Housekeeping By Marilynne Robinson: Literary Analysis
Housekeeping, the tragic story of two sisters, Ruthie and Lucille, struggling through their teenage years as they experience turmoil within their family. Through the story the girls bond stretches and eventually snaps but they both arrive at the same moral and thematic conclusion. Due to differences in beliefs and personality they make different decisions and this leads to a sudden separation. The book Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson shows that if your problems seem too big too handle it’s okay to run away from them. This is exhibited by the author’s tone when talking about events, the events themselves, and the mood that these events transfer to the reader.
Early in the book Ruthie’s and Lucille’s mother takes their next door neighbor’s …show more content…
After a brief stint of trying to show the town that she is in fact, suitable to take care of Ruthie, Sylvie does what everyone else in the family does: decides to run away. Initially, they decide to burn down their house and fake their death; with no thought of how Lucille will feel. But, when that doesn’t work, Sylvie and Ruthie decide to go the one way no one will follow, “‘Cross the bridge’”(210). The mood when they cross the bridge is completely away from their thoughts. Not a single time does it mention them reminiscing on their lives or who they’ll miss. All that is cogitated by Ruthie is imagery of her surrounding such as, “We stepped on every other [railroad] tie, although that made our stride uncomfortably long, because stepping on every tie made it uncomfortably short”(211). This really shows that they believe running away from your problems is ok because not only does she not think about how she’s jilting her sister into thinking her dead but also has the audacity to think about how far apart her steps are.
In conclusion, in the book Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson a major life lesson is taught through the masterful manipulation of tone, mood and plot events that apprises the reader with the knowledge that if any problem seems impassable it is ok and even beneficial to end your life or
Early in the book Ruthie’s and Lucille’s mother takes their next door neighbor’s …show more content…
After a brief stint of trying to show the town that she is in fact, suitable to take care of Ruthie, Sylvie does what everyone else in the family does: decides to run away. Initially, they decide to burn down their house and fake their death; with no thought of how Lucille will feel. But, when that doesn’t work, Sylvie and Ruthie decide to go the one way no one will follow, “‘Cross the bridge’”(210). The mood when they cross the bridge is completely away from their thoughts. Not a single time does it mention them reminiscing on their lives or who they’ll miss. All that is cogitated by Ruthie is imagery of her surrounding such as, “We stepped on every other [railroad] tie, although that made our stride uncomfortably long, because stepping on every tie made it uncomfortably short”(211). This really shows that they believe running away from your problems is ok because not only does she not think about how she’s jilting her sister into thinking her dead but also has the audacity to think about how far apart her steps are.
In conclusion, in the book Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson a major life lesson is taught through the masterful manipulation of tone, mood and plot events that apprises the reader with the knowledge that if any problem seems impassable it is ok and even beneficial to end your life or