SUS - Water/Thirst Motif (D) by Mrs. Brinkmann

"There's things that move a man. Like currents of water inside. Things he can't help. Older I got, the more I found it true. What's in Stag is like water so black and deep you can't see the bottom" (68).

lhw261 — 2023-09-18 18:03:06 UTC

In this quote, Pop is telling Jojo what River said. The quote uses the symbolism of thirst and water to convey ideas about how maturity leads to hidden truths being revealed. The quote implies that as people age, they become more aware of and develop a deeper understanding of life as a whole. These understandings of life can lead to hidden secrets being revealed. The words, "What's in Stag is like water so black and deep you can't see the bottom" highlights the hidden secrets of Stag. Overall, water in this context is a symbol of how maturity can lead to mystery and the unknown.

"But I see the prison name, the place Pop was: Parchment. Sometimes I wonder who that parched man was, that man dying for water, that they named the town and jail after...Wonder what the man said before he died of a cracked throat" (63).

skm261 — 2023-09-18 18:03:17 UTC

Water is a symbol of life, love, and freedom, which is absent from Parchman jail and the surrounding town during the book. In this quote, Jojo wonders who "the parched man was". The parched man connects to how Pop explained that he was always thirsty during his time in prison due to the scarce amount of water. Also, the name "Parchman" in the title represents a parched man which symbolizes how thirst is a major part of the prison; and how life, love, and freedom are eliminated from individuals in Parchman.

"I wait until the nicotine laps at my insides like a placid lake, and then I go back to the car" (101).

skm261 — 2023-09-21 17:00:34 UTC

In this scene Kayla is sick and Leonie needs to stop the car. She starts to smoke and refers to the nicotine inside her as a "placid lake". "placid lake" means a calm and peaceful body of water. The calm lake represents how the nicotine soothes Leonie's mind from scattered and panicked, to calm and controlled. Leonie relies on drugs to feel peaceful which causes her addiction. However, due to her severe addiction, she cannot be a mother who cares, loves, and supports her children.

"The worry bubbling up in me like water boiling over the lip of the pot, but the worst sticking in my throat. She might hit me" (115).

lhw261 — 2023-09-21 17:07:12 UTC

In this quote Jojo uses the metaphor of water boiling over a pot to describe the worry and anxiety that he is feeling. He is scared that Leonie will hit and hurt him. The imagery of boiling water suggests that Jojo's emotions are reaching a critical point, just as water bubbles and spills over the edge of a pot when it reaches a critical point. The words, "but the worst sticking in my throat" shows Jojo's difficulty in expressing his emotions. This could be related to thirst because when you're thirsty, you often feel dryness or a sensation of something being stuck in your throat.

" Leonie's picked up the cup, holding it to Kayla's lips. 'You thirsty right?', she says , and it's an answer not a question." (83) IHLG

2023-09-21 17:10:44 UTC

The narrator wants us to feel the desperation for water. By saying that the question of "Are you thirsty" is an answer in itself shines a light on the desperate sips that they take. There is not a moment when they don't want water. In our time and place we don't have to worry if we will be able to get water tomorrow but the author guides our minds to the unfortunate comparison. The reality of losing something that we have every day and barely think about changes our viewpoint and makes us more sympathetic for these characters.

"I flew. I followed the scaly bird. Up up and out. Into the whitewater torrent of the sky. Flying was floating on that tumbling river" (135) IHLG

2023-09-27 15:41:14 UTC

This excerpt alludes to the desperate want and need of water. Richie's delusions while unconscious and somewhere between life and death reveal his yearning to be flying and peaceful rolling on a tumbling river. The water surrounding him represents him being engulfed in a peaceful state. Water for him is a de-stresser and peace giver.

"...his voice is like waves of a clam bay lapping against a boat...it pulses in the current of his viens...I am subject to that pulse" (140,141).

skm261 — 2023-09-27 15:44:39 UTC

Richie is drawn to Jojo because of his similarity to River. While Richie was in Parchman the only person that helped and protected him was River. When Jojo comes to Parchman with his family and Misty, Richie finally leaves Parchman and gets in Leonie's car as a ghost. The phrase, "I am subject to that pulse". suggests that Richie is connected to River and that Jojo has the same sense of protection as River does. The quote connects to water because the author refers to water as a way of describing the protection Jojo possesses for Kayla, and how Jojo has the same "pulse in the current of his viens" as his Pop does.

"We got so much water where I'm from. It comes down from the north rivers. Pool in bayous. Rush out of the ocean, and that stretch to the ends of the earth that you can see...Maybe one day, when you and me get out of here, you could come down and see it," (190).

skm261 — 2023-10-03 17:04:28 UTC

In this excerpt, River explains to Richie what his the ocean was like before life in Parchman. He lived on the gulf of Mexico where there was water everywhere, then his setting dratically changed to having no water or freedom. In this passage water is symbolizing freedom and hope that River will be able to show Richie the setting in the future. The stories River told Richie about made them closer and exemplifies how different places and people can have a sense of home.

" I didn't understand time, either when I was young. How could I know that after I died, Parchment would pull me from the sky... And how could I conceive that Parchment was past, present and future all at one? That the history and sentiment that carved the place out of the wilderness would show me that time is a vast ocean, and that everything is happening at once?" (186) IHLG

2023-10-03 17:08:13 UTC

Richie compares time to water, rushing in, out, up, down, all at once. He describes he didn't understand what happens when he dies. He didn't understand how he knows that he would be taken away by Parchment. The "vast ocean" is a symbol for the life of someone, in this situation Richie. The ocean represents all of his highs and lows with very crash of a wave and how easily the die out and sink into the sand. After the first wave comes another and in real life after one event always comes another and time slips away so easily. Richie wishes he held onto his time alive more thoughtfully.

