Post A

insidious-intended to entrap
avert-to turn away

"I had begun to feel as unsettled by it as a bug realizing a two-legged creature.... staring it down nonetheless"-simile because it uses the word as to compare.

"when my own meager project was a mere dwarf next to the giant of his career"-This is personification, giving projects the ability to have height.

"As I tried to strike the right note in my response...loud in my ear were John's words..."-This is a metaphor. It compares music to words without using like or as.

"..But for a wife to hide from her husband seemed incorrect to me somehow."(45) I thought this quote was significant because I think that in a way it describes how some beliefs, old and new, never change as years pass.

A theme that is apparent in this book, is a theme of husband and wife being seen as one in society.

Post B

(37)"'And, of course, his words did carry great weight: the victim's brother sympathizing with her killer."'Emma's husband John, is talking about the reason her pen pal Chance wood was put into jail. He was said to have killed his wife. At the trial the victim's brother was not at all anfry towards his sister's killer. It didn't seem like she was a very well liked person. If her own flesh and blood wasn't mournful about her death, and her life partner was her killer, she was probably hated by society in general. I know that some families will disown/alienate other family members if they commit a heinous crime. However, I get the feeling that this woman was more of an annoyance, than a criminal. I know I have people who drive me crazy, but I wouldn't ever take a knife to them. I also believe that maybe Chance should have taken the time to get to know his wife better. If she was really that annoying couldn't he have just divorced her, so maybe Chance had a secret and she must have found out? I also think that if you have a life partner, shouldn't one know about secrets this big then? In that case, Maybe Mrs. Wood should have taken the time to get to know her husband a little bit better. I know we all have secrets we keep from one another, but this type of secret sounds too big, not to include one's spouse in it, or at least let them know about it. This also sounds like an act of stupidity on both Mr. and Mrs. Wood's part. They shouldn't have rushed things. Who knows? Maybe she would have been able to be alive in the book.

Post B

Besmirching(33)-to stain, sully
accrue(33)-to happen or result as a natural growth

(36)".. prisoners,who were seen as having been dangerous, as Hamlet had been mad."_ This is a simile because it is comparing criminals to Hamlet using the word as between them.

(36)"... seeing her in her guileless cornflower eyes."- This is a metaphor because it is comparing the color of somone's eyes to cornflower.

(43)"Scotland was a beautifully moody country..."-This is personification, beacuse it is giving a country the ability to change moods. In a way it does this with seasons.



(33) "'..You do realize, don't you, that as the wife of a respected novelist--not to mention the daughter of a well-respected gentleman-- it is your duty to avoid any appearance of impropriety?"' This is significant because it shows that during this time period not only were husbands judged, but so were their wives on whether or not the men fit into society.

A theme of prejudice towards women continues to emerge. It seems they treat women more as trophies than actual people.

Post B

‘“It has come to your father’s attention,’ said Louisa, ‘that you have taken up a rather irregular correspondence. It does not please him and he wishes you to stop.’”(32) This quote is portraying a strong example of how men control women in this time period. Women are seen as possessions in the late 1800s. Society has come a long ways since that. Women can hold jobs now and they also have the power to vote. Which may not seem like a big deal to some people, but this allows one to be able to contribute their thoughts to the government. Either by voting for future leaders or for new laws. In the 1800s women weren’t allowed to do a lot of things. If they did something that was considered improper, it would not only affect their family’s reputation, but also their husband’s reputation. So what does this mean? It means that society was incredibly critical of women. I know that if I had someone watching, judging my every move, I would get incredibly stressed. Women must have had to deal with a lot more stress of appearances, then we have to today. Yes we are all judged at times. But by the sounds of it, trophy wives are judged a whole lot more on their behavior in public, then we are today. Women probably didn’t have the stress relief techniques we have today either. No massages or yoga classes. So I think that women have it a lot easier today. I am glad I don’t have to live in that century.

Post A

genial(32)-pleasantly cheerful; cordial
Discourse(26)-communication of thought by words

(29) "He moved into the room like a dark cloud.- this is a simile because it compares the way a man walks to a cloud using the word like.

(31) "A gentle countenance belying the steeliness within the soft and powdered exterior."- when the author uses gentle and steeliness I believe that it is a metaphor because they are two unlike things used to describe the same person.

(32)"Louisa held on to her china cup with iron hands."- This is a metaphor because it is comparing flesh to skin.

"...once I married John, my husband became the son my father never had."(32) This sentence gives the reader an insight into how much more sons were valued than daughters.

An emerging theme in the book is that men have the power to control thier wives and daughters. This book is developing a prejudiced theme against women.

Post B

"Let Mr.Wood be a blank slate to me then. Let me judge him for himself."(p.22) This qoute shows that Emma is trying not to be judgemental. This is a hard thing for most people to do. We tend to pay attention to what others' think. Mr.Wood is in jail, because it is rumored that he killed his wife. As a new Years' resolution, Emma is trying to become a better person. Her husband John suggested she do this by writing to someone in jail. Someone who doesn't get many visitors and would probably like to feel that someone still cares about what happens to them. Emma feels that this will fill her New Years' resolution. I would think that it would be extremely difficult not to judge somone based on the fact that they are in jail. Even if they didn't commit a crime, they were convicted of being guilty. That kind of person is guilty of being stupid. If they truly didn't do it, I believe they could find a way to prove the truth. I think Emma has already filled her resloution af being a better person, just by not judging Mr.Wood based on the fact he is in prison. Emma is already a better person than most of the world. If everyone could have a resolution like this, prejudice wouldn't exist. Unfortunately this is a fiction book, and we live in the real world.

Post A

aubergine(p.7)-dark purplish color.

guileless(p.9)-Sincere, honest.

Personification- With a wasp-thin waist.... Saying that wasps have features similar to humans such as that they have waists.

Metaphor-Her guileless blue eyes wide under blond feather brows.... Compares her eyebrows to feathers.

Personification- the warm glow of the gas fireplace almost like another presence...... The fireplace is giving off heat like another person would with thier body heat.

"Despite the lightness of the instrument, it felt somehow heavy there, peculiarly both liberating and dangerous at the same time."(p.16) Emma is describing a pen her husband gave her to write letters to an inmate in prison.

A theme that is appearing in the book is suspicion/foreshadowing, many qoutes about when Emma is talking about writing letters to inmate give off a sense of danger.