Setting:
Kilvert Community Center is where Toloki meets Barbara Parsons and Irene Flowers. The Center gives out food and clothing and holds community dinners, including a Christmas dinner. They try to give Toloki free clothes, but he refuses to take them. "..I felt bad at turning down the well meant generosity. However I have always paid my way through life and I was not about to change that by taking alms from my new friends" (126). Also, Toloki finds out that Ruth refers to him as "The African" to the people of Kilvert. The quilt auction is also held at the Center, but Ruth does not take her quilts there anymore.
The Quigley's House is located in Kilvert, Ohio. Toloki discover Orprah's destroyed drawings in the trash can and confront her about this situation, but Orprah runs away. Toloki interacts with Ruth in the house and explains to her that Orprah should be able to express herself in her drawings in the non traditional patterns. On top of this situation, Toloki and Ruth have trouble with their relationship in the house when Beth calls about Obed's crime and Ruth finds about that Obed and Toloki were keeping this from her.
Toloki attends church where he were surprised to find only five people there, including the pastor. "The church was like a dollhouse, with brown wooden panels on the wall. Brown in the color. There was a wall tapestry of Jesus as a shepherd surrounded by sheep, in shades of brown." Pastor Brother Micheal explains to Toloki that he is welcomed back every Sunday. Ruth is upset with Toloki for going to this church because she said the Brother Micheal lead a sinful life because he left his wife for another women.
Themes:
The importance of tradition is brought up frequently in this chapter when talking about quilt making and food traditions. Ruth states that she will not allow Orprah to change the traditional patterns of the quilts to her own patterns. "Them new newfangled designs are not our traditions," says Ruth. "We're people of tradition. Our patterns have come down from our great-great-grandmothers, and ain't no little squirt's gonna change that" (138). Also, Ruth talks to Toloki about the great tradition making of food, such as preserving foods and making her own dressings. Ruth tells Toloki, "Lots of us have not lost that tradition" (143).
Throughout this chapter Ruth and Toloki have trouble with their friendship. "She gradually gets disillusioned with me because of the negative influence she claims I have on her children" (148). This includes approving Orpah's creative patterns, letting Obed to practice Native American ways, going to a church Ruth was boycotting, and maybe taking quilt lessons with the women at the Center Ruth does not like. Although Ruth and Toloki have been having problems within their friendship, Obed says Ruth still likes him. "She likes you, man. Thinks you're the best thing since sliced bread" (149).
Religion is another theme within this chapter. Ruth talks about how she supports the Commander-in-Chief because he talks about politics in a religious way and uses god for everything. Ruth refers to the Commander-in-Chief as "god's gift to humanity" (143). Also, Ruth says that gets upset when Obed and his two friends have hoofing competitions because it was saying God's name in vain. "You don't take God's name in vain, boy" Ruth said, "otherwise you won't come to no good." Even though Ruth is always preaching religion, in this chapter she still gets made at Toloki for going to the church where the pastor apparently lives a sinful life.
Chapter 6
Setting:
"Five Points" is a slum town in New York. This is where Naill Quigley ends up after he gets off the boat from Ireland. With his slave he walks around town trying to earn money off of his slaves talents. At night they go to the bordellos, which is where prostitutes are and get an idea to take the prostitutes children and sell them as mulattos down south.
The Gambling dens is where Quigley would usually lose all of his money, but maybe win some money here and there. The gambling dens caused him to neglect his business, the slave then tried to talk Quigley out of gambling.
The banks of Guyandotte is where David Fairfield and his mulatoos, Naill Quigley and his slave have drinks at a barbecue. This results in the slave giving a fake name, John Tyler, which ends up selling Quigley to The Owner.
The Fairfield Farms, located in Virgina, is where Quigley was first taken as a "mulatto." Unlike most mulattos on the farm, Quigley was treated poorly and worked with black men on the fields on the farm. For a long time Quigley did not socialize with the other slaves, but for his survial he started to develop habits of Africans and missed communicating with others.
At the Supreme Court House of Virgina, the Quaker minister believed that Quigley was not a slave and took David Fairfield there to settle the case. "He brought witnesses, his own happy mulattos who were present when he purchased the said property from a white man on the banks of Guyandotte" (181). The settlement of the case was that Quigley was still found as a "mulatto" and had to be sent back to the farms.
Tabler Town is the town Quigley dreamed of visiting while he was at Fairfield Farms after he learned about the Abyssian Queen and her two sons Abednego and Nicodemus. He wanted to meet the boys and he eventually makes it to the town and meets Abednego and they become good friends but is sad to learn Nicodemus was killed.
Ripley, Ohio is the home of William Tobias and this is where Quigley and Abednego find and murder Tobias in a run down house.
Themes:
Power and betrayal is a theme in this chapter because Quigley thought he had complete power over the slave, but instead the slave betrays Quigley by selling Quigley as the slave. "The saying goes that you can never exercise full power over anything until you name it. If he had named him he would not have betrayed him like this. He would have owned him totally" (175). Because Quigley did not name his slave, he lost power and was betrayed.
Greed is a theme in chapter six because it is the driving force of Naill Quigley. In the beginning of the chapter in order to get money he would embarrass his talented slave for money at the expense of both of them beinghumiliated. He also went to the gambling dens every chance he could and wouldend up losing most or all of his money he had, there were even times when theslave paid the rent. Naill even went as far as stealing children to make money off of them and sell them as slaves. Finally he concocted a fake birth potionthat would induce women with more babies and cut gestation time in half. He didmany horrible things just for money and in the end he paid for it by gettingcaught by David Fairfield and then turned into a slave.
Slavery is a theme because the two main characters in this chapter Naill Quigley and the slave (John Tyler) both experience slavery. Quigley keeps his slave close to him and evenutally forms somewhat of a bond. "The leash, therefore, served a symbolic function. It reminded the slave that he was a slave despite the partenrship in the crime" (172). Then Quigley is caught by David Fairfield and taken in as a slave but after he escapes he is a much better person.
1) Why do you think Obed stopped so abruptly with his hand trembling when he really believed he had the talent?
2) Why did Quigley and Abednego have more sorrow after they killed William Tobias, the man who killed Nicodemus, when the reason they killed him was suppose to heal their sorrow?
