Cion Chapter 9 and 10

Themes:

The themes of chapter 9 are intimacy and dedication. In this chapter Toloki decides after messing up Mahlon and Orpah’s “memories” that he would find Mahlon’s mother to get on his good side and make him happy. He even tells Ruth about the idea “I want to help. You once told me it would make all the difference in Mahlon’s life if the grave was located and a tombstone was erected on it.” (pg.274) In this chapter they speak more about Toloki and Orpah being intimate with each other which is made clear with him speaking about their encounters with one another. “Orpah, on the other hand was not only an emotional virgin. She was a virgin virgin. And this discovery did not make our first real night together particularly memorable.” And “Tonight is the fourth time and our bodies are beginning to find each other. Me and Orpah are screaming like there is no tomorrow.” (pg. 278) Later on he ends up finding Margaret Tobias’s grave (Mahlon’s mom) with the help of Terry Gilkey from the Division of Water and Sewer company and at the ceremony they hold he says “Today I am going to mourn for you like I’ve never mourned before.” He decides to incorporate some of the things that he has see when spying on Mahlon and Orpah’s “memories”. The family is utterly shocked by this. In the end Mahlon thanks him. “Thank you, Son of Egypt” (pg.288)

The themes of chapter 10 are growing and moving on. In this chapter you see that is has been one whole year sense Toloki arrived in Athens and Kilvert and he has decided to leave.

You’ll also start to see Orpah and Toloki becoming officially together by there plans to leave together. “The journey we are about to undertake fills her with joy… Especially because she is a part of the journey.”(pg. 291) You see that Orpah has become more involved and wants to become a mourner with Toloki. “After… we set off to Niall Quigley’s grave for our daily dose of mourning” They discover after being written by a professor named William Edwards that there could possible be more mourners in Virginia. In this chapter you see that Orpah becomes more confident about her body. “She was no longer afraid of the mark of the Irishman. She was no longer ashamed of it.” (pg.295) Orpah even performs again at a fund-raiser for Katrina victims. One of the biggest examples in this chapter of growing is Mahlon started growing flowers again. “And there I could see rose bushes among the gnomes.” (pg.297) Obed had even moved on from his schemes of making money. He started going to Bible school to become ordained minister and had an honest job. One of the last examples of growing is that they find the sampler. “The good news that had made Ruth happy was the discovery of Abednego’s quilt--- which, for those who knew the story, was really Nicodemus’s sampler---used as batting in the quilt Orpah tore.” (pg.309) In the end they move onto Virginia and beyond.

Cion Chapter 9 & 10 Characters and Summary

Characters Chapter 9

Toloki – Throughout this chapter Toloki begins to focus on his mourning a great deal more and his love for Orpah grows into something more meaningful. At the beginning of the chapter Toloki figures out why Orpah’s ghost tree drawings are always set in the winter because, “Mahlon’s midnight stories are set in wintry landscapes (267)”. Toloki was also caught eavesdropping on the stories, which upset Orpah terribly and she tore up her pictures, the next day she took new ones to Toloki and he tried to convince her to share them because, “They are too beautiful not be shared (271)”. He tries to talk to Ruth about finding Mr. Quigley’s mother’s grave because he knows that it would make a huge difference if he knew where his mother was, but Ruth is reluctant. Toloki makes love with Orpah in this RV, but all he can think about is Noria. Toloki tries to find Mr. Quigley’s mother’s grave so he calls someone to help him it and they end up finding it. At the end of the chapter, Toloki ended up mourning the grave.

Orpah – She still has her childish tendencies throughout the chapter, such as tearing up her pictures out of anger. Her relationship with Toloki grows, and her feelings become more obvious. At the beginning of the chapter she is very angry with Toloki for spying on her father and her during their ceremonies and she destroys some of her pictures, but the next day she takes Toloki a new one and acts like nothing happened. Orpah and her father get in a fight because Mahlon found out about “her deception about ghost orchids (276)”. After this they don’t talk for a while, but she missed him and begged him for his forgiveness. She decided that she wanted to go with Toloki to go look for the American professional mourners in his RV. At the end of the chapter after Toloki mourns her grandmother she gets very excited and tells her dad, “We should have brought our costumes (288)”.

Mahlon – He continues to tell the midnight stories with Orpah because he likes them as well, even though Ruth disapproves because “The Word” says it is evil. He gets very angry with Toloki for spying and messing up one of the ceremonies, “You son of a bitch, you messed up our memories (270)”. Mahlon is angered by Orpah for lying to him about the ghost orchids and refuses to talk to her for a little while, until she asks for his forgiveness. At the end of the chapter, after Toloki’s performance, he is very happy about the mourning of his mother’s grave and even pays Toloki for his professional mourning.

Ruth – At the beginning of the chapter it talks about how Ruth did not mind the midnight stories before she started reading the Bible and “The Word was revealed to her (268)”. After this she thought the stories were from evil. Ruth begins to dislike Toloki more because she thinks that he is taking away her children from her and no one can do that! When Obed comes home, she expresses how proud she is of him by talking about his decision of attending Bible school and also asks him to lead a prayer at dinner time. Ruth thinks that it is Toloki’s fault that Mahlon and his daughter do not speak anymore, but Toloki gets the truth from Orpah later.

