barbara kingsolver book about butterflies

As she grows resentful and bored of her life as a stay-at-home mom and farmer’s wife, she decides on an act of self-destruction, only to be stopped in her tracks by an fantastic sight: thousands upon thousands of monarch butterflies are hanging from the trees at the top of the High Road trail. When she was seventeen and pregnant, her shotgun marriage to Cub Turnbow seemed to cement her future. Desperate to do something to sabotage the marriage she is trapped in, Dellarobia sees adultery as a means by which to express her unhappiness. GradeSaver, 12 March 2022 Web.The novel begins as Dellarobia strides up the family’s mountain path to meet up with a man she plans to sleep with. Next Section Symbols, Allegory and Motifs Previous Section Quotes How To Cite in MLA Format Anonymous 'Flight Behavior Study Guide: Analysis'. Someone from the community is currently working feverishly to complete this section of the study guide. In the end, she decides that whether it is holy or unholy, she will leave her husband. She doesn't really want to be with her husband, Cub, who is basically a derivative of Bear, his father, and whose interests are largely economic and tactical. She is tasked to oppose injustice, and when she sees two models for men who do the same thing, she is wildly compelled by Ovid. The patriarchy that governs her home is the same patriarchy that seeks to destroy the environment. Should she stay in a marriage she doesn't appreciate, and should the church care for the environment?Īlthough the religious strictures of marriage are obvious, Dellarobia discovers an opposing justice to the everyday justice of church rules. The butterflies quickly become a religious symbol to the community as well, and so two religious considerations are raised one micro, one macro. She decides first to just cheat on her husband to see if it feels better, but on her way to sleep with a telephone repair man (someone who at least understands communication!), she receives a communication from God, she believes.

This raises a religious question, literally. She flies away to find a new migration of her own. The title foreshadows the climax of the novel, because in the end, she realizes that there isn't enough fondness or attachment between her and her husband for her to stay and fight for him. On the other hand, the title points toward Dellarobia's 'fight-or-flight' behavior.

On the one hand, the title points toward the obvious: the story is about the flight patterns of migrating butterflies. The title of this beautiful story is a double-entendre.

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Barbara kingsolver book about butterflies