David Fairfield- The son of Charles Fairfield and is known as The Owner. He owns the plantation in Virgina and his sole purpose is to breed slaves. David has relations with the Abyssinian Queen. He has a very intimate and passionate, border line obsession with the Abyssinian Queen. Advocated,"saving the women from the pain of loving their children" (pg 35). Meaning he would not let the women see their child after birth and everyday they were given a new child, so she wouldn't get to know the baby.Abyssinian Queen- "She was black like a moonless night with dark clouds hiding the stars. Yet her big white teeth beamed sunrays into people's hearts, leaving them melting" (pg 35). Mother of Abednego and Nicodemus. Well respected by the whole Fairfield Farm, including The Owner and Mrs. Fairfield. She wove intricate quilts that contained a secret language that when taught to read, revealed escape routes for the slaves. She wove one for each of her boys.
Abednego- Son of The Owner and the Queen. He was a mulatto, meaning he would be sold at a very high price. Despite how he wasn't suppose to know who his mother was, he was raised by the Queen, along with his brother as well. He received the "crazy quilt" which contained the map.
Nicodemus- His father was a nondescript field slave, not of The Owners' loins. He would not be sold, he would be kept to procreate with "specially selected females of all colors" (pg 57). He was given the "sampler" quilt which included the general warnings and advice.
Nicodemus- His father was a nondescript field slave, not of The Owners' loins. He would not be sold, he would be kept to procreate with "specially selected females of all colors" (pg 57). He was given the "sampler" quilt which included the general warnings and advice.
Nat Turner and Denmark Vessey- Both lead a rebellion. Turner against the armory in Southhampton County, Virgina and Vessey against slave owners in Charleston, South Carolina. Both were executed for their actions.
Harry Corbett- Quigley family Indian ancestor. He was a Christian man, who had done away with "them funny Indian names", according to Ruth (pg 58).
Obed- He is proud of his "Shawnee hair" even though his mother says that they are Cherokee. He has a mediation meeting between him and Beth Eddy.
Obed- He is proud of his "Shawnee hair" even though his mother says that they are Cherokee. He has a mediation meeting between him and Beth Eddy.
Beth Eddy- "She decided to respect the occasion with a black pants suit that has a long jacket...the blouse is white and maybe silk..." (pg 67). She was very willing to drop the charges after she talked to Toloki on the phone. Agrees with Obed and mediators that he will paint her sorority house for restitution.
Ruth- Strong Republican "because the GOP freed them slaves" (pg 63). She says how Obed is useless and how Orpah is brilliant enough to further her education yet lacks ambition to do so. She says " I want a boy Lord...give us a cion who'll carry our name to the future" ( pg 76). Continues to live her lifestyle as her ancestors did.
Orpah- She shows her face to Toloki for the first time in his four days. She has well-nourished olive skin and has a great potential for being obesity. Still seems very closed off from the family. Obed attempts to make sense of Orpah's behavior by suggesting that "maybe it's because of the mark of the Irishman" (pg 85).
Nathan- "I'm not sure if (Nathan) is one of the WIN people or not. He looks Caucasian" (pg 87). He attempted to propose to Orpah but she turned him down which lead him to marry another woman. This woman died and left him with two children. Now once again, he has shown interest in Orpah.
Toloki- He speaks with Beth Eddy on the phone and convinces her to set up a mediation meeting. Comes to realize the Obed is a "scoundrel" after hearing him deny that he was the man in the house and also when he bluntly said that he "nailed the bitch." (pg 90) Obed accuses him of being the only one that his mama likes because he is the only one who can make her relax instead of work frivolously all day long. He shows the first signs of attraction towards Orpah.
Chapter Two takes us back to the beginnings of Nicodemus and Abednego up until they are prime for escape. Their mother, the Abyssinian Queen, raises both of the boys to read and decipher the quilts that will one day hopefully lead them to freedom. Nicodemus learns how to read and write from The Owner's white daughter while Abednego plays the drums. Both are then, in turn, punished for their illegal actions. This chapter helps reveal some history to the story and to why Obed chose to emulate Nicodemus during Halloween a few nights before.
Chapter Three brings us to the story at hand starting with Obed and Toloki heading towards Athens for a meeting between them, Beth Eddy, and two mediators. We learn that Toloki was the one who called Beth to convince her to drop the charges against Obed saying that he meant no criminal intent on the night of the incident. At the mediation, Obed's true colors start to show as he denies, at first, even being at the house that night. He then changes his tune when he realizes that he is making a mistake and shows that he is sorry for his actions. He is penalized by having to paint the Sorority house. Back at the Quigley household we learn that Ruth maybe ashamed of her children because none of them have ambition. We also learn that maybe Ruth is the cause of Orpah's sadness. At the very end of the chapter, Toloki discovers that Oprah has created and painted designs that were founded inside a ghost tree. This chapter reveals some interesting information that will hopefully be answered.
