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?
