Q3 Week 1 Posts A/B

Vocab
Mantra (19) - Sacred syllable or word, or set of words through the repetition and reflection of which one attains perfection

Idiosyncrasies (15) - A behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual

Figurative Language
1) "Was the dead mouse a coincidence? C.B couldn't decide. The animal had a bullet hole in it's neck, which could mean any number of things" (9)[...]. This is an example of foreshadowing. I don't know what happens but this quote seems like a metaphor.

2) "[...] For a brief time, in college, his friends had called him Beaumont, and in Mexico he'd been Beau. More recently, his business acquaintances mostly referred to him as C.B, but they did so reverentially and would never have presumed to address him as Charlie" (15). This is also an example of foreshadowing. This goes along with my Post B but it kind of addresses what's going to happen.

3) "[..] Yet he continued to kneel there, the river's current burbling a coded message he felt he was on the verge of comprehending" [...]. This is a metaphor and it's talking about how C.B is so close to figuring out this "enemy" and everything he needs is in front of him but he can't figure it out.

Quote
"And last Spring when his father had suggested that he run not only the shirt factory but also the textile mill, instead of feeling trapped by the inevitability of the rest of his life, he found himself almost happy to be coming more completely into his birthright" (8). I thought this quote was significant because earlier C.B. talks about how he's sad because he had to leave Mexico. He even says his "true self" was left there. But now with his quote he is the complete opposite.

Theme
The theme seems to be that C.B at first was hesitant but now he's changing and liking where he is. So a theme could be that when your daily routine changes it's hard at first but you start to generally get used to it and that new routine becomes the norm.

Post B
For this post I thought I would comment on a quote that really struck me. The quote is, "Yes, dear. An excellent idea," Charles Beaumont Whiting agreed and in that fateful moment became Charlie Whiting. Later in life, he was fond of remarking, rather ruefully, that he always had the last word in all differences of opinion with his wife, and that-two words, actually-was, "Yes, dear." Had he known how many times he would repeat that phrase to this woman, how it would become the mantra of their marriage, he might well have recollected the river's invitation and committed himself to its current then and there and followed the moose downstream, thereby saving himself a great deal of misery and the price of the handgun he would purchase thirty years later for the purpose of ending his life" (18). This is just one example of how elegantly this book was written. I was reading this and the top part made me laugh and then I got down to the bottom half and my emotions changed in an instant. You know when that happens that you have a good book in front of you. Not only that but the fluency just seems perfect even as the mood changed throughout. The foreshadowing was also added in which was interesting and I can't wait to read more.