The Rest of Her Life- Week 1, Post A

Vocab

Mennonite (pg. 50): a member of an evangelical Protestant sect, originating in Europe in the 16th century, that opposes infant baptism, practices baptism of believers only, restricts marriage to members of the denomination, opposes war and bearing arms, and is noted for simplicity of living and plain dress.

Indignation (pg. 45): strong displeasure at something considered unjust, offensive, insulting, or base; righteous anger.

Figurative Language

1.) “She’d simply held out her hand, as if Leigh were a waitress with a tray at a wedding.”(pg 53). This is a simile because it uses the word “as”, and because it is describing her by comparing her to something she’s not.
2.) “From the start, Kara had been at the center of that whirl of children, a magnetic nucleus impossible to see from the outside” (pg. 25). This is a metaphor because it describes Kara by comparing her to something else with out using “as” or “like”.
3.) “She looked like a dying bird, Leigh thought” (pg 4). This is a simile because it uses the word “like” to compare Kara to something else.

Quote

When Leigh was pregnant with Justin, Kara’s brother, she read in the news about a boy who killed a mother in a car accident when he crossed the center in a no –passing zone. After reading this, “She cried not just for the dead woman and the motherless baby, but or the nineteen-year-old, who, Leigh assumed, would be shackled to guilt or the rest of his life” (pg. 45). This quote is significant to the book, because it was probably the main reason or the title, “The Rest of Her Life”. This also shows you how badly she must feel for Kara. If she was so depressed when it happened to a complete stranger, I can’t imagine how bad she will feel for Kara. I predict this is foreshadowing to how much Leigh will fall apart and how much she will want to help her daughter.

Theme

I think an emerging theme is coping with your feelings. So far everyone in the book has dealt with their emotions differently. Kara has pulled back and been depressed, Leigh has showed her emotions, and written letters to those she feel was hurt, Justin, hasn’t even mentioned it, and lastly Gary, has not said much, except about the trials.