Virginia- Fairfield Farms
The setting of chapter 2 was a plantation in Virginia. Like many other plantations in that time frame consisted of white slave owners. It is the home of the Abyssinian Queen. During the time of slavery, Virginia grew into a large contender of slave trade. The Fairfield Farms made their fortune not from selling tobacco or cotton but from the breeding of mulatto individuals. "The breeding of mulatto children who looked mulatto rather than white had become the core business of Fairfield Farm; ..." (57). Mulatto is now a mix person, but in that time they were the offspring of a plantation owner and his slave.
The Ohio River (The River Jordan)
The Ohio river was the dividing point between slavery and freedom. The Abyssinian Queen tried to instill the desire to reach the Ohio river in her two children." In the seemingly haphazard arrangements, she taught them to identify some landmarks" (48). Their map to the River Jordan was put into images discreetly hidden into quilts designed by the Abyssinian Queen. The river was "the biblical divide between heaven and hell or freedom and slavery" (55)
The Courthouse in Athens Ohio
This was the location of the mediation to resolve the dispute between Obed and Beth Eddy. Toloki had to persuade Beth to meet Obed and himself that day in order to drop the charges against Obed from the incident at the sorority house. After deliberation Obed apologized and agreed to repaint the sorority house in exchange for no further criminal punishments. "To my surprise Obed expresses his remorse and asks to be forgiven for his foolish and thoughtless behavior" (72)
Quigley Home
Once again the setting comes back to Kilvert, Ohio. The family spends most of their time in the home around the dinner table. Ruth expresses her political views in a very strong and opinionated fashion. Orpah continues to not join them because of an unknown dispute between her mother and herself.
Themes of Ch.2 and Ch.3
- A theme for chapter two was keeping a family together despite any obstacles that might come along. The Abbyssinian Queen knew that having contact with her own children was not allowed, however she worked the system to her benefit so that she could have a relationship with her sons. She showed her connection with her sons when she took up the trade of quilting. She wanted a bigger and better life for her two sons, therefore she listen carefully to the idea of freedom. She translated two paths that could be used together to help her boys escape to the north by putting land marks and things like the north star into the quilt.
- A theme for chapter three was having the strong opinion and being too stuborn at times to open yourself to others points of view. Ruth has shown that she has very strong views on more than one occasion. One of those times is when she begins to talk about politics. Ruth has a very republican mind and often expresses her views on the recent election of George W. Bush. She feels that much of America does not go by the bible or in her opinion of what is proper. "Because George W. Bush was a man of God. He got his messages direct from God. God's truth was revealed only through him" (63). She is one of those people who you don't want to disagree with because it will often start an argument. An example of one of those arguments is between her and Orpah. We have not yet been told what they are arguing about but we do know that Orpah is never at the dinner table and part of the reason is because of their mother. "Maybe you should tell her you are sorry. I ain't sorry for nothing, says Ruth adimently" (79).
~Discusion Questions~
1. Does anyone have any predictions of what the argument is between Ruth and Orpah?
2. We know Nicodemus escapes and dies in the underground railroad. What do you think happens to his brother, Abednego?
3. "A ghost tree. It is a keeper of secrets. It has many stories to tell" (90). What do you think this actually means? Are there some secrets and stories that Orpah is hiding?
3. "A ghost tree. It is a keeper of secrets. It has many stories to tell" (90). What do you think this actually means? Are there some secrets and stories that Orpah is hiding?
21 comments:
1) The argument could have something to do with Orpahs college?
2) His brother starts the original blues brother band.... and escapes to freedom.
3) This means that there are hidden messages in what we see, and yes Orpah is hiding something.
Again, good job on the insightful presentation.
I have no idea what the argument could be about but it must be something serious. As for Abednego, there is no way of me knowing what happened to him, yet. It could be a reference to someone like Orpah who seems real quiet and reserved. You don't really get to know them but they could teach you many things. I believe that Orpah could be hiding things. Nice job on the post.