Obed – He returns in this chapter from Bible school and is a completely changed man, he thinks the stories told between Mahlon and Orpah are childish and meant nothing. Obed also starts to become more like Ruth and begins ignoring Orpah’s childish acts, such as when she tore up her pictures. Obed also gets very upset with Toloki for wanting to find his grandmother’s grave because he says “Why you guys don’t wanna let sleeping dogs sleep (279)”? Although he did not agree with the idea, he told Toloki he could help. He also takes sides with Nathan, and after the fight between him and Orpah, Obed leaves the RV with Nathan because he did not want to stay there.

The first Quigley – Ruth talks about him and how he was the “Man of God (272)”. She talks about how he would “read the future from a red scroll (272)”. He could tell what symbols and figures meant for the future generations, this scroll had the lives of all the Quigley’s written down, but sadly it was buried with him.

Noria – This is Toloki’s first true love, and when making love Toloki couldn’t help but think about Noria and how “she had been experienced by many men before me and that made her even more desirable (278)”.

Beth Eddy – She is Obed’s Caucasian girlfriend. She came to the Quigley’s home for dinner with Obed.

Nathan– He comes back to talk to Orpah and tell her that he wanted them to be back together, but ends up getting in a fight with her outside of Toloki’s RV.

Terry Gilkey – He works for the Athens city Division of Water and Sewer, but he keeps the records of the city’s cemeteries. He is who Toloki calls for help to find Margaret Tobias’ grave because, “he is regarded as an expert in the field (282)”. Terry helped Toloki eventually find the grave he was looking for.

Margaret Tobias – Mahlon Quigley’s mother whose grave Toloki was looking for so he could mourn her. Mr. Quigley felt that if she had a tombstone and was recognized her dignity would be restored.

Irene – A lady who works at the center and sews quilts with Toloki. When Obed comes to the center and teases Orpah about her quilt, she smiles and agrees with Obed because she does not like the “string art quilts” either.


Characters Chapter 10

Toloki - Toloki and Orpah take their relationship further and he plans on leaving Kilvert with her so they can mourn professionally together. He gets a tear drop tattoo (just one) with Orpah so that they look more professional. He comes across a couple setbacks, but they eventually leave together and cross the Ohio River where Nicodemus and Abednego were believed to have crossed. "We crossed the Ohio River at Pomeroy. Exactly where Nicodemus and Abednego crossed, according to Orpah (311)." Toloki starts a life by himself without the sciolist.

Orpah - Decides she wants to be a professional mourner with Toloki and gets two teardrop tattoos because she cannot cry on command like Toloki can. In the chapter she changes her mind about going with Toloki because her father is talking to her again, but soon realizes she wants to go.

Mahlon - He begins to start growing live things in his garden instead of just gnomes and flags. He buys a cow from a desperate farmer which makes Ruth glad because he is becoming more like he used to be. He lets Orpah go with Toloki semi-reluctantly but seems to now approve of her decision.

Ruth - Ruth seems much more happy now that Mahlon is tending his garden again, Obed is now a good man and a man of god, and Orpah is doing something with her life. She is so proud of Obed and his recent turn in faith even though she seems to semi disapprove of him "shacking up" with Beth Eddy. She finds the sampler quilt which makes her extremely happy. She starts to make quilts of biblical figures with the rotary cutter Toloki gives her instead of old civil war style quilts.

Obed - Obed is now a man of god and has gotten serious with Beth Eddy. He has become a man of god and given up on his scams, which has made Ruth very pleased. He comes back to Kilvert to say goodbye to Toloki and sees him at the Block Party (He is Darth Vader for the Block Party).

Beth Eddy - Beth is now with Obed and thanks the ghost of Nicodemus and Toloki's mediation. She goes to the Block Party as Anakin Skywalker.


Chapter 9

Mahlon’s performances date back to when Orpah and Obed were children and apparently when Mahlon was still sane. At first, Ruth paid no heed to these stories about mermaids and fantasy worlds, but as she read the bible she started to feel a bit uneasy about them. Obed eventually grows out of these stories, but Orpah does not.
Toloki decides to do something for Mahlon as a peace offering, which leads him to wanting to find Mahlon’s mother’s grave. “Ruth once told me that there will be peace in him only if he finds his mother’s grave and does what is right by her (269).”

When Toloki entered the Orpah’s room for memories and stories in chapter 8, the performance had ”bombed” and the pair were off their game and stiff while telling and acting the stories out. “She (Orpah) was not happy with the result and tore the pictures in frustration. The she glared at me accusingly (270).” The next day Orpah was acting “as if nothing had happened” (270) when she went to the RV. Though when Toloki said he would like to attend more performances, Orpah CLEARLY detested the idea by screaming.

Ruth and Toloki talk about the first Quigley and how he his rolling in his grave because of the actions of the Quigley family.

Mahlon finds out that Orpah has been deceiving him with the “ghost orchids” and refuses to talk to her. He feels betrayed after Orpah confesses she has been fashioning the orchids from random items and pinning them to the trees. Orpah misses Mahlon and tries to make it up, but is denied.

