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Above her was the bee skep Lesia had woven so many months ago. The one that had been damaged in the wind, the one Mama insisted on mending. And just below it was a sight Lesia had been praying for. Bees! She stared at the hovering, buzzing mass in awe.
"Let your effort be true, my darling child, and your rewards will be sweet." Tears prickled her eyelids. A lump welled up in her throat. She hugged her precious family Bible close. "We have bees."

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The bees symbolize how things are going in Lesia's life. When her life was figuratively empty near the start of the book, the hive remained empty. When she was figuratively broken, the hive broke. And at the end of the book, when everything worked out and her life was figuratively full, the bees finally came.

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Lesia Magus- Main character

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lesia's bees

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Lesia Magus- The main character
The Mountie- Has come to take away Lesia's gun

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He pointed to the gun. "Under the War Measures Act, you are not allowed to have that." She understood perfectly well, but she pretended not to.
"Ja," she gave him a wide dumb smile. "Makes good hunting, ja?"
"You cannot have the gun," he said again. He held out his hand. "Give it to me."
She feigned confusion. "You want food?" She turned to fetch the rabbit, wondering if she dared make a dash for the chicken hole.
"No," he held up a hand to stop her. "You cannot have the gun," he explained again. "You are enemies of the state."

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World War 1 occurs in this time frame in the book. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was part of the Triple Entente, and Canada was part of the Triple Alliance, so they were enemies. During that time, Ukraine was occupied by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and for that reason the Canadian Government considered Lesia and her family to be Austro-Hungarian, and by extension enemy aliens. This was obviously not true. Many Ukrainians wanted to be free from their occupiers and were supporting the Triple Alliance. So the assumption that Ukrainians were enemy aliens is a fallacy because it was a mistaken belief based on an unsound argument.

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"you are enemies of the state"

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It was evening now and Mama spoke softly in order to not wake up Sonia. Her fingers caressed the delicately carved box before she handed it to Lesia. The detail was exquisite. Even in the pale glow from the candlewick burning in oil, the gleaming wood was a rich nut brown.

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The box is the carved wooden box that Mama's Geedo made. The colour is as rich brown as a nut. It is a metaphor because it compares two things without the use of 'like' or 'as'.

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Lesia Magus- The main character
Mama- Lesia's Mother
Sonia- Lesia's younger sister

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"the gleaming wood was a rich nut brown"

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"I am glad you have enough fresh meat," he said, "and that your sauerkraut is plentiful. We are all well. The guards are are as nice as Michal Stryk."

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Lesia Magus- The main character.

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Ivan's letters to Lesia are being censored very heavily. So he resorts to writing about things in a way that the guards won't be able to understand. For example, Michal Stryk is a rude and cruel person, so when Ivan says that the guards are as nice as Michal Stryk, it means that they aren't at all. This statement won't be censored because the guards don't know anything about Michal Stryk, however if Ivan wrote that the guards are cruel that statement would be censored.
The reason "the guards are as nice as Michal Stryk" is ironic because Michal Stryk wasn't nice at all, and so it shows irony.

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"the guards are as nice as michal stryk"

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Lesia Magus- The main character. The text currently is in first person and we are reading the story through her eyes.

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In the story, Lesia has just arrived from Ukraine. She arrived expecting Canada to be resplendent and alluring, like her native Ukraine. However, she was severely disappointed when she saw the prairie. She describes Ukraine as having, "leafy aspens, fragrant lindens and blue periwinkles" which is very different from the "lonely marshes, scrubby yellow grasses and small leafless tress" of Canada. This use of imagery helps give the reader a clearer and more vivid image of the contrast between Ukraine and Canada.

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description of the prairie

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There was no wheat. No shimmer. We had left behind the leafy aspens, the fragrant lindens, the blue periwinkles. Canada was a quilt of grey and brown-- of snow and soil. Of lonely marshes and scrubby yellow grasses. Of small leafless trees that stretched like black skeletons to the sky.
"God has many tapestries," Mama told me, "And they are all beautiful." I thought of Baba saying the bees do not care if the flower is open only a little. They make do.
In my head, I made that prairie pretty. I saw rainbows sparkling in the melting soil. I saw food growing in the rich, brown soil... creeks swelling with a melt that would be our water... birds in thickets that would provide us with song. On distant hills, I saw green grass and tiny purple flowers and trees about to burst into leaf. I saw hope.

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Lesia essentially compares memories to seeds. Seeds grow with love, care and nourishment. Without these things they would die. Similarly, if you talk about memories with love and care and don't forget about them they will flourish, just like the seeds.  Lesia wants this to happen so that her descendants will be able to learn about their ancestors.

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Lesia Magus- Main character, she's speaking about her past
Laisha- Lesia's great-granddaughter. She's learning about her heritage from Lesia.

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I will answer your questions about heritage. And that will satisfy them. But it will not satisfy me. Heritage is like soil. And soil is nothing without seeds. So I give you these memories as seeds. I hope you will honour them and cherish them and pass them along so they may grow to ripen and nourish you, your daughter and her daughters forever.

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"memories as seeds"