English106-01-03 Introductory Composition

The lake levels in the chapter Great Blue Heron is the same as that in the chapter Snowy Egrets (4207.05). The style of writing is also similar in the two chapters. In the first paragraph Terry says: “A heron stands on the edge of the lake, solitary and serene. The wind shinnied up her back, raising a few feathers, but her focus remains steady.”(Page 266). This is referring to Terry’s grandmother. Terry is now facing Mimi’s death. It seems as though she has learned a lot from her previous experiences. In the chapter Screech Owls Mimi talks about owls, she says: “I keep expecting to see an owl.” (Page 271). Terry asks Mimi to show her proof of life after death, Mimi tells her that she can’t and it’s something that has to be experienced. The next day Terry sees two owls. This could be proof of the afterlife for Terry. The owls can signify the people terry has lost. The two owls could be Terry’s mother and Mimi.

The water level is drastically reducing signifying that Terry has finally accepted death. She has let go of refuge and by doing so she is showing us that she is moving on with her life, this can be inferred when Terry says: “If I am to survive, I must let my secrets out like white doves held captive too long. I am a woman with wings.” Terry is showing us that she is very similar to the birds; she also wishes she was a bird. This is probably why her life parallels with birds so much. Terry is seeing her life through birds. If we really admire a person a lot, we see ourselves through that person’s life; similarly Terry is seeing her life through the birds.

After reading this book I thought that there must be a scientific explanation as to why her whole family faced cancer. On doing some research I found out that the location of Terry’s residence had been exposed to radioactive mutation in the 1950’s. I searched old newspaper articles and found out that USA had above ground nuclear testing in that period of time. This could be the reason of the high rate cancer in Terry’s family. In the epilogue “Clan of one breasted women” this fact is revealed. Terry says “Traditionally as a group of people, Mormons have a low rate of cancer.” This shows that there had to be some other major fact that caused the high rate cancer and nuclear testing could have been the reason. If a person does not have coffee, tea, tobacco or alcohol like the Mormons, it is surprising for them to get cancer. Taking into account all of these facts, we can understand that Terry’s family had to be exposed to some kind of Mutation.

Overall the book has amazed me. I pity Terry and at the same time admire her courage. I have learned a lot from her and I am looking forward to find out more about Terry’s life. I think this book quite good and I would recommend people to read it.