Toloki and Orpah share some passion in his RV and Toloki talks about his experience with Noria, a past lover and how making love with her was different from making love with Orpah because Noria had more experience while Orpah was, “not only an emotional virgin. She was virgin virgin (278).”

Obed comes back a changed man after his relationship with Beth Eddy kicks off. He thanks Toloki, but Toloki tells him he should thank the ghost of Nicodemus. Toloki is making a quilt from Orpah’s designs at the center when Obed comes around to talk to him. Toloki tells Obed that Ruth gave him permission to locate grandma Quigley’s grave, but Obed does not seem to like the idea when he asks why he wants to bother doing such a thing. Obed came from Athens to Kilvert with Nathan. Toloki finds out from Obed that Terry Gilkey, from the City of Athens Division of Water and sewer, has the records of all of the graves in the cemeteries.

Obed and Toloki find Nathan and Orpah arguing about their “relationship”. Nathan pleads for Orpah to get back together with him, but Orpah says that they were never together. After that, Orpah tells Toloki that they need to leave Kilvert together. Toloki disagrees with that decision which makes Orpah really upset and she throws a tantrum and she rips up one of her own pictures. Toloki exclaims that she is doing Ruth’s work. They do not see each other for days.

Toloki calls Terry Gilkey to find Margaret Quigley’s grave. They cannot find her grave in the records so Toloki goes and talks to Ruth. Ruth tells him that he will not find it under the name Quigley, because Margaret’s marriage was not recognized because she was a Caucasian woman marrying a black man, which is why she was thrown in the mental asylum in the first place. Instead, she would be under the name Tobias. Terry and Toloki finally locate the grave.

The Quigley family gathers around the grave. Mahlon had to be convinced to go for his mother and not for the family, because he did not really appreciate his family at that point. Toloki begins to mourn professionally, and incorporates dance moves from Mahlon’s performances in Orpah’s Room. Mahlon begins to laugh and the others are in shock. Toloki sees this as his crowning performance. The whole family is extremely appreciative and Orpah expresses that she wants to be a professional mourner.



Chapter 10

“The seasons have come full cycle (289)” and it is Halloween once again. Toloki is there with Orpah watching a band and enjoying the festivities. The story jumps back to September, when Orpah and Toloki are planning on leaving to find the Virginia mourners in early October. Orpah began staying the night every night in the RV and went back home for a bath. Toloki and Orpah also begin mourning at Naill Quigley’s grave every day and they get teardrop tattoos.

After asking the sciolist about where there were other professional mourners in America, Toloki came home from the center one day to find a letter from the sciolist from a professor that had information regarding the mourners in America. The information said that there were professional mourners in New York City, Louisiana and South Carolina.

Orpah and Toloki both decided that they could not just “crash” a funeral because before mourning, they needed to convince the people that they needed them. With the time between Orpah and Toloki growing, their relationship also began to grow into something more.

One afternoon while working on the quilts at the center, a man came in to talk to Orpah about playing with his bluegrass band for a fund-raising event for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Orpah immediately said, “I don’t wanna play no gig (296)”. The man looked to Toloki for support, but he did not want to become involved and end up like Nathan. Orpah ended up deciding to play in the bluegrass concert that night, but only if Obed came because she needed moral support.

Orpah and Toloki went to Ruth’s the next morning and the first thing that “struck” Toloki was Mahlon’s garden because there were living things in it now. Also, Toloki noticed Ruth using the rotary cutter that he got her as a gift and she tried to hide it from him, “but it was too late (297)”.

Ruth begins to brag about Obed to Toloki and how she is so proud him and how “he’s now a man of God (298)”. She goes on to say how Beth Eddy is a nice girl and just because she is Caucasian that “no one could hold it against her (298)”. Ruth also talks about how Obed is going to bible school to become a pastor.

Orpah drove the RV to Stimson Ave. so that they could get teardrops tattooed on their cheeks. Toloki curses the blue grass concert because Orpah does not come back to the RV afterwards, but instead stays at Ruth's house. They do not see each other for days. Toloki Goes looking for Orpah to ask what her deal is, and Orpah explains that she cannot leave when Mahlon is talking to her again because he needs her for the memories (300).

At the Block Party on Halloween, Toloki and Orpah are sifting through the crowds. It was entirely Orpah's decision to go. Toloki is found by Obed and Beth Eddy, who are Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker for the Block Party. Orpah has disappeared into the crowd and Toloki expresses his concern that she will not return and leave for Virginia with him.



Mahlon's Garden has begun to produce flowers again. Toloki goes to look for Orpah after not seeing her for days. Toloki finds Orpah and Mahlon on the driveway feeding MAhlon's new cow that he purchased. Ruth ripped up some of Orpah's drawings out of habit, and Orpah lashed back by ripping up the Quilt with the first Quigley's image on it. Ruth and Orpah were severely upset by this. Toloki was going to the Quigleys to say his goodbyes before leaving. Orpah had finally decided to go with him, but Toloki concludes he cannot leave while the family is in shambles like this.