Class Discussion Questions:
1.) Why do you think Obed vehemently argues that he has "Shawnee hair" when Ruth explained that they are Cherokee?
2.) Does the quote about a "cion who'll carry our name to the future" on page 76 have any meaning towards the naming of this book?
3.) Can anyone explain the "mark of the Irishman" that Obed suggests as Orpah's source of sad behavior?
21 comments:
I have no idea why Obed says he is Shawnee when his own mom says they're Cherokee,I think he just likes to disagree with Ruth. I don't know if the quote means anything but that's good foreshadowing by Melissa and Tom. I have no idea what the mark of the irishman means.
1) He does because he is such a melting pot of cultures.
2) I am sure that it does, Cion is not a common word so odds are they are related.
3) I can not, I am unaware of what that means this early in the book.
Good Job guys, very detailed and insightful.
1.) I have no idea why he says he has Shawnee hair when his mother says that.
2.)I think that that quote could have something to do with the name of the book because it seems as if there is a lot of underlying meaning in that quote.
3.)I do not know what the mark of the irish man means or why that would make orpah sad.
Great presentation you two!!!!:)
1)Obed is a very strong minded individual so he feels the need to argue with Ruth about this. He feels that his heritage has been left open and he feels the need to fulfill that void.
2)The quote could have an underlying meaning that helped with the title of this novel.
3)I have no idea what the the mark of the irishman means.
Good job Tom and Mel, it looks like you guys took a lot of time in doing this!
1. He might say he has "Shawnee hair" because he just like fight and argue with his mom, Ruth.
2. As of right now I am not sure what the quote means, maybe carrying the family name or something?
3. I have no idea what the "mark of the Irishman" means. Maybe it will be explain later in the book.
1) Obed being still in the state of teenage rebellion would rather think of himself in a better light than the one painted to him by his mother. Also Obed may have learned through history of the Cherokee's ownership of slaves which would be an offense to his culture.
2) I believe it may, where as the family needs an injection of new ideas, mentors, directions etc. in order to survive. In its current state this family will not be of any worth once Ruth dies. With Obed being unable to develop past the childish stage and Orpah being a recluse, there is no hope at this stage for the family name to continue and for the culture the family holds to survive.
3) The only thing I could think of as in "mark of an irish man" would involve such things as how the irish have fair skin or that Orpah is redheaded...which if looking back at cultural contexts redheadedness was a target of discrimination.
I would thank the presenters on thier work and especially to Mellisa due to her being ill yet soldering through the presentation.
1.I feel that Obed Has his own opinion on what his heritage is which contradicts what Ruth thinks.
2.I feel that by giving the book the name Cion, It is telling the story of the family and history of the family and The book will carry their name on for generations to come.
3.I have no idea what the mark of the Irishman is. I feel it will be answered later on in the book but as of now I don't know.
Great job on the post guys! It is very informative on all the characters and gives very good summaries on both Ch2 and Ch3.
I think that Obed talks about his Shawnee hair when Ruth tells Toloki that their ancestor are the Cherokees because I feel that Obed likes to disagree with Ruth and cause a commotion. Also I think Obed likes to think that he has his "own" ancestors meaning he likes o be different from everyone else. I don't the quote that Ruth makes in chapter 3 has much to do with the name of the book. I think it was just a coincidence that she said cion. I am not really sure what the mark of the Irishman means. Maybe the Quigleys have another ancestor that was not mentioned yet.
i believe that Obed will do anything and everything in his power to go against the grain of what his mother says even if that means disputing his heritage. secondly,i think that the quote on pg 76 has a definite meaning in the naming of the book. it inclines that a cion is a bringer of good, one to carry on and thrive. Something great coming out of despair.
As Prof. Crooks said we arent supposed to know quite yet what the mark of the irishman is or how it pertains to orpahs sadness but if i had to guess i would say that it has something to do maybe with alcoholism or an accident dealing with alcohol. oh well i guess we will see
1. It seems that Obed incessantly argues that his hair is Shawnee because he likes to make his heritage what he wants it to be instead of what it actually may be. He may have hair like that of some Shawnee and since he likes it, he describes it as such. He can do this since his family is such a diverse mix that it may be cloudy of the real origin of this 'Shawnee hair.'
2. The quote does have meaning towards the name of the book because the book itself is something to carry on a story or a name and Ruth would like the same thing for her family.
3. I have no idea what the 'mark of the Irishman' could possibly be. Maybe Orpah doesn't have exactly the same heritage as the rest of her family and she could be partly Irish and consequently 'marked.'
Very good presentation Tom and Melissa, you guys had many good quotes and everything wasn't too long but it gave good description.
1. I think that it's just a matter of the inevitable conflict between Obed and Ruth. They love to argue.
2. Yes, Cion means a grafting of one species on to another. This unpacks all kinds of detail about the interracial population of Kilvert and how they are a melting pot of the oppressed races and heritages.