I think the argument between Ruth and Orpah is that Orpah will not stop playing her sitar and get married to someone like Nathan. I'm not sure what happens to Abednego but I hope he makes it out, maybe Nicodemus dies for him. Orpah is hiding some of her artwork in the ghost tree but I don't know what that tells other than she likes to draw or paint. It will be interesting to see what secrets are actually hidden within her art.
1) I think the argument between Orpah and Ruth is most likely rooted in religion and heritage. I really think that Orpah's skin color and hair color have something to do with the root of the argument.
2) I think Abednego makes it through the underground railroad and starts a new life.
3) Perhaps Orpah knows something that she is hiding from Ruth. Something that is a troublesome fact about their heritage. It is really too early in the book to tell honestly.
1)I Predict that something will happen, but i don't know what quite yet.
2)I have a feeling that the same thing happened to him that happened to Nicodemus
3)This could mean a lot of things. It could mean that it was a safe place for them to sleep or there could be some type of hidden message in them? who knows?I don't know what orpah is hiding.
Good Job Lee and Sara! You guys did a great job of explaining the settings.
1. I feel the argument between Ruth and Orpah has to do with their mother. I also have a feeling that the argument has to do with favoritism possibly.
2. I think Nicodemus' brother dies on the way to freedom. I think that he might die saving Nicodemus.
3. I think that there is more to Orpah than what we have found out in the book so far. I think later on we will learn more about her and her secrets.
1.) I want to say that their arguments involves orpahs talents with the sitar and her mom is bossing her around telling her to become something great with her talent.
2.)I thought abednego was sold to another plantaion but I bet than he eventually escapes like his brother with the quilts their mother made for them.
3.)I think a ghost trees secrets are just related to how they are hallow and things can dwell in there. I don't know. I have no idea what orpahs secrets could be.
Good job Sara and Lee!
1. I am not sure what their argument is about, but whatever it is must be a big deal to Orpah because she never leaves her room or even eats.
2. Hopefully, Abednego makes it through the underground railroad after his brother ends up dying.
3. I wonder if through the ghost tree we will finally understand the secret of the argument between Orpah and her mom.
Good Job!!
1. The argument between Ruth and Orpah may be about her education because Ruth mentions earlier about Orpah not wanting to continue it. Or it could also be about Nathan liking her and Orpah not taking any interest in him.
2. His brother may have suffered the same fate at a different interval but I can imagine he did not even leave the farm because I feel that any other fate would have been worth mentioning.
3. This may mean that a ghost tree was used for keeping secrets inside of it in the past or it may just spark the ideas of stories in those that associate it in that way. Also, Orpah may have some secrets considering we do not know much about her and she is barely mentioned while all the other members of the family are very outgoing, vivid, and open to others, unlike Orpah.
Good presentation, I felt the themes were well thought out and pertained to the chapters very well.
1. The argument between Ruth and Orpah...well, I'm not going to weigh in on this one.
2. Does Abednego make it to Canaan?
3. Isn't Orpah hiding stories within the ghost three in her artwork?
You guys had some great accompanying images on your post. Also, I liked the approach you took to theme with the "keeping family together" section. Perhaps you could have added a video post of slavery or the underground railroad. (Amistad, Roots, etc.)
1. The argument between Orphah and Ruth is probably something about how Ruth is always bugging Orpah about her life and about her interest in marriage.
2. I think Abednego escapes and makes it through the underground railroad to freedom.
3. I think that is actually means that the a few of the people in this book are extremely good at keeping secrets and hiding how they truly feel about situation. And yes I do believe that Orpah is hiding some secrets and stories.
This was a good presentation. Good job both of you. :)
1) We know that Orpah and her mother argue about Orpah not getting married, and not giving Nathan a chance. However, I feel as thought there is just a lot that Orpah is hiding and keeping inside. There may be events that we have yet to learn about or simply things about Orpah to still learn. Either way maybe it is a case of a mother just not understanding her daughter.
