Tuesday, August 08, 2017

The Tiger's Wife: Chapter 10

What explanation can you come up with for Arlo's death based on the information provided? What causes the awkwardness in the conversation between the narrator and Fra Anton as he tells the story of his brother's death?

Why do you think Fra Anton is so protective of the narrator? What is he protecting her from (or, rather, what does he think he is protecting her from)?

Who takes the jar? Why do you think she follows the man?

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dure gives Natalia the jar and trusts both her and Fra Anton with it.I think that Natalia follows the man because he can help her bury the jar the most proper way. Also, so she is protected from other people who might want to steal the jar or try to look for the jar. At the end of the chapter the jar is stolen and Natalia can't do anything to stop it. I think Fra Anton is protecting her from the dangers of the world. He doesn't want to see Natalia get harmed in any way and is worried for her well being. So, Fra Anton makes her stay in the vineyard overnight where it is holy and where she will be safe from everything.

Anonymous said...

I think Fra Anton is so protective of the narrator because she is a young girl staying in a place that is very unfamiliar to her. I don't think many people would want to spend a night all alone in a vineyard with many different animals that could potentially harm you. However, Fra Anton thinks that he is keeping her safe in the vineyard because it is considered holy. I think he is protecting her from the person who dug up the jar.

Anonymous said...

At this point in the novel, I wasn't sure who took the jar. I thought that it was the deathless man at first. It seemed to me that it would make sense for Natalia to finally meet him after all of the stories her grandfather told her. I also thought that if it was the deathless man that she would figure out exactly what happened to her grandfather and figure out the mystery of him. I believe Fra Atun thinks he is protecting Natalia from the real truth of how things happen. You find out later in the story many things that add up to how he believes he is going to protect her from the obstacles of life you could say. I also believe he doesn't want her to get hurt both physically, by a person or animals, and mentally, by finding out the truth of some things in life.

Anonymous said...

Although nobody can be completely sure of who/ what dug up the jar, my best guess would be the deathless man. I believe this figure was used by Obhert as a method of foreshadowing to chapter 11. In that chapter, her grandfather has his meal with the deathless man. When Natalia sees the figure, she remembers the sorties he told her of the deathless man, and her curiosity wants to learn more. In conclusion, Obhert creates so much mystery , and an element of wonder throughout the entire novel, which keeps the readers interested, and compels them to want to read and learn learn more.

Anonymous said...

Fra Anton’s protectiveness of the narrator could stem from his brother’s death. He was very insistent that there are drunk men roaming the area and that Natalia shouldn't stay. Either this theory or that Fra Anton has developed a sort of liking to Natalia after all she has done to ensure that the children at the orphanage and Dure’s children receive the health care that they needed.
In the cover of early morning, some unknown man digs up the jar, counts the coins, and takes the jar towards the mountain. Natalia follows the strange man because she want to find the deathless man. She believes that if she talks to the deathless man, she will find closure in her grandfather's death. I personally believe that the strange man is the deathless man. The man was told to have a methodical approach to digging out the jar, meaning that this person has been doing this for a while now. I also recall that the deathless man likes to lead the souls of the lost to the crossroads for his uncle, Death.

Anonymous said...

I agree with both Olivia and Kim, and I think Fra Antun's protectiveness of Natalia is a little bit of both. Her vulnerability makes him nervous, but I think most of it comes from the fact that he lost his brother. I think he might feel like he has a responsibility to keep her safe, and it's stronger now that his brother is gone. He also is trying to protect her from the things she'd find. Like Mackenzie said, he doesn't want her to get hurt mentally or physically. I also think the deathless man is the one that takes the jar, and Natalia follows him thinking that he'll finally open her eyes to what exactly happened to her grandfather.

Anonymous said...

I think Fra Anton is protective of Natalia because he fears that something will happen to her since she is young and alone. Who knows what could happen to her if she were to stay the entire night out there by herself? Even if I had just met someone and they were going to do something that could potentially bring harm to themselves, I would also be protective of them as well. If something were to happen to Natalia, maybe Fra Anton would have felt some guilt for not staying out there with her or for not bringing her back to town.

