The chapter begins with Ruth by the beachside as she ponders upon her teenage years and how the relationship with Luling was. Since Ruth was a little girl, she thought about death almost everyday.Ruth begins backtacking, back to the past.
Then she recalls her childhood years, when she was 11. She decribes the house they stayed in and their neighbours, Lance and Dotti. Ruth goes on to say how the bathroom was her 'only refuge' because they had a small home.
When Ruth was watching television, Luling talked to her and asked her about precious auntie and whether she was going to die.
When Ruth was reading, it was the only time Luling didn't disturb her. The Ruth went on to say how she had a crush on Lance and how she thought Dotti was all wrong for him.
Then Lance and Dotti got a television set and back then, it was the coolest thing. They invited her over to watch the Wizard of Oz and because Luling objected, Ruth had to say that Precious Auntie wanted her to watch it before she could go.
then she went to the bathroom over there , just after Lance had used it, and she realized she was sitting on his pee and to her, it was love. But the next day at school she was learning about how girls got pregnant and she was misinformed that guys pee into girls and she thought she was pregnant from Lance's pee.
Then she told Dotti that she was pregnant because of Lance and that started a whole row between the both of them and Dotti said she would make sure Lance paid for it. Then soon after, Dotti realized Ruth was misinformed about getting pregnant and she was so angry she left.
Lance on the other hand was fooling around with Ruth when he pulled down he panties and that sent Ruth into a scream-attack. After that, Ruth was so afriad she used Precious Auntie as an excuse to get her mother to move away.
character analysis:
Ruth:
systematic- she loved waves for the same characteristic she had, it's predictability and consistency.
innocent- she didn't know about sex until her friends told her and even then, she was misinformed and she felt squirmish about sex.
kept her feeling inside- she had the bathroom as her 'only refuge' from Luling because she felt annoyed with her but she never told Luling how she felt so she was often in the toilet where she could actually just be alone.
introvert- she hid in the toilet to be alone, losing contact with the outside world and she also loved reading and she was often by herself.
Luling:
caring- when Ruth told Luling she wasn't feeling well, she immediately told her to go to bed and she'd feel better after that. Also she saw great importance in studying or anything related to that, like reading. because it was the only time she left Ruth alone to let her concentrate.
Themes:
Mother daughter relationship- Luling and Ruth when Ruth was growing up. Her feelings towards Luling and how she yearned to be alone when Luling was around.
Ruth's teen years- her innocence and her crushes.
Favourite quotes:
1)and now that something was really awful, she was blind
2)as now she kept walking, she felt comforted by the water, it's consistency, it's predictability
3)if she had not begged her mother to return, would luling have let the ocean decide her fate?
Most memorable moment:
I think the most memorable moment in the chapter would be when Ruth was talking about Luling and how she wanted to commit suicide and how Ruth thought about death almost every single day. it makes me think about Ruth's childhood. She must have faced some really tough issues to think about death so often.
Questions:
Was precious Auntie an excuse Ruth used to get her out of touble? Was precious Auntie the life buoy of Ruth just like she was always there for Luling as well?
