Week 3, Post A

Pages 92-137

VOCAB.

sublime (p. 93): supreme or outstanding: a sublime dinner.

formaldehyde (p. 104): a colorless, toxic, potentially carcinogenic, water-soluble gas, CH2O, having a suffocating odor, usually derived from methyl alcohol by oxidation: used chiefly in aqueous solution, as a disinfectant and preservative, and in the manufacture of various resins and plastics.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

(Quote on page 102) "He turns back to me. 'I'm goin to find Al.'

'You better find Marlena, too.'"

This quote is an example of foreshadowing because Jacob thinks that when Marlena hears the gunshot, she'll do something to hurt herself because she cares for the horse so much. My prediction is that this is a minor quote and she'll be just fine.

(Quote on page 102) "'Come now, darling. Don't be a wet noodle,' says August. "You know we were out of meat."
This quote is a direct metaphor coming from August. He means he wishes Marlena would stop blaming August for, well, basically his own actions.

(Quote on page 118) "I open the orangutan's a pan of fruits, vegetables, and nuts on the floor. As I close it, her long arm reaches through the bars. She points at an orange in another pan.
'That? You want that?'
She continues to point, blinking at me with close-set eyes. Her features are concave, her face a wide platter fringed with red hair. She's the most outrageous and beautiful thing I've ever seen.
'Here,' I say, handing her the orange. 'You can have it.'
She takes it and sets it on the floor. Then she reaches out again. After several seconds of serious misgivings, I hold out my hand. She wraps her long fingers around it, then lets go. She sits on her haunches and peels her orange.
I stare in amazement. She was thanking me."
I believe that this entire descriptive quote is an example of symbolism. I believe this because now Jacob has seen a lot of depressing things so far on his circus journey. In fact, before this beautiful sighting of what he specializes in (animals), the reader hears only negatives about what goes on around the circus. But then we are presented with this beautiful image of an orangutan's kindness. I believe that it symbolizes hope.

THEME.

The emerging theme must be hope and looking to the future with an optimistic perspective.