Progress check #3: Rachel Xu
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- Tell the Wolves I'm HomeBy: Carol Rifka Brunt
- Grief is an inevitable part of life
- June meets Toby, who has just dropped off a package for her.
- Rachel Xu Progress check #3: Theme
- June finds Greta drunk and passed out in the woods.
- Grief is an inevitable part of life, and it is displayed on multiple occasions in the book. Death is a good example for this. Since we will all die one day, you have a rather high chance of witnessing one of your close family, friends, or loved ones dying or dead. This happened with the Elbus family ad Finn. Finn died from AIDS, and because there was no approved vaccine or medication for it yet, there was no way to prevent it. Finn's situation was unfortunate and hopeless, and his inevitable fate arrived much sooner than he deserved.
- June learns about the source of her mother's hatred towards Toby.
- Toby meets June at her house in hopes of bonding or reconciling over the (seemingly) one thing they have in common; their grief over Finn's death. "And then it clicked. It was the guy from the funeral. The guy who Greta said was a murderer. A chill shimmied through my body. He'd come right up to my front door." (11.32.). This scene is incredibly important because it kick starts the plot of the book, and it is the first time Toby and June meet and interact.
- Toby could've received the AZT vaccine.
- June finds Greta Drunk, passed out, and covered in leaves. This happens twice, but only the second time does Greta reveal why. She tells June that she's scared, but of what she doesn't say. While Greta is drunk, she starts reminiscing about her childhood and her memories of playing with June when they were both children. "You know what being great means? It means having a year stolen from your life...And, you know, I want my year back...And I don't want to be ungrateful. I don't want to miss out, but sometimes I lie in my bed and I look around my room and I can't believe I'm not supposed to be a kid anymore." (54.15.).This reveals that Greta is grieving the loss of her childhood. She feels that she was forced to grow up too quickly, too suddenly, and that she wants all her lost years back. She feels pressured to be great and perfect, but the more she tries to mess up the better people think of her.
- June's mother felt left out and abandoned by Finn. She couldn't pursue a career in art that she so very wanted because she had to support herself first. "If you let this pass, you'll go through your life and you'll get to my age and you'll sit in your kitchen think what a fool you were...You think there are second chances? Do you? Well there aren't. They dart right by, and before you know it...You should have taken your chances when they came."(29.31). She sounds like she is talking from experience. June's mother is grieving the loss of her opportunities and what could have been. She ends up telling June that she made Finn choose between her or Toby, and that that was why their relationship turned rocky over the years.
- A possible solution for the end of the novel could be that June's family register Toby as a recipient for the new AZT vaccine. If and when Toby did recover, he could stay in Finn's old apartment and fully reconcile with June's mother. He could become friends with Greta and serve almost like an honorary uncle. They could help him renew his visa or apply for citizenship so he could stay.
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