The next day Toloki helps out at the center by making food packages for the families in need. Two days later, Orpah went to the RV and tells Toloki that she wants to go with him to find the other mourners. "She had made peace with her mother and both her parents had come to terms with her leaving (308)."

Ruth finds the lost sampler blanket that was originally Nicodemus' and it was appraised to be worth at least $12,000. Ruth will not sell it though because it is a sacred object to her. Obed tells Ruth about his new church he belongs to called the Church of the Healing Path, but Ruth thinks it is "Mumbo-Jumbo" (309).

As Orpah and Toloki are leaving the family says their goodbyes. Mahlon says some weird stuff about Barn owls and everyone stares at him for a while. Toloki says goodbye to Ruth and Mahlon. "Don't you hurt my baby now," "These hands have killed hogs. They can kill you just the same." (310).

The two leave Kilvert, but they decide to stay for Halloween and get costumes.

The next morning they leave across the Ohio river at Pomeroy without the Sciolist. "The Sciolist is in the God business. And like all Gods he lives his life vicariously through his creations (312)."



1) Why do you think the Sciolist really is not present in the story that much? Was he really in the "God business" as Toloki said?

2) Do you think Orpah and Toloki will stay together for long now that they are on the road?

3) Ruth is now more open to different types of quilts. Do you think Ruth will do away with her stubborn lifestyle and lead a more tolerant life?

Cion Book Review

*Please respond to the four sections of the prompt completely. Show off what you know about the book!


"Cion" is a meta fiction, a tale of people finding themselves and struggling to come to terms with family and heritage, all the while examining our country's cultures and histories.

What is your take on the book? Did you like it? Did you hate it? Are you more of a mix of the two (hopefully)? Reflect a minute on parts that had you laughing, areas you thought were clever, or areas in the book that taught you something important or got you thinking; with this in mind, go back through the book and see if you can come up with page numbers to cite passages. Now write your take on the passages you selected, then move on to the next step.

Reflect a minute on things that confused you, areas of the book that you thought weren't necessary perhaps, or anything in general that you did not like about the novel. Again, with this in mind, go back through your book to see if you can come up with passages and page numbers to represent this. What would you change about the book? What is wrong with the sections you are criticizing?

Now, think about the ending of the book. Did you like the way the story closes? Even if you liked it just fine, take a minute to write an alternate ending to the book.

Finally, write a few sentences about the title and other other symbols in the book. Why do you think Zakes Mda chose the title Cion? Can you give examples of how the metaphor of grafting works with the story (see the diagrams below)?

Grafting is when you take a branch or group of branches of a foreign species and grow them off of a domestic trunk or stock of a tree.
*--Show off your knowledge of the book! Especially those of you who performed sub-par on the quizzes.

Setting Chapters 9 & 10

Chapter 9
Setting:

The Quigley house

Chapter 9 starts out during the summer months around “…August the different shades of green that dominate the Kilvert summer now sport patches of yellow. The leaves become smaller; you can see further into the woods” (276). Toloki’s attempts to pry further into the Quigley family frustrates Ruth, “…I hear you come like a thief in the night for Mr. Quigley’s silly memories” and leads her to believe that he is trying to tear apart her family; “I hear Orpah is always in you RV. God knows what you do there. And Obed, we don’t see him no more ‘cause your meddling…” (269, 277).

The Community Center

Toloki has been spending a great deal of time in the sewing center making what Obed describes as “…them string art quilts…” that “…anything goes with…” (279). Toloki has been working on translating Orpah’s drawings of Mahlon and her memories into fabric.

Toloki’s RV

The relationship between Toloki and Orpah has been growing stronger and the two are occasionally visited by Obed. Toloki and Obed discuss the matter of finding his Grandmothers grave “He says he heard from Ruth that she has given me permission to locate his grandmother’s grave” (279). Obed reveals to Toloki that there is a man who works for the city of Athens Division of Water and Sewer by the name of Terry Gilkey who is “…well known as an expert on the mental asylum cemeteries at The Ridges” (280).

Nathan returns once with Obed and argues with Orpah, “I just want us back together”, and Orpah refutes him by saying “We was never together Nathan” (280). Toloki intrudes upon the argument and receives a few quick insults from Nathan before he leaves.

Toloki suggests traveling to Virginia in order to find a group of professional mourners to gain experience and tips on the subject, Orpah become ecstatic and wants to leave right away, when Toloki cannot she becomes infuriated and doesn’t see him for days.

Division of Water and Sewer

Gilkey is introduced and shares with Toloki his vast collection of records. They are unable to find Mahlon’s mother at first, they were looking for a Quigley, until Toloki calls Ruth and is told that the Quigley’s didn’t condemn her, “…’cause they didn’t recognize the marriage…”, Ruth tells Toloki that her maiden name was Tobias; Gilkey and Toloki locate her name and grave number (284).

The Ridges

Gilkey explains “Her grave’s gonna be at Cemetery Number 2”, the grounds there were well maintained and half the graves had only numbers on them the other having both names and numbers of the deceased. Men and Women were buried on different sides “no mixing and no hanky-panky even in death” (284). Toloki brings the Quigley family to the grave site and he mourns as never before; his act “incorporate[s] some of the movements [he] saw Mahlon perform through the window” with Orpah during their memory routines (286). The family is greatly pleased and Toloki receives endearment from Ruth and even Mahlon.

