people, the family had to learn to move on with their lives. As for Pedro and Blanca i feel that they have true love. Even though Pedro doesn't get the stamp of approval from Esteban they continue on their pursuit of happiness. I was very happy that Blanca didn't let Esteban stop her from seeing Pedro. I was surprised the family didn't leave when Clara announced she had a vision of the earthquake. She told her family "there is going to be an earthquake!"(158) Her vision could have saved Esteban if he would have listened to her.
autumn schlarp
Autumn...whhat makes the love between Pedro and Blanca "true"?
Janel..you hit on one of my favorite parts of the book. It felt very real to me.
I love the twist of love brought into the story. Looking back after reading most of the book, it should have been obvious of the love affair that would happen between an upper class woman and the peasant boy at Tres Marias, but as I was reading I was completely consumed and interested in the way Pedro Tercero and Blanca would be able to see each other and what would be of the friendship as Blanca left for great months at a time. Blance came to the realization that Pedro Tercero did not want her because of the woman she was becoming, but if it was losing him then she did not want to become a woman. Even though while looking in the mirror "she smiled a new, delicate smile, the smile of a woman" (141). She did what it took to hold onto the past and dug into her closest to resemble the girl that had stolen Pedro Tercero's heart. The love in this story is different because it is more relatable, and for girls our age we can comprehend with wanting to live in the past for the fear of losing what we WANT to be in the future. i absolutely love the love affair of the two, even after this chapter too.
This chapter is packed with changes and memorable events,but I was enthralled most by the love between Blanca and Pedro. Blanca matures in this chapter and her relationship with Pedro Tecero grows. When Blanca returns to Tres Marias for the summer she is expecting Pedro to come running towards her as usual, but instead the boy sees her and bolts away.The boy is nowhere to be found all day which leaves Blanca crushed,confused, and heart-broken for the first time. This event helps Blanca to realize that she is becoming a woman. That summer Pedro and Blanca's love for each other grows stronger due to passion and challenges they face, such as sneaking out to see each other.At the end of this chapter I was left wondering if their love would last because Blanca " stopped nursing the dream of getting married " and " often whole weeks went by without her hearing any news from him"( 174).
Taylor Quella
The love between Blanca and Pedro is much like Romeo and Juliet's. The distance between them in the time that Blanca is not at Tres Marias only makes their love grow deeper. Each visit you can tell that they have changed and their love has changed as well. As Blanca takes her steps into womanhood I feel like Pedro is scared of who she has become, but once Pedro has realized she is still the girl he grew up with just a little more 'mature' they are perfectly fine. Although once Pedro hits puberty, their love grows in a different way. It becomes more complicated and more adult. It sort of makes me mad at how Nana acts towards him. Telling him that it's about time that he "learned to stay in his own class instead of nosing around senoritas"(133). I understand that it was forbidden and all but I think that's just another reason why their love was so strong. They had all the odds fighting against them and somehow they still managed to sneak out and keep in touch. It just shows how true their love really is.
"Struggle" is a word that can completely sum up this chapter. Blanca and Pedro struggled to keep as close to each other as possible and to keep their relationship strong and thriving. Esteban struggled to watch over Tres Marias even after he was crushed by his house during the earthquake. Nana even struggled to keep Blanca away from the "flea-ridden brat"(144). This chapter was also a typical love story with both kids sneaking out at night and meeting somewhere just so they can be together.
-Connor Carlson
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