Outside Reading, Week 3, Post A

Vocab
fusty (77) : having a stale smell; moldy; musty

fastidious (68) : excessively particular, critical, or demanding; hard to please

Figurative Language:
"'What I'm trying to put out before your face are the obvious facts - the district is cultivating dead soldiers like peas, do you think a man follows them all around to make papers?" (59)

In this excerpt, Pierre compares the way the district is cultivating dead soldiers to the way one would cultivate peas using a simile. I think he chose to use this comparison to help the reader understand the current environment that Ludmila is living in. She and her family are in the middle of a war zone and the sound of gun fire and artillery is a part of their everyday life. This also helps show the atrocities of the war and toll that it is taking on the young men of their community.

"London was a power grid churning with such potentials. Blair was electrified by her possibilities" (68).

Pierre uses a metaphor to compare London to a power grid, meaning that London is full of life and energy, much like a power grid. However, Pierre couples this with a sort of pun in the next sentence, claiming that Blair was "electrified by her possibilities." Electrified, in this sense, means inspired or excited, not the literal definition. However, a power grid IS electrified in the literal sense, putting a humorous spin on these two lines.

"He curled an eye over his back like Quasimodo, and sent a pitiful shrug to Nicolah. Her eyes cradled him. [...] Bunny turned side-on, still hunched like a serf awaiting the cat-o'-nine, and pointed empty eyes at his brother" (77).

Throughout the book, there has always been some tension between Blair and Bunny, most likely as the result of their polar opposite ideologies. Now that Nicolah, Blair's girlfriend has entered the picture, the tension is escalating. Nicolah tends to sympathize with Bunny and care for him, rather than realize that most of the time, he is the cause of his problems. Bunny hams it up, but Blair sees right through it and sort of mocks him in this passage. He uses two similes to compare Bunny to things that one might have pity on (Quasimodo and a serf that is waiting to be punished), but he uses these similes sarcastically. Blair sort of pretends to fall for Bunny's trap in a sarcastic manner, reflecting his growing hatred for his brother.

Quote
"A cushion of tongue appeared at the gap in Kiska's teeth. She raised a finger to her lips. Ludmila scowled, and followed another little finger through the curtain to the back window. Misha Bukinov was there" (67).

I felt that this quote was significant because it foreshadows a dramatic change in the life of Ludmila. Up until this point, she was being essentially forced to go to one of the larger cities and labor to support the family, but now that Misha, her boyfriend, is here, she may have a chance at escaping and finally making it West like she always wanted.

Theme
Right now, I would say that in addition to the theme of an individual's obligation to themselves vs. their obligation to their family members, there is an emerging theme of jealousy, especially between Bunny and Blair. Despite Blair's constant attempts to start a new life and be productive, he seems to get no further than Bunny, who just sits around all day and drinks. In addition, Blair's girlfriend seems to be sympathizing and warming up to Bunny, which annoys Blair even more.