Hi everyone, hope you're having an enjoyable start to break. Something I am curious about relates back to what we spoke about in class last Thursday. I never fully understood the theme of spider legs and would love to hear your thoughts on it. What do you think the importance of spider legs in There There is? How does this theme contribute to your understanding of the text as a whole?
Hi Audrey! I think this is a great prompt choice! For me, I associate spiders with their webs. Webs are always very intricately woven, but also extremely delicate. Although at first, it seems like the web can withstand pressure, all that hard work can be destroyed in an instant. Webs are also the spider's home, so they serve as a foundation for them, but they are also easy to get tangled in. This is much like the homes of characters in "There There". Even though home provides them comfort because it's familiar, the web of family life can be easy to be tangled in. I think spider legs are significant because they are what help the spider (or the character) navigate their home lives while maintaining their individuality.
ReplyDeleteHi Gema, I think I agree with your analysis. I have not finished the book yet, and perhaps we will get a more conclusive meaning of spider legs, but I also see the spiders as a symbol for homes but also traps. Later we are focused just on spider legs, but spider webs were also mentioned earlier in the first Jacquie Red Feather chapter. Towards the end of the chapter, when she is tempted to drink, her spider web tattoos remind her of the trap posing as a home that alcohol is.
DeleteI had a very similar question for my blog post! I think that the spider legs growing out of Jacquie's Grandson's legs were hair growing on his legs, and it was about growing up. We see Jacquie at two points in her life that are very spread apart chronologically and I think that the passage of time and the lack of connection to her grandchildren as they grow up is an important part of her character. I would argue, however, that some of the other spider and web references are unrelated to this theme. I think the idea of a web being a home and also a trap could be in reference to either Oakland itself or drinking for Jacquie.
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