"Good guess, but no. They are starving because they only have spoons with very long handles. As long as that." He pointed to the mop, which I had forgotten to put away. "With these ridiculous, terrible spoons, the people in hell can reach into the pot but they cannot put the food in their mouths.

Oh, how hungry they are! Oh, how they swear and curse each other!" he said, looking again at Virgie. He was enjoying this.

"Now," he went on, "you can go and visit heaven. What? You see a room just like the first one, the same table, the same pot of stew, the same spoons as long as a sponge mop. But these people are all happy and fat."

"Real fat, or do you mean just well-fed?" Lou Ann asked.

"Just well-fed," he said. "Perfectly, magnificently well-fed, and very happy. Why do you think that is?"

-Lou Ann, Esteven and Taylor.

9/28/06

Emily Sharfstein

I believe that if the whole novel was lost and only this quote remained then the essence of the novel would not be lost. When Esteven goes on to feed Turtle he shows that this quote is all about helping other people and in doing so you help yourself.

Throughout the book they are always talking about working together, friendship and sharing. When Taylor left home she found Turtle and they became friends, creating a bond that would later turn into a mother and daughter-like relationship. This shows most in Turtles vegetable song where Taylor is her main ingredient. Turtle would always cling to Taylor, which is where she got her name in the first place, after turtles that grab on tight to things.

Later on in the novel Taylor finds Mattie who offers Taylor friendship when her tires blow out. She offers Turtle apple juice and doesn’t get upset when Taylor can not pay her for anything, Mattie in return has Taylor help her drive Esteven and Esperanza to safety. In addition, Mattie gains another loyal friend.

Lou Ann offers Turtle and Taylor a place to live. This helped Taylor out immensely, as all the other places that she looked at to live in didn’t seem to work out. Lou Ann also was there for Taylor when she needed someone to watch Turtle and in return Taylor would cook or clean for Lou Ann.

Esteven, Esperanza and Taylor had a special friendship because she found out about their daughter Ismene. When Esteven and Esperanza needed to get to the safe house Taylor helped them get there and they in turn helped Taylor adopt Turtle. They all worked together in the end to reach a common goal. This makes me believe that the above quote is the essence of the novel.

 Create your own educational wiki!Help Add to Del.ici.ous Add to Digg Add to Reddit Add to fUrl Add to SpurlPublic, not yet premium Privacy Policy RSS