Chapter 10
Setting:

Court Street

The season has turned to fall, and after spending most of their September honing their mourning skills, Toloki and Orpah had decided to leave in early October to find the Virginia Mourners; it’s now October 31 and the parade of pagans has begun once again. Toloki and Orpah walk around and observe the many different costumes on display this year round. Toloki notices Orpah enjoying herself, he “… [had] never seen Orpah so carefree” (290). Orpah meets some old friends and winds up being lost in the crowd from Toloki, he encounters Obed and Beth and they walk him home to his RV.

Toloki’s RV

Orpah had begun choreographing their routine and had become, somewhat of an artistic director and manager. She was eager to perform their routine live, but Toloki insisted on waiting until after they had met up with the Virginia Mourners for they could then perfect their performance. The two spend much of their time together creating quilts and designs and are so carried away with each other that they had practically separated themselves from everyone else.

Tattoo Parlor

Orpah had not yet perfected the art of shedding tears at will and thus suggests getting tear drops tattooed on their faces, “One drop for [Toloki] would suffice, but for [Orpah] she needed two drops on each cheek…” (292).

The Community Center

While putting together one of Orpah’s collages, a man enters that the women there recognize as “one of the greatest dulcimer players in southeast Ohio” (296). He had come to the center in search of Orpah, for he wanted to recruit her to play at a fundraiser for hurricane relief, after much reluctance, Orpah decides to play and the night of the concert she does not return to Toloki’s RV.

Ruth’s House

Mahlon’s garden is once again host to living things, “Some mini flags were still there, planted on the grass, but most were now decorating the bushes” (297). Toloki finds Ruth using the rotary cutter he had gifted to her and received much flak for, when she sees him enter she attempts to hide it, but is unable to do so in time. Ruth tells Toloki about Obed, and how he has become a man of God by going to Bible school to become a preacher in hopes to one day run Brother Michael’s Church.

Orpah and Toloki have a slight falling out, she decides not to leave with him because Mahlon and her have began talking once again, Toloki makes the decision to go on without her and let her go completely, he tells her: “I don’t want to be let down again, Orpah. You use me like a tissue. When your tears are dry you will discard me like before” (307). Eventually Orpah makes peace with Toloki and her parents and is given the blessing by them to leave, and Toloki was simply unable to resist her.

The whole Quigley family comes together in order to send the two off on their way.

Ohio River

The two are incredibly excited about their adventure and cross the river “Exactly where Nicodemus and Abednego crossed, according to Orpah” (311).


Reflection Questions:

1. How is Toloki and Orpah's journey across the Ohio River a reflection of Abednego and Nicodemus' route to freedom, or is there any?

2. How could the profession of mourning be regarded as a 'hustler', how could it be regarded as enlightenment?

CHAPTER 7&8 Characters and plot

Chapter 7 Characters-

Orpah- In Chapter 5 Orpah begins to come out of her shell and interact with the family a lot more. She begins to see that Toloki is acting “funny” (pg.228) towards her. After realizing this she begins to go out of her way to try and win his attention back. Towards the end of the Chapter Orpah plays her sitar in public for the first time in her life. This brings tears to Toloki eyes, and when they return home Orpah and Toloki share a sensual moment in which Toloki sees what the “mark of the Irishmen” is.

Ruth- Ruth “the tsunami” (pg.226) begins to build her relationship back with Toloki after she is informed at the funeral for the young child killed in the meth lab accident, that Toloki’s “Professinal Mourning” profession is in fact in the bible. She also shares a bit of information about Mahlon’s mother and what happened to her. This is when we realize that Ruth may have a big thing about “long black hair”. “I think pretty black hair is a big thing with Ruth. I remember on a few occasions when she was telling me of Abednego’s descendants she would add with great pride: “They had pretty black hair and high foreheads like white people.” (pg 222). Her attitude improves towards the end of the chapter, when she realizes that Toloki has quit hiding Orpah’s artwork from her.

Nathan- Nathan’s role in the book becomes more pronounced in this chapter. He and Orpah have “puppy love , but it could have developed into something serious”. He and Toloki go on a turkey hunt in the woods, where Nathan begins to confess some things about the relationship Orpah and her father have that Toloki is curious about. He gets mad at Toloki at the end of the chapter and calls him out on having an eye for Orpah, “You don’t think I don’t see the wat you’ve been eyeing her?” (pg 235)

Obed- He is his normal argumentative self with everybody, but we catch a glimpse of him becoming a citizen of the community when he read a paragraph from the letter that St. Paul wrote to the Romans (pg. 200). This impresses Ruth to no end, and she begins as she begins to tear up. Obed also shoots a hen during this chapter, which offends Nathan highly. Obed also is still up to his scams moving from one to the next when he gets bored with his last one. We also see Obed begin to create feelings for a ms. Beth Eddy who lives at the sorority house in which he is painting as his punishment.

Beth Eddy- she is Obed’s crush that lives in the sorority house in which he painting.

Sister Naomi- she is the mother of the child who was killed in the Meth Lab explosion.

