prompt questons for the grass is singing

What kind of subject position is Moses accorded in the narrative, and what significance does that position have in relation to Mary's position as the protagonist?įor most of the novel, we see events through Mary's perspective her interactions with Moses are all heavily colored by her fear and fascination towards him. Desperate to escape this sense of stagnation, she places her hopes in a tobacco crop-but the failure of this gamble leads her to lose her motivation towards being able to change her life by her own power.

However, Mary realizes that Dick is both incompetent in selecting ideas that would actually work and too cautious to set out on any project with the potential to substantially improve their living conditions. What is the significance of this practical interest of hers and of its ultimate consequence, with regard to her development as a character?Īt first, it is not Mary but rather Dick who is always trying to find new methods to make more money on the farm. Mary's emotions become wilder and more unstable as she comes to understand the monotony of farm life, and this realization in particular-that Dick's attitude towards the future is actually just repetitious-is particularly painful for her.Īfter taking more responsibility for the workings of the farm, Mary urges Dick to try out, among other things, planting tobacco crops. Specifically, the thought is presented to us by free indirect discourse, which heightens the sense of immediacy and makes it more emotionally charged for the reader. In this sentence, we hear Mary's growing sense of desperation over her life on the farm. The miraculous reprieve was not going to be granted. It would certainly mean no more than a partial recovery. This loss of faith in literature is one of the causes that leads her to throw herself towards Moses and death.Īnalyze the narrative significance of this statement: '‘Next year’ might mean anything. She has this same hope of Tony Marston and his books but is similarly disappointed with them. Her books provide her some entertainment but are ultimately unable to do more than fill her time they do not help her to imagine, let alone put into practice, an alternative, more satisfying way of living. Once she realizes that she has little to do on her husband's farm, Mary turns about desperately for something to fill her time. What is the significance of the novels Mary reads and the books she finds at Tony Marston's in relation to the lesson(s) that The Grass is Singing is trying to express?Īs in Gustav Flaubert's famous novel Madame Bovary, the heroine's reading habit is explicitly described as escapist.

Prompt questons for the grass is singing