Anonymous said...

Kim totally has it right when it comes to why Fra Anton is so protective of Natalia in this chapter. The biggest reason why he is so concerned for her is the story of his brother’s mysterious death. He never knew what had caused his brother’s death. To Fra Anton, anything could be lurking in the shadows to attack Natalia. She is, to him, a vulnerable young woman, just like his brother was a vulnerable young boy.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure why Fra Anton is so protective of her, but I'm guessing it has something to do with his brother, because why else would it have been mentioned. His brother died suddenly when he was young and that has scarred him, so he tries to prevent the same thing from happening to her.
There are a few options of who took the jar: the mora, a man who comes out of the darkness to dig up the jars, the deathless man, or maybe someone who wants to get the money. Natalia follows the man because she feels that it could be somehow connected to her grandfather's death and she wants to know everything she possibly can about it. I definitely understand her interest in this person, especially with all the stories she has heard from her grandfather about the deathless man.

Anonymous said...

Fra Antun is protective of the narrator because he sees her as a young person with much more life to live, similar to his brother who was killed. The Narrator believes he is protecting her from death. He knows all to well that an innocent adventure can turn deadly. He had lost his brother in such a traumatic way, he can't allow the same thing to happen to the narrator. He fears that if he lets her stay, her fate might be similar to his brother's. No matter what the narrator could have said or done, there was no way Fra Antun was going to allow her to stay. He knows that even if she can get passed the wild animals, the local drunk men will take advantage of her out there all alone.

Anonymous said...

I think Fra Antun is protective of Natalia because she’s young and vulnerable staying all alone in the vineyard. I think he feels a responsibility to her because of what happened to his brother. After all she had done at the orphanage he may feel obligated to look out for her as well.
As for who dug up the jar, I believe it was the deathless man. I think Natalia also thinks this, hence why she follows them. She must really believe it’s him if she gets up and follows him. If it was someone else I don’t think she would have done the same. She’s heard all these stories of the deathless man and is probably very curious about him. She thinks that by finding the deathless man maybe she’ll have some closure for her grandfather’s death.

Anonymous said...

I think that Fra Antun is protective of Natalia because she is a young female who wants to stay the night outside in a place she does not know very much about. Anyone staying the night outside like that in general should be cautious. Also, we learned about how all of the jars were stolen and he may be worried about the type of people who take those. Like Raina was saying, he may just be protective of eveyone after what happened to his brother. Otherwise, so far there hasn't been too much of a point to telling those stories. I think it could have been the deathless man who dug up the jar. After all she has heard about him, I'm sure Natalia is more then interested in him, because if it isn't him, I would be very surprised that she followed him!!

Anonymous said...

I think Fra Antun has developed a liking to Natalia, and wants to protect her while they are in the vineyard. I also believe he is protecting her since Natalia showed that she wanted to help the children to become healthier. I also agree with the others that Fra Antun is very protective of Natalia since she is young vulnerable woman, just like how his brother was a young boy who was vulnerable. I believe he stays by Natalia's side to protect her and to keep her safe. He does this I think because if he heads back and something happens to her he would think it was his fault, that he could of been there to help her.

Anonymous said...

Although no one is sure who dug up the jar, but I am agreeing with many and saying the deathless man. It seems to me that it makes the most sense and I think he is a character that is being used a foreshadowing. I think that Fra Anton is protective of Natalia because maybe she is young and wants to just protect her her because of his brothers death. Seeing her act like her brother all full of life and young, ready to live life to the fullest he feels he needs to protect her from death. Just as he wishes he had did for his brother. Fra Anton knows anything could happen like a freak accident since losing his brother in such a traumatic way he can't afford to have something similar happen to the narrator also. No matter what she says Fra Anton makes her stay in the vineyard overnight where she is safe from everything including wild animals and crazy drunk guys.

Unknown said...