Brother Michael- He oversees the funeral, and looks through the bible for proof of Toloki’s job of being a “Professional Mourner”

Mahlon Quigley- During Chapter 7 he looks for Ghost Orchids when Orpah becomes obsessed with them. This gives note to the face that he will do anything for Orpah and is very over protective of her. We find out that Mahlon doesn’t like Toloki and has been trying to sabotage his stay at his house since he moved in, but Orpah has been stepping in and ruining his attempts.

Toloki- Throughout the chapter you can see that Toloki is falling in love with Orpah, but wants to supress his feelings because they are interfering with his mourning, “As for me and Orpah: I have given up on her,” (pg. 230). He begins to ignore Orpah and this makes her try even harder to get his attention. Later in the Chapter Toloki attends the bluegrass festival, in which he watches Orpah play her sitar and his feelings begin to get the better of him. When they return home he goes to Orpahs room and discovers what the “Mark of the Irishmen” is when he sees Orpahs blonde pubic hair. After discovering this, they “cuddle on her pink duvet. Nothing happens beyond that” (pg 237).

Ch. 7 Plot

Starts off at a childs funeral that Toloki is publicly mourning. Obed did a lot for him to be able to mourn at this funeral. Obed reads a passage that makes Ruth like Toloki’s profession finally. “She looked at me and smiled. The Bible had finally convinced her of the legitimacy of my profession.” (pg 201) The next day Ruth teases Toloki by calling him “Son of Egypt” (because people were calling him that after the service) as the have sassafras tea and she explains its history. Toloki didn’t go to hunt with Obed and Mahlon that morning because he is squeamish so instead he goes to the Center to quilt. He is there for awhile when Nathan comes in to take him hunting since Nathan hadn’t gone with them earlier either. Toloki tries to get out of it again when the ladies say he doesn’t have a license to hunt and Nathan reassures them he will only watch. On the car ride you find out Mahlon started a community to save the elm trees. Nathan kills a turkey and explains you cant shoot the hens because you will be fined . They find their kill and take it to the station. On the way there Nathan says he is waiting around for Orpah because she will come around someday and they were good together as former lovers until Ruth barged in and told Orpah to focus on studies. He also says Mahlon does anything to make her happy and now he is looking for a special orchid that she saw and liked.Toloki says nothing about the night visits to prevent spreading gossip. At the station Obed and Mahlon run in just before the station closes. Frantically Obed reveals he shot a hen and had to get rid of the evidence and Nathan gets mad at him. The next day they have a barbeque and Nathan comes with his two kids. Nathan and Obed makeup. While Toloki is helping Ruth in the kitchen they get into a conversation about Mahlons mother. She married a black man and ran way so her parents declared her insane and sent to the Ridges where she died, was buried and numbered. You learn Obed really likes going to Beth Eddy’s and they love listening to his stories and fascinated he is related to Nicodemus. Orpah gets closer by eating dinner with them often and tries to talk to Toloki but he has given up on her. They go to the Silent Chinese Auction together and Mahlon doesn’t like seeing them together. Orpah bids for a gnome to give to Mahlone from Toloki because she tells him her dad doesn’t like him and he has been trying to get him out of the house. She names an incident where her dad hid the key to the basement that Toloki recalls. Nathan and Orpah go together to the Appalaichain bluegrass festival together where she plays her sitar publicly for the first time. Everyone loves her and she gets upset with Nathan for trying to “manage” her. She demands Obed take hr home and Toloki insists that he does so. Nathan says something to Toloki infront of Orpah about how hes aware of tolokis feelings for her. Back home, Orpah invites Toloki to his room where they sleep together naked.

Chapter 8 characters

Ruth- In this chapter we see that even though Ruth has begun to dislike Toloki for corrupting her family, she doesn’t want Toloki to move out. She is going on rough times also during this chapter with the rest of her family. When Toloki tries to give her a token of money she declines and asks him for some gingham from Africa so

her quilts will sell like “hotcakes” (pg 263)

Mahlon- the “medium man” in this chapter. His hatred for Toloki peaks in this chapter, as he is told about Toloki’s infidelity with his daughter, and also with Orpah’s daily visits to his RV. Towards the end of the chaoter Mahlon discovers Toloki is listening in on his and Orpah’s memories. His stories come from the ghost trees that play such a profound role in this book.

Obed- is still trying to find his next “get rich quick” scheme. He sees himself as the savior for the town of Kilvert, “Obed sees himself as the new fletcher, although his methods will not be Fletcher’s” (pg 259). He wants to bring a casino to Kilvert, so he travels to Connecticut to get some advice from a Mr. Kerzner. He never finds this Mr. Kerzner because he is in the Carribean and blames this on Toloki. (pg. 257)

Sister Naomi- dies from her addiction to meth. Her skin had lesions on it and looked as if she had been “bobbing for French fries” (pg. 249)

Orpah- She comes to visit Toloki at his RV on a daily basis. She won’t stay the night with him even though he hints at it. All of her drawings have got a new theme of ghost orchids. These pieces of artwork as said to play a song, “the collages play a song” (pg. 255). She and her father are still having there affair. Toloki gets caught spying on them during there act of infidelity.