"I raise the saucer up so he can see it, see the tiny pile of black-gray powder, smelling strong of sulfur. Some kind of bad earth. Like the bayou when the water's low, when the water runs out after the moon or it ain't rained..." (177).

lhw261 — 2023-10-03 17:11:19 UTC

In this passage, Jojo is describing raising a saucer to smell strongly of sulfur. It is compared to a "bad earth" and contrasts it to the smell of the bayou when the water is low or when there hasn't been rain. The mention of the sulfur smelling powder and its association with the bayou's smell when the water is low or when there hasn't been rain symbolizes a sense of decay, stagnation, or something unsettling in the environment or circumstances.

"I am trying to keep everyone above water, even as I struggle to stay afloat. I sink below the waves and push Jojo upward so he can stay above the waves and breathe, but then Michaela sinks and I sink and struggle...I thrust them upward to the surface, to the fractured sky so they can live, but they keep slipping from my hands. It is so real that I can feel their sodden clothes against my palms. I am failing them. We are all drowning" (195).

skm261 — 2023-10-05 12:50:59 UTC

Water is symbolized as life threatening to Leonie unlike how it has been represented as freedom and peacefulness earlier in the book. In this excerpt, Leonie's motherly instincts are displayed. However, the phrase, "I am failing them. We are all drowning" indicates that she is struggling to succeed as a mother. She demonstrates her role as a mother by explaining, "I thrust them upward to the surface, to the fractured sky so they can live, but they keep slipping from my hands." This sentence highlights how Leonie wants the best for her children, but is incapable of helping them. Also, the dream she was having displays her being stuck on a sinking raft which symbolizes her own life. She feels like she is stuck trying to hold her family and herself together, but everything is slowly falling apart. Since Leonie refused her gift, water is deadly instead of healing.

" I've been dreaming for hours, it feels like, dreaming of being marooned on a deflating raft in the middle of the endless reach of the Gulf of Mexico, far out where the fish are bigger than men. I'm not alone in the raft because Jojo and Michael and Micheal are with me ... But the raft must have a hole in it, because it deflates. We are all sinking , and there are manta rays gliding beneath us and sharks jostling it " (195) IHLG

2023-10-10 18:10:04 UTC

Leonie presents her stress through her dreams. She tries to keep up and stay above the ways but slowly sinks. Water is hurtful for her she feels swallowed by it. In her dream she alludes to how she feels like there is no escape from her drug addiction because she talks about the endless waters with no way out. She displays how in her life she tries to be strong enough but in the process she hurts the people around her. Her dream shows how she tries to keep up her family and loved ones but she can't do that over saving herself. She is helplessly spiraling down in the water which is a symbol for the way her life is going.

"Once, River told me about the ocean . He said: We got so much water where Im from. It come down from the north in rivers. Pool in bayous, rush out to the ocean, and that stretch to the ends of the earth that you can see." (190) IHLG

2023-10-12 13:55:09 UTC

Richie remembers when Riv told him about the ocean and the water where he grew up. The way that Riv talks about the the full bays, pools and oceans can be compared to him growing up and maturing. When he was younger was surrounded by water. He was peaceful, protected and careless but the loss of the water surrounding him symbolizes his loss of innocence as he grows up, witnesses thirst, poverty and death. The water slowly flows away as he sees more of the world and experiences more of its tragedies.

"I'm so close, I can hear the sound of the waters the scaly bird will lead me over tumbling with the wind. So I crawl under the house instead, and I lie in the dirt under the living room where they all sleep, making a cot of the earth. And I sing songs without words. The songs come to me out of the same air that brings the sound of the waters. I open my mouth, and I hear the rushing of the waves" (24).

lhw261 — 2023-10-13 17:16:19 UTC

In this passage, the narrator describes their connects water aspects to their life. In this chapter we learn more about Richie’s exclusion from this family and how it serves as a reminder that families are inherently exclusive. By their nature, they cannot include everyone, and this leaves Richie feeling isolated and heartbroken. The words, "I'm so close, I can hear the sound of the waters" highlights how waves crashing and water is a sign of peace. This whole passage exemplifies the idea of finding comfort and solace in nature, particularly in the earth and water. Water often represents a source of healing, peace, transformation, and a connection.

"...Mama takes one long, ripping breath, her breath and blood and spirit beating frantic as a moth caught in a spider's web, and then 'Shhhh', Given says, 'I come with the boat, Mama...Time floods the room in a storm surge"(269).

lhw261 — 2023-11-02 19:04:18 UTC

In this quote, Leonie finally learns to accept her gift of seeing Given. She realizes that Given as a character is significant to Mam and helps her heal. When Mam finally admits to Leonie that she is ready to go and ease the pain, it shows that she is ready for Given to help her get "on the boat". When Given says the words, "Shhhh'.... 'I come with the boat, Mama" it shows how Given is a character that helps Mam heal by helping her release the pain she feels. Mam is a character throughout the novel that is constantly healing those around her, but these words prove that Given is able to use the symbolic element of water to heal others as well. This quote deeply proves how other characters like River can use water as a way to heal. Mam uses water as a way to heal and help others around her but when she is dying, "time floods the room in a storm surge". These words show the significance of water as a healing aspect to the characters in the novel. It shows us that Mam was able to use water to help heal herself and others but now as she is dying she is losing her control over the water and Given is able to step up as a character, despite him being a ghost, is able to use the symbolic element of water as a healing property.