tuesday

When I had finished reading “At the Full and Change of the Moon”, I had an array of thoughts, and did not know where to begin by expressing them in a response paper. I began thinking closely of the characters and realized Marie Ursule reminds me of my mother, as she would do anything for the security of her daughter, and Bola reminds me of myself as she been through a lot and is handed a series of unfortunate events. This mother-daughter connection helped me with my response as Marie Ursule sees such promise in her daughter’s eyes, that she can see any promise, is an undeniable sign of hope but one that acknowledges the pain and suffering bound up with hope. This reminds me of my mother’s sufferings, as I was the second Mariam born in the family, as the first Mariam passed away when she was four, but my mother still sees promise in me and has hope for me. This hope and prosper is shown in the passage on page 44 when the narrator says “Marie Ursule had seen in her child’s eyes, the sea, and the journey to be made that melts the body. She had seen the child in the sea.” Marie Ursule sees through her child as any mother would. She knows Bola more than Bola may think, and even with her death, she will always be watching her and her every move. It would be false of me to point this out in an analysis because ultimately, without Marie Ursule and her intentions, Bola and Bola 2 would have never could experience the world like no other, without slavery. And … “Marie Ursule saw water in the child’s eyes. So much water she dabbed it away...” These two small but significant quotes show that Marie Ursule had the best eye for her daughter. Metaphorically, she used water as “tears” as Marie’s past has indirectly haunted Bola, but it was but the sea, in Bola’s eyes. This definitely relates to me as my sister’s passing haunts me indirectly, as I have never met her, but because I live in the present, it is but my current existence of the “second Mariam” that I can truly see.