1. "When Mama was alive, she could make breakfast for seven people, hear our lessons, patch Pa's trousers, pack our dinner pails, start the milk to clabbering, and roll out a piecrust. All the same time without raising her voice. I'm lucky if I can keep the mush from burning and Lou and Beth from slaughtering each other" (pg. 9).
- This quote is important for many reasons. It reveals that the protagonist, Mattie, has had to take over as head of the household after her mom passed away. She has a lot of responsibly in the family from taking care of her sisters, to making meals, to other everyday chores at only the age of 16. It also somewhat gives the sense of setting, that they live on a farm and the date is set in the past. This passage reveals part of Mattie's personality too - that she has high expectations for herself, and is constantly comparing herself to others.
2. "'Dear Miss Gokey," it read. 'It is with great pleasure that I write to inform you of your acceptance to Barnard college... furthermore, I am pleased to award you a full Hayes scholarship sufficient enough to meet the cost of your first year's tuition, contingent upon the successful completion of your high school degree... your impressive literary strengths outweigh these deficiencies...'"(pg. 65).
- This passage is extremely significant to the book. Mattie is a very determined and intelligent girl, and has received a full scholarship to the school of her dreams. She works very hard for the things she wants, and more than almost anything else Mattie hopes to receive a good eduction and make something of herself. When she is offered this once in a lifetime chance, Mattie wants it more than anything in the world, but has many things holding her back.
3. "'Miss Wilcox is in the parlor with Pa,' Abby whispered. 'She brought your exam results. You got an A-plus on your English literature and composition tests, and A in history, a B in science, and a B-minus in mathematics. Her and Pa are talking about you. She says you have genius in you and that you got into college and that Pa should let you go'"(pg. 165).
- Miss Wilcox is Mattie's teacher, and as this quote reveal, her biggest supporter. She is one of the only people who truly understands Mattie's love for books, and writing. She encourages Mattie every step of the way to reach for the stars, and offers Mattie housing in New York with her sister when she's at school. Mattie loves Miss Wilcox, and Miss Wilcox deeply cares for Matt's well being.
4. "'Oh yes! Yes, I would,' I whispered. And then I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him and nearly sobbed with relief when he kissed me back. I didn't think what it meant, saying yes. All I wanted was Royal right then, and I didn't think how saying yes to him would mean saying no to all the other things I wanted"(pg. 225).
- Mattie has a huge crush on a boy named Royal Loomis, and is shocked when she learns he is sweet for her as well. She thinks she is too normal looking for a boy as handsome as Royal, and is overjoyed when he proposes to her, as seen in this passage. Their love develops throughout the story, but Mattie also comes to the realization that if she ends up marrying Royal, she won't be able to pursue her real dreams of going to Bernard.
5. "More and more, I was seeing my dreams of going to college as just that- dreams. I couldn't leave. I knew that. Deep inside, I'd always known it. Even if i wasn't sparking with Royal. Even if I had earned enough money working for Miss Wilcox to buy a train ticket and Pa personally escorted me to the railroad station. I had promised my mama I would stay"(pg. 230).
- As the book moves further, Matt becomes more and more realistic. She thinks about all the things that are keeping her back from going to college - her relationship with Royal, her lack of money to get her there, the fact that her father had refused to let her go, and that she had made a promise to her mother on her death bed that she would stay and take care of the other girls in her family. She has thought about staying at the farm as the most likely outcome for her. Though she has determination, she thinks that it would be selfish to leave, and has pretty much decided to put her lifelong dream of going to college to become a writer on hold.
6. "'You know anything about those men who beat Weaver?'
'Only that they were trappers. And that Mr. Higby put them in jail. Why?'
'They must've just got out. Weaver says they're the ones did this...'"
(pg. 350).
- Weaver is one of Mattie's very good friends, but he is black. He was brutally harassed by some white men, and they were sent to jail for it. Then, the men came back and burned down Weaver's mother's house. They also stole the money Weaver's mother had saved for him to go to college. This just again shows the setting - the time period was awhile back. It also makes me wonder if this is occurring in the north woods, how bad must the racism be in the south?
7. "But myself is not listening. She refuses to listen. She's picking up another letter and another, frantically looking for a different answer. She feels so sick, so sick she could vomit. Because she thinks she knows why Chester brought Grace here. And it wasn't to elope"(pg. 238).
- Mattie gets a job at the Glenmore, a vacation resort, over the summer to earn money for the family. A girl named Grace Brown, a guest there, has told Matt to burn some letters for her. But, when Grace Brown is found dead at the bottom of a lake, Mattie can't help but read them. She finds that Chester Gillette, her "boyfriend", has taken her on a boating ride, and purposely tipped the boat because he knew she couldn't swim. He killed her because she was pregnant with his child, and Mattie eventually turns the letters in, but we never find out what happens with them.
8. "To New York City. To my future. My Life"(pg. 380).
- This is the last quote of the book, but the most important one. Mattie has decided to follow her real dreams of becoming a writer, a college bound girl. She leaves everything, and everyone behind to pursue this dream. It brings about a major thematic idea in the book surrounding determination. Determination will get you where you want to go in life, and is used to pursue the opportunities that matter most to you. This was a major theme displayed in A Northern
Light. Sixteen year old Mattie Gokey followed her heart, and with determination, hers dreams were realized.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment