Outside Reading, Week 4, Post A

Vocab
settee (100): a seat for two or more persons, having a back and usually arms, and often upholstered.

juniper (91): any evergreen, coniferous shrub or tree of the genus Juniperus, esp. J. communis, having cones that resemble dark-blue or blackish berries used in flavoring gin and in medicine as a diuretic.

Figurative Language
"'You get to stay while they investigate your status. We almost definitely would get through - me a deserter, from a place raining bombs'" (80).

In this passage, Misha, Ludmila's boyfriend, is talking about how their potential escape West. He uses a hyperbole to describe Ublisk and the current war situation. He claims that the place is "raining bombs", meaning that it seems that the war is everywhere and is non-stop, not that it is literally raining bombs.

"A radio hit blared across the road, featuring an electric guitar that plinked and plonked like a handful of bullets tossed into a pond" (85).

Ludmila arrives at Pilo's house and hears his radio before she enters the house, the first time she's gone outside her land in quite awhile. She compares the electric guitar to the sound of "a handful of bullets tossed into a pond" using a simile. Her choice of a comparison shows how much her wartorn country has affected that way she thinks. It would seem abnormal for someone in a more developed nation to think of this sound and compare it to bullets falling into a pond, but unfortunately for Ludmila, war is apart of her everyday life.

"'I meant to say.' Bunny stiffened like an old lady at a slight. 'Now me portal vein's throbbing.'" (99)

Pierre compares the way Bunny tenses up and complains to the way an old lady would do the same thing using a simile. I suppose this line is a kind of ironic in that Bunny is usually the more outgoing of the two twins, yet now, he appears to be more conservative and wants to stay home instead of going out. This hints that Bunny is actually enjoys living off of welfare and mooching off of his brother and is rather scared at the possibility that he may be forced to move out soon.

Quote
"Blair stood up slowly from his settee. He gazed down at Lamb, then up through the window, to the street outside. 'Bunny' he said softly,'opportunities wafting through that door is what we discussed earlier. Opportunities for my independence.'(100)

I felt that this quote is pretty significant and helps sum up the new feel of the book. Blair is responding to Bunny's fear of moving forward and making it clear that he is going to be his own man, whether Bunny comes with him or not. Blair finally seems to be realizing his dream and taking action now that Bunny is being legally forced to separate from him and the welfare system.

Theme
The previous theme has been modified now that the oppressed are breaking out of their origins. Ludmila moves out with her brother to go to work in a factory town, but actually intends to sneak off with her boyfriend. However, once she gets outside of her hometown, she starts to realize that the world is a scary place and has seconds thoughts. Bunny, likewise, is starting to come to the realization that his support may be cut off and he will have to stop suckling on his brother's teat. Bunny, up until this point, has acted as the big man on campus, pretending that he is better than Blair. Now, Bunny has to but his actions where is mouth is and fend for himself, but is scared that he will fail.