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One Home

One Home

By bgenaro
September 22, 2014 - 14:36
bgenaro's picture

When I first started reading, I was confused as to why Clare was talking about the environment of his hometown, the mountain as a metaphor, and his experience climbing the real mountain. Then, as I read further, I realized that he connects all aspects of his life to his definition of home and then exile. He eloquenty connects his sexuality, class, physical ability, education, and location to his home and exile from home. I didn't think it was possible to combine all of these different characteristics into one idenity, but he does. 

Clarifying

 

Supporting

 

Complexifying

Exile

I think that the ignorance displayed by the people of Clare’s town towards the destruction of their precious environment reflects his town’s social ignorance. This parallel stood out to me at the end of chapter two. Initially, I did not see the connection between the destruction of Clare’s calming environment and of Clare’s feelings of social isolation, but then I perceived it to represent his terror of exile.

He sounds cool

I agree that part 1, when compared to the preface, is a shockingly different feel from what I was expecting. 20 pages into it, I had to stop and remember what I was supposed to be reading. I had figured that it was going to be more about Clare's disability, since his story with the mountain worked best with that struggle. I was confused when it shifted to environmental issues, but I went with it. I'd like to believe that his discussion about the detriment of clearcutting on salmon population can have a broader meaning.

Weaving

 

Challenging

 

Unspecified