Good detail and accompanying imagery. Good analysis of the fairfield farm.
1)I think Obed argues about his heritage because Obed seems like the kind of guy who has his thoughts about things, and it is a his way or no way type of thing. He may or may not really believe that that his the right Native American heritage. But, in my opinion it could also maybe just be a way to disagree with his mother because they are both so strong willed.
2)I do think that the quote has meaning toward the name of the book. It will probably reveal to us who or what the cion is. I think the point of adding that so early was to get us thinking and start making a connection. however, at this point in the book I don't think that we are really supposed to know exactly what it is referring to.
3)I will agree that I wasn't really sure what that comment by Obed meant. Again I think it is inserted to get you thinking. And maybe as we learn more about the book and about Orpah it will make more sense.
You guys did a good job. I felt like you hit a good amount of the characters and a brief but informative description of them. Also with the summaries the main points were hit so that we could get the idea of what happened, but at the same time nothing was too wordy.
1) I think Obed argues with Ruth about his heritage because he likes to argue with her. He seems like a confrontational kind of guy, especially hen he denies his criminal activity.
2) Perhaps Toloki or another character will play a key role in bringing people together and continuing the heritage of the characters in the book. I think that the book was named CION because it is about a CION of sorts.
3) I don't understand what Zakes means by the "mark of the Irishman." Maybe he is getting at the fact that Orpah is hungry for something more than Athens, Ohio just like the Irish moved from Ireland to America for more opportunity.
1. There seems to be a slight conflict between the two characters of Obed and Ruth. Perhaps the notion the Cherokee natives once themselves owned and traded slaves, thus leaving Obed ashamed of his heritage. Or another possibility is that the two don't have that great an inkling of their true origins leaving them to dispute their own knowledge and beliefs on the matter.
2. Cion refers to grafting, or taking a healthy chute and removing it from the rest of the plant and moving it to a plant in a different region or locality to graft into a plant of a different species. I think that this has more less, everything to do with the title of this novel. The idea of uprooting people and then "breeding" them in a different part of the world in which they are not originally from in order to produce some sort of yield.
3. I honestly am not quite sure what the mark of the Irishman is. Possibly in reference to Irish immigration in which they were given the worst of the jobs and hated greatly above all other races of people.
1) I think that Obed argues that he he has Shawnee hair because he simply doesn't want to agree with his mother. Obed seems to want things his way, which is a childish way, even if it is his heritage.
2) I do believe that the quote has much to do with the title of the book. This book has a lot to do with history and heritage, and how everything has been carried on. Now that this culture, past, and heritage has been shared with Toloki, he is, in a sense, a Cion. He now knows their past and carries it with him to the future.
3) Um.. just a guess, maybe Toloki says that she has the mark of the irishman because she doesn't eat and there was the potato famine in Ireland which lead to many emigrants into the U.S. =)
I really liked the presentation. The description of the characters was very informing and it feels that if I haven't read this book, I would have a sense of the chapters.
1. I would agree with thte thought that Obed uses his extremely diverse heritage to manipulate what he wants to be seen as so when he thinks of his hair he likes the sound of having "Shawnee hair," so that is what he says.
2. When Ruth talks about a "Cion to carry her name into the future," I think it shows the significance of family heritage, which is a theme in this book, giving it its name.
3. I have no idea what the mark of the Irishman actually is, but it could be some source of shame.
This was a good presentation.
1. I think that Obed argues that he has "Shawnee hair" because he has always believed that they were Shawnee and not Cherokee so why should he believe Ruth now. Also, Obed is very argumentative so he possibly just wanted to start a debate.
2. The quote on page 76 about the cion carrying our name to the future does has meaning towards the name of the book because first of all the book is named cion and second the book talks about the underground railroads under Athens, so it is bring something to the future because it is history.
3. I have no idea what the "mark of the Irishman" means.
I feel that he says that he has Shawnee hair when he is obviously not Shawnee because he both likes to argue with Ruth and also is very into his heritage so he could be either trying to hide something or change something. As for the mentioning of Cion, i'm sure it has something to do with the story because that is the name of the novel. I really have no idea what the "mark of the Irish" refers to. Anyway nice job on the post guys.
1) I think that Obed argues that he has "Shawnee hair" because usually even though most people believe that they are one type of Indian heritage they can be of mixed heritage as down the line it is distorted from the combination's coming together as one.
2) In personal belief think that the title means maybe that Toloki is going to help create the "Cion" that the are looking for to carry their name to the future.
3) I have no idea what that means.
Good job on everything! I love these questions. They definitely make you think.
1. I too did not understand why he would argue that. Maybe he just wanted to be different.
2. I think that the quote does have meaning to the title of the book.
3. I do not know what the mark of the Irish man means. I think that they will explain it later on in the book.
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