Thursday, December 1, 2011
What is the "Parting Gift"?
Usually when someone moves out or goes away for a while, a loved one gives the departing person a gift. Throughout this story no gift is ever exchanged; no physical item. I believe that the gift for the girl was her being able to go to America. She never has to be with her family ever again. She can move on from all the painful memories living in Ireland has brought. That is the true gift she is receiving.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with your character in your book. Sometimes a gift doesn't have to be tangable-- it can be something that has more of an emotional feeling to it. I sometimes feel relieved to get away from things like when me and my friends fight. Instead of wanting to stay in the situation I obviouslly feel like I should leave the situation. It's hard to do but sometimes it can be very rewarding in the end.
ReplyDelete-SOPHIE
i read it a bit differently - the parting gift was given to her by her father in the remembrance of their horrific relationship when she was a little girl. The "gift" in that way is the recognition that she can go to America, but never really escape her past. Also, the ending is left ambiguous - we aren't totally sure she actually boards the plane.
ReplyDelete