Sol Kerzner- “South African who had taken advantage of apartheid laws and established casinos in South Africa’s own black reservation.

Toloki- He moves out of Ruth’s house and into an RV this chapter. He tries to help out Ruth during her hard times, she wont accept his gift. As he listen’s to Orpah’s sitar while he is trying to sleep it drives him mad, “And it does to me what it did that first night” (pg 263). He gets ot of bed to get closer to the sitar, he catches Mahlon going to Orpah’s room dressed in a militant outfit. He begins to spy on them and gets caught spying but is invited into the room, “Why not come in if you wanna hear right?”(pg. 265), to view Orpah and Mahlon’s “memories”

Ch.8 Plot

Medium Man looks for a ghost orchid at night. “When they think he is fast asleep or performing his memories for the spirit child they unfold themselves…” (pg 238) Ruth lets Toloki know her and Mahlon know about what happened and don’t like it. He asks Orpah about it and she says she told Mahlon and blows it off my acting innocent. Toloki goes to the center and everyone there knows about it too. He buys two rotary cutters and rulers one for him and one for ruth. Obed is really interested in his casino, Ruth is convinced Toloki is making her children defiant and evil. She tells them that they will have nothing to do with him once he moves out. Toloki publicly mourns another death. Sister Naomi- mother of the child in chapter seven. Toloki buys an RV because he feels it is time to get out of the house. He gets help from Nathan and Obed. Nathan wants him to move out too because he thinks he has caused the family trouble. Toloki keeps his RV on the Center’s property. Orpah cries when he leaves, Ruth says it is against her wishes and it is an insult, and Mahlon says “Don’t let the bed bugs bite.” In his RV he looks at some of Orpahs new pictures and thinks of one of her collages as a song. Orpah and Obed visit hi often and tell him about there being no food in Ruths house. Toloki visits Ruth with money saying he wants to buy a quilt. One night he feels he hears Orpahs sitar even thoug he knows he is too far away. He goes and spies on her and he sees Mahlon go to her room dressed up again. He gets close to the window to listen and Mahlon is telling her a story about MAsa Blue Fly and the Absynian Queen. He suddenly draws the blinds to reveal Toloki spying. He invites him in assuring him and Orpah that he knew he has always been spying. Orpah is reluctant to let him join and does not want him there.

Questions

1. 1) We know how much it bothers Toloki that they treat Orpah like a child and call her a girl. Do you think Orpah has anything to do with this? Why?
   
2. 2) Why do you think that Orpah is so nice to Toloki and wants to be around him all the time in the chapter but at the end she is rude and mean towards him?
   
3. 3) “I want them pictures to tell a story. Like back in them days if something happened there’d be a song wrote about it.”- Orpah (pg 255) After hearing this quote, do you think Orpah has more in common with her mother than they both think. Why or why not.
   

Themes and Settings for Chapters 7 & 8

Settings

Kilvert

Both Chapters are based on Kilvert where we know the Quigley's, Toloki and many other characters that we have met have lived. Kilvert was founded around 1830 and is most known for the residents' mixed bloodlines. "Ain't no better place than Kilvert". (p. 262)

The Cemetary

Toloki starts mourning in Kilvert and is paid by few people that attend the services. First, Toloki mourns the son of sister Naomi in chapter 7 after he is tragically killed by an exploding meth lab. Here we also find that Obed doesn't neglect the Bible as his mother assumed, when he tries to justify the practice of mourning with passeages from the Bible. Again, he gets to mourn publicly when sister Naomi dies from her addiction to Meth in chapter 8. ""She looks like she's been bobbing for French fries," the woman at the center whispered." (p. 249)

Wayne National Forest

We find Mahlon Quigley, Toloki, Obed, and Nathan all in the Wayne National Forest in chapter 7. The Wayne Nation Forest is the only national forest in Ohio. It covers nearly a quarter of a million acres and branches across 12 counties. The men go into the woods to go turkey hunting. Toloki did not want to go, but with the pressure of the Quigley's and Nathan, he ends up going, but with the understanding that he will not hunt, only watch. Here, Obed shoots a female turkey and upsets Nathan. "For serious shooters like Nathan it is shameful and despicable to kill a hen. Real men don't shoot hens." (p.218) We also see more of the Wayne National Forest while Mahlon goes on his suspicious hunts for ghost orchids for Orpah.

Federal Creek

This creek is mentioned in chapter 8. Toloki and Orpah take a walk there and shows Tololki where Mahlon has found the latest ghost orchid. She also tells of how her mother used to swim in the creek, but now that isn't possible due to the pollution in the creek.

The Quigley House

Throughout chapter 7 Toloki still resides in the Quigley house. Things become more heated there because of his stay with Orpah and he begins to feel uneasy there and threatened by Mahlon. After 7 months of staying with the Quigley's Toloki moves out in chapter 8. He does return, however, to Orpah's window secretely to listen to her sitar, but is caught by Mahlon.