I think that Fra Anton is protective of the narrator because he sees her as a young girl in an unknown area. He mentions wild animals and drunk men, trying to scare her but when she didn't give in he made her stay in the vineyard because it was holy land. I think he is protecting her because he couldn’t protect his brother, so now he’s trying to protect everyone that he can. At first I thought that the deathless man was the man that took the jar but I wasn’t quite sure. I think she followed him because she thought that they might be know information about her grandfather and give her answers that she wanted.

Samuel Vellequette said...

If I were watching Bedford being bombed, I know exactly what I'd do- freak out, then stop doing whatever I was doing in complete and utter confusion. First of all, I realize this is a totally hypothetical question, and is more attuned to the emotional relationships and associations that would follow in such an event, but hypotheticals are always way more fun that real questions. Hypotheticals can possess any number of imaginative scenarios, where reality is, in reality, really refined to the rigid dullness of itself. Anyway, yeah, so I'd loose my juxtaposes (ignore that phrase (inside joke (like theses parentheses (Booyah)))) and run around, possibly yelling out miscellaneous bible verses and Bon Jovi songs for mental stability. Then, I'd stop my craziness, and start looting, before questioning what in the world whoever was bombing us was doing. As in, who thought that bedford was in any way important enough to destroy? MAYBE you could pitch it as a psychological attack on the sub-urban heartland of the USA, but anyone can put 2 and 2 together to realize that it's gonna take a LOT of bombs to do any legitimate logistical damage to said demographic. Neat thought experiment though.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Vanessa wherein Fra Antun's protectiveness of Natalia is a bit of both reasons. He lost his brother so yea he's gonna be a bit nervous at her vulnerability, who wouldn't be? He needs to protect her from her findings. The deathless man definitely took the jar, unless it's a red haring, because Natalie follows him thinking she will learn the truth about her grandfather.

Sophie Dettling said...

Fra Anton is a man of spirituality and forgiveness. I believe he aims to protect Natalia as a way of forgiving the paramilitary members who killed his brother. As Fra Anton tells the story of his brother's death, Natalia is waiting for him to say she is paramilitary and be spiteful. However, Fra Anton does the unexpected and only shows compassion for Natalia. Additionally, at this point of the novel it is unclear as the whom has taken the jar. There is reference to the death man, which would make sense. However, this book has thrown lots of twists and turns.

Anonymous said...

I think Arlo was probably killed in battle or something and his friends didn’t know what to do besides bring him home. The awkwardness is probably caused by Natalia wanting to bring up her dead grandfather or something. I think maybe just a homeless dude or one of the family members took the jar. The narrator follows though probably because she thinks it could be the deathless man.

Anonymous said...

I think Fra Anton is protective of there narrator because she is a girl that hasn't been there very long. She is in an unfamiliar area and she is young and innocent. She hasn't ever experienced the whole taking the jar to the crossroads thing yet and she doesn't know what to expect. I also think it has something to do with the fact that he let his brother go do his own thing and never came home. He feels like he has to protect her so the same thing doesn't happen to her. I think she followed the man because she wants to get a better look and him or her and maybe get some information on her grandfather and how he died.

Anonymous said...

When Fra Anton tells Natalia about his brother's death, he mentions it was a few weeks before the war. Even though a specific war is never stated, we know it was between Natalia's country and Fra Anton's country. When Fra Anton says the boys Arlo went camping with were serving with the paramilitary, Natalia's heart drops because she knows it is her country's paramilitary. However, Fra Anton doesn't say "your" paramilitary when speaking to her. Fra Anton is heartbroken over his brother's death, but he is not bitter. He doesn't hold the same resentment over the war as many of the other people in his country do. Natalia feels ashamed of what her country has done and this is what causes some of the awkwardness of their conversation.

Anonymous said...

I feel like Fra Anton is protective of Natalia due to what happened to his brother. Just like what Natalia is doing, Anton's brother went on a camping trip with a group of friends all fun and games. The fun and games ended when they found him sitting in a dumpster. I feel that Fra Anton fears the same fate for Natalia, and that is why he is closely watching her. Also just like his brother, Natalia is going to an area she has never been, which may also remind Fra Anton of what happened to his brother.

Unknown said...

