"That was the scary part- seeing [the ball of fur]."-pg. 110
I chose this as a boss line because it epitomizes Nel's grief. Nel mourns things that leave or end. Earlier, she talks about how not only did Jude leave her, but the grief will eventually leave her too. While most people might look at the passing of grief as a positive, Nel sees it as another unbearable change. Something else that will end and that she can't hold on to. When her children see a scary movie, she obliges to sleep in the bed with them. She says this is to lose herself in their scary dreams and not to think about "the ball of fur." I think the ball of fur represents inevitable changes. Nel is afraid to look at the ball of fur because that would mean acknowledging the fact that more things in her life will change; her children will grow up and leave her and not need her to sleep in their beds when they have a bad dream.
I chose this as a boss line because it epitomizes Nel's grief. Nel mourns things that leave or end. Earlier, she talks about how not only did Jude leave her, but the grief will eventually leave her too. While most people might look at the passing of grief as a positive, Nel sees it as another unbearable change. Something else that will end and that she can't hold on to. When her children see a scary movie, she obliges to sleep in the bed with them. She says this is to lose herself in their scary dreams and not to think about "the ball of fur." I think the ball of fur represents inevitable changes. Nel is afraid to look at the ball of fur because that would mean acknowledging the fact that more things in her life will change; her children will grow up and leave her and not need her to sleep in their beds when they have a bad dream.
I absolutely this boss line and your explanation. Because there wasn't really much explanation in the book of what this ball of fur was, it was nice to look into what your opinion is. I do find it interesting that while most people do try and look past grief and see that as a positive, Nel is the opposite way. I think holding on to the grief probably drives her insane.
ReplyDeleteNice paragraph!