CCBC-Net Archives
WTM: names & language
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Gibson, Robin <rgibson>
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 95 08:39:51 CST
I agree with everyone's opinion so far on Mrs. Winterbottom. And with
Mrs. Cadaver, I think she is everything that Kathleen said, and it is
a bit ironic that her husband, who "gave" her this name, is now
deceased. It also seems to me that she represents both life and death
--for Sal, though, her very existence is proof that her mother is not
coming back. Sal's acceptance of Mrs. Cadaver would be an
acknowledgement that her mother is not returning, and this is
something she isn't ready for until the end of the book. I think it
must seem terribly unfair to Sal as well--of all people to survive, it
was the person who sat next to her mother--why couldn't it have been
Chanhassen instead of Mrs. Cadaver?
Another name which seems like it could be symbolic is Mrs. Partridge.
Does the partridge have any special symbolism that any of you know of?
I have a vague recollection, but I can't quite remember what-?n
anyone help me on this one??
I have another question, which is the first thing that struck me when
I began reading the book. What do you all think of the language that
Creech uses? And the Indian/Native American lore? I was surprised when
I found out that the author lives in England -- rereading the back
cover, which is all the biographical information I have, I am confused
about her nationality/background -- is she English? It's not very
clear.
It is clear to me that Creech has done in?pth research as far as language and culture--this shows throughout the book. I did think it a bit of a strange choice for an English author (when I first skimmed the bio, I did think she was English, upon rereading it, it is clear she has spent time in the US). We seem to hear the maxim "write about what you know" and I was wondering what made Creech decide to tell this story from the point of view of Salamanca. I'm not sure that I am comfortable with the language the entire way through--at times it seems too perfect. (Not that I am an expert myself; I grew up in rural Georgia, not Kentucky, which I realize is different.) I do really like this book, and I hope I haven't offended anyone by these comments (which I am still thinking through, as you can probably tell). I would be very interested to hear what others thought of this aspect of _WTM_.
Looking forward to hearing your comments!
Robin
rgibson at ccmail.uwsa.edu
Received on Tue 11 Jul 1995 09:39:51 AM CDT
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 95 08:39:51 CST
I agree with everyone's opinion so far on Mrs. Winterbottom. And with
Mrs. Cadaver, I think she is everything that Kathleen said, and it is
a bit ironic that her husband, who "gave" her this name, is now
deceased. It also seems to me that she represents both life and death
--for Sal, though, her very existence is proof that her mother is not
coming back. Sal's acceptance of Mrs. Cadaver would be an
acknowledgement that her mother is not returning, and this is
something she isn't ready for until the end of the book. I think it
must seem terribly unfair to Sal as well--of all people to survive, it
was the person who sat next to her mother--why couldn't it have been
Chanhassen instead of Mrs. Cadaver?
Another name which seems like it could be symbolic is Mrs. Partridge.
Does the partridge have any special symbolism that any of you know of?
I have a vague recollection, but I can't quite remember what-?n
anyone help me on this one??
I have another question, which is the first thing that struck me when
I began reading the book. What do you all think of the language that
Creech uses? And the Indian/Native American lore? I was surprised when
I found out that the author lives in England -- rereading the back
cover, which is all the biographical information I have, I am confused
about her nationality/background -- is she English? It's not very
clear.
It is clear to me that Creech has done in?pth research as far as language and culture--this shows throughout the book. I did think it a bit of a strange choice for an English author (when I first skimmed the bio, I did think she was English, upon rereading it, it is clear she has spent time in the US). We seem to hear the maxim "write about what you know" and I was wondering what made Creech decide to tell this story from the point of view of Salamanca. I'm not sure that I am comfortable with the language the entire way through--at times it seems too perfect. (Not that I am an expert myself; I grew up in rural Georgia, not Kentucky, which I realize is different.) I do really like this book, and I hope I haven't offended anyone by these comments (which I am still thinking through, as you can probably tell). I would be very interested to hear what others thought of this aspect of _WTM_.
Looking forward to hearing your comments!
Robin
rgibson at ccmail.uwsa.edu
Received on Tue 11 Jul 1995 09:39:51 AM CDT