2)Abednego i would like to think maybe escaped with Nicademus but actually got away. However, a more realistic idea would be that he was sold off.
3)The "ghost tree" seems to be an outlet for Orpah and so I do think that there are some secrets that she is hiding and will slowly be revealed. The painting on the tree may be her way of expressing what she can't seem to share with her family.
1) I believe Ruth and Orpah have had several arguments, they can range from marriage, to careers, to being normal...Orpah sounds like an eccentric being and Ruth, with her staunch conservative views, may not be able to look past her abnormality and see her daughter for who she is
2) Abednego. His fate may have been escape, Nicodemus made it across the river with his mother's guidance, whats to say Abednego was even luckier and made it to freedom and lived out his life as a free black man...or even more, he may be the initial patriach for the Quigley's
3) A ghost tree is one of those things that stand out in nature, conjures stories, rumors, legends...and even may work as a land mark (look for the ghost tree that resembles a smoke stack) so a ghost tree holds many secrets...I believe that Orpah is hiding a lot of herself because of her overbearing mother, the constant expression of Ruth's opinion is like a spot light blocking out Orpah's opinion as if she were holding a small flashlight
Thank you to Sarah and Lee for presenting us these seemingly tedious details in a way that is easy to absorb
maybe the argument is something about orpah never wanting nathan when he has a steady job which is more than a lot of people can say in the town. I really have co clue what happened to Abednego even though i have heard their story about ten times but i guess we will see here soon. The ghost trees are just so old they can last through decades and centuries and they tell the stories of past peoples and times. Its not exactly a secret anymore since we found out that orpah is creating designs inside the tree. she may be expressing her pain or just her overall feelings. Sara and Lee good job covering all of the settings and using quotes to help support yourselves. Very nice pics.
1) I have a feeling that Ruth and Orpah's argument has something to with the mother. Maybe about a guy.
2) I don't think that Abednego survived the trip. I don't think that one could survive without the other.
3)I think the fact that you can hide things in these trees has a lot to do with the "secrets" that it holds. I think that there may be many secrets in the book and that we will soon find what they are.
Great job.. and good pictures to refer to. Also very good discussion questions.
I think the argument has something to do with the paintings that why they were hidden in the tree. I think that Abednego doesn't make it to Athens. I think that he maybe dies on the way. I think that Orpah is hiding her true feelings about everything she thinks. She seems very quiet to me so to me that shows that maybe she likes to keep to herself. I think that they both did a good job and I really like the questions. I think the answers will be figured out later in the book.
1. I think that the arguments will eventually branch out into the ideas of religion or politics, or over another person, anything really that either of them hold close.
2.Abednego, may have a bit more luck with his escape.
3. The ghost trees are significant landmarks easily in themselves; though they could likely be used to hide pieces of information for run-away slaves.
1. I am not sure, but it could stem off the pressure Ruth puts on Orpah to marry Nathan, or Orpah's lack of ambition to further her education.
2. I think Abednego is a descendant of the Quigley family, which is why they have the quilts.
3. I think the ghost trees are made important in these chapters to show that Orpah has hidden secrets that will be revealed later.
Good pesentation.
1) I think the argument between Ruth and Orpah is about her being to smart and pretty to waste her life and do nothing with it.
2) I think he stays with his mother or escapes and makes it North to freedom. even though his brother was successful.
3) I think that the ghost tree was a form of medium that slaves used to warn each other and also hide in when in need of shelter. It may have even been a place like a cave were there were carvings and pictures to lead them to the safety of the North. Yes I believe Orpah is hiding something. But everything that is hidden will be brought to the light.
Good job you 2!!! Excellent questions. I felt stumped by them.
1. I think they just argue a lot because they both have strong opinions that are different. I think they argue because they both dont like to lose and be proven wrong.
2. I think that his brother makes it, and i think he became a free man.
3. I think it means there are hidden messages in what we see in life. I think Orpah is hiding something. I think we will find out about it a little later in the book.
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