Ruth May has died and it is difficult to go on

[princessebethy]

When I placed "The Poisonwood Bible" on my Christmas wish list a year and a half ago, I knew very well that it would take the event of a summer vacation for me to get around to reading the 550 or so page book. It's not that I don't enjoy getting lost in a thick book with a heavy plot and numerous twist and turns, but during the eight months in which I am in school, I have little time to devote to such a lengthy book. If I am to pleasure read, it is better for the book to be fairly short so that I am able to put it down for even a month in order to concentrate solely on my schoolwork. At the end of that month, the shorter the book the easier it is to pick it up once again and delve back into the plot, simply because there is less to remember and not as much to information to look back on if I forgot anything in my month astray. This summer, though, I have been able to dive into "The Poisonwood Bible". Initially, I not necessarily turned off by the book as I was just not drawn into it. However, after the first one hundred pages or so, I grew to detest the Reverend Price more than anything else imaginable. I wanted to reach out and hug Orleanna, for I completely understand the situation she was put into and her inability to get out. Rachel reminded me of so many girls from high school, and while I did not have respect for her, I did not hate her, for she was just a teenage girl excited about coming into womanhood at a time when the more feminine the girl the better. Leah was so intelligent and eager to please her father. I wanted to hug her, as well, for she could not see through his hypocrisy. While I have always found Adah's palindrome's annoying, the young girl herself is incredible. Forgotten by her mother when the ants invaded the village, Adah carried on but forever remembered that she was indeed forgotten in crisis. However, above all of these women, I loved Ruth May the most. She was young, innocent, bossy--the essence of every little American girl. I loved her dearly. Ruth May survived malaria but died from the poison of a snake. I read a little past from her funeral scene, but I am currently taking a break. I certainly intend to finish "The Poisonwood Bible", but I need some time away from it right now. As Norman Lear said to Jean Stapleton when they discussed killing off Edith on the show "All in the Family", "she's real to me".

I'm sorry if I bored you all to death, and if you just skipped over this entry entirely, I completely understand. I just miss Ruth May, that's all.