The RV

After Toloki moves from the Quigley house, he buys an RV from Nathan. It was a 1982 Ford Shasta from Lancaster, Ohio. The RV was Obed's suggestion. Toloki believes this is because Obed wanted to use the RV as his own because what was the point in buying an RV when Toloki can't drive? Both Orpah and Obed visit Toloki often there dispite the fact that Ruth decided that it would be in the two's best interest never to go to the RV when Toloki moved out. The women at the center were gracious enough to let Toloki leave his RV on their grounds and thats where it stays.

The Center

Toloki goes there very ofter throughout both the chapters and is taught by the women there how to quilt. Because of his visits, Ruth becomes more jealous and doesn't understand why he didn't have her teach him how to quilt. Toloki also helps hand out the food, mop the floors, and other tedious things to help the women for letting him stay on their grounds with his RV. The Center is also where the Chinese Auction was held that Toloki went to with Orpah in chapter 7. Orpah makes Toloki buy a George Bush Gnome there to try to make Mahlon like Toloki more, but the attempt was fruitless.

Appalachial Rising Bluegrass Festival
Nathan convinces Orpah to play her sitar at the festival. This brings Orpah, Obed, Nathan and Toloki just outside of Hunington, WestVirginia. When Orpah goes onto the stage, she assumes she will be playing her instrument alone, but to her surprise many other instrument players join in to her authentic music. She then gets upset when Nathan tries to control what Orpah does with her music and everyone goes home. Going home then leads to Orpah and Toloki's heated night together.

Cion Chapters 7-8 Themes

There are surprisingly few themes in this selection of the book. The main themes I have located have been the strong desire that Toloki has for Orpah, the regret that Ruth shows when her children begin to change, the struggle of Mahlon and Toloki for the right to Orpah, the re occurrence of death, and even the eventual departure of Toloki from the Quigley household.

These chapters revolve mostly around Tololki’s struggle to adapt to Kilvert and his growing desire to be Orpah. In chapter 7 he is taken to the community center to begin his quilting lesson's however, that is quickly interuppted by Nathan who insists he go hunting turkey with him, Toloki eventually goes with Nathan only to learn that Nathan has a strong desire for Orpah, and even mentions Orpah’s “games” with her father. This peaks Tolokis interest immensely and then soon Nathan and Obed get into a heated discussion over Obed's hunting practices. Later on the group goes the a bluegrass festival where Orpah plays her sitar on stage. The group is fascinated by this and the popularity becomes too much for Orpah and she runs away. This leads to a falling out between the friends and Tolokis feeling are revealed to Orpah. She is taken back by this and later on seems to like the attention he gives her. That night they almost have sex but instead lay there with each other, naked, just enjoying the time they have with each other. After this point the romance seems to become very immature and their actions are compared to those of scared teenagers. Toloki eventually moves out and buys an RV to live in, he lives in the parking lot of the community center. At this point he spends much of his time in the center quilting, where Orpah comes to visit him very frequently. She even begins to spend time with him at his RV. At the end of the chapter Toloki is overcome with a sense of duty to discover what it is that Mahlon and Orpah are doing in her room in those strange costumes, he eavesdrops outside the window to listen in on what is happening. He is soon discovered by Mahlon and invited in, sadly Orpah is not happy to see him. She protests his presence by saying " He can't take no part in our memories!" This is where it ends.

In the reading there is also a slight theme of betrayal between Obed and Toloki. Twice in the chapter Obed asks for Toloki’s assistance with his capitalistic escapades and both times Toloki refuses to assist him. Obed at first doesn’t seem too bothered but it is when he returns from Connecticut that the frustration begins to show. Toloki does not go because he claims " I am just a professional mourner, a billionare would know nothing about me, nor would he wish to see me." Obed blames Toloki’s absence as the reasoning for why he could not gain an audience with the billionaire Kerzner. In all reality Toloki’s absence had no affect on the outcome of the situation, it was because Kilvert was not yet an actual Indian reservation. This frustration is seen throughout the rest of the reading.

Again, death is a theme in this reading. Seeing as Toloki is a professional mourner it would make sense that death happens a lot in this book. The first funeral which Toloki mourns at is almost a joyous occasion for him, it was the first time he was able to mourn professionally since he has been in America. The next funeral is for a woman who was close the family and died to her addiction to meth, Toloki mourns at this funeral as well, however this time he is much less liked by the Quigley family and is a much less joyous occasion for him. The book states " Despite my spirited mourning both Ruth and Mahlon pretend I am not here at all. Not even a glance in my direction." This shows how sad Toloki is to be shunned by the people he cares so much for.

The final theme present in the reading is the unappreciation Ruth feels by her children. She feels as if her children have become wild and rebellious since Toloki moved in with the Quigley family. She sees Obed becoming more and more rebellious and the overall lack of their presence is greatly troubling to her. She sobs uncontrollably and claims that no one in the family understand the sacrifices she has made for the family. Some of her claims may be unfounded but it is hard not sympathize with her.



Questions:

1.) Do you think that Toloki's relationship with Orpah will go any farther than it has, considering he plans to return to Africa?

2.) Do you think the that the relationship between Toloki and Mahlon will change, seeing as Mahlon caught Toloki listening outside of the window?

3.) What do you think Toloki's quilt making is begining to represent?