Fra Anton's protectiveness of Natalia is stemmed from many things, but I think the most significant is her youth and her gender. No matter where you are, being a young woman can be a dangerous thing - particularly in a place ridden by war. Recently struck by the loss of his brother, I think that made Fra Anton feel especially responsible for the safety of Natalia. He fears the carelessness of others could cause significant harm to Natalia, just as it had to his brother. Though he doesn't have much to give her, he can do his best to assure her safety in this dangerous time.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I think that Arlo was killed by the boys he wet camping with but Im not sure why. There is awkwardness as he tells the story because it was people from Natalia's country who killed Fra Anton's brother. HE doesn't have a dislike for her because of it, but t is something they both can feel. Fra Anton is protective over the narrator because he has experienced so much suffering from death that he is terrified that something may happen to her. I think the deathless man takes the jar away.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Hailey that Fra Anton is so protective because he is concerned about the young girl. He is trying to protect her from everything surrounding her including wildlife. I think that it is a good thing that he is protecting her. I was wondering who took the jar, but my first thought would be the deathless man. It connects to when they were having dinner later in the novel, so the deathless man would be my first guess.

Natalie Harrison said...

I think Fra Anton is super protective for two reasons. One is that she's young, and another is that the same scenario happened to her brother. She is very sad and is trying to avoid the same thing, which just ended in disaster. She hopes she can change things this time.

Anonymous said...

Arlo was killed by a group of boys camping through town. The boys camping were with Natalia's country's military. My guess is they saw Arlo and killed him because he was from the other country. Then, they didn't know what to do with the body so they threw it into the dumpster. Fra Anton is protective of Natalia because of this; she doesn't want something to happen to Natalia that happened to her brother. Fra Anton is protecting her from basically everything.

Unknown said...

Fra Antun is concerned because she is a young girl alone in the night, and I won't sugarcoat it, he doesn't want her to be raped. Otherwise he wouldn't be so insistent about "drunk men" in the night. It's awful, but it is an unfortunate reality in a war torn area. People have that attitude of "there's a war on!" like Natalia would say earlier in the book. They can't be punished and there will be no repercussions. The awkward conversation stems from the fact that the paramilitary that killed Arlo were not from Fra's side of the line, but from Natalia's. I think the grave looter is nobody special but Natalia follows because she is still coping with her grandfather's death and is trying to live out his stories of deathless men, but I believe they are just that, stories.

Anonymous said...

I think that Fra Anton is so protective of Natalia because he worries that with her out in the open in the middle of the night it will be dangerous. Especially for someone who has no form of self defense on her. She is vulnerable in the middle of a vineyard. It is only said that it is a holy place, not promised. He is also probably protective because of what happened to his brother. He fears for her being alone, and does not want her to face the same fate as his brother. He is only looking out for her. He also may believe the deathless man is still out there lurking and has no clue of what kind of intentions he may have. They could be bad.

I don't know who took the jar from the ground but I can assume it is the deathless man. There has been all talk about him throughout the story but never any real occurrences that involve this man. While Natalia knows of him, she can't help but wonder if this is the guy. She probably follows him to find out who it really is. She seems very impulsive at this point of the book. Staying outside in the middle of a vineyard is enough to say she is not very conscious of her decisions and of her what could harm her. Also, following this man may not be such a good idea. It wouldn't be a good idea in any situation to follow some strange man up a mountain.

Anonymous said...

I agree that Fra Anton's protective nature comes from his past and what happened with his brother. I believe the traumatic emotions behind his brother's death cause him to worry and feel the need to care for a young girl like Natalia. I also agree that it is unknown who takes the jar but it seems likely that it would be the deathless man. With all the talk of the deathless man in the novel to this point, there is certainly a lot suspense hanging around his character.

Unknown said...

I think that Fra Anton is protecting Natalia for a variety of reasons. As many people have stated, she is a young woman in a foreign place, and there are a lot of dangers with being out at night. They are also in a place with areas riddled with underground bombs. However, despite all of the obvious reasons for protecting her, I think Fra Anton is ,mostly trying to keep her from finding out the true nature of what she's searching for. I think his brother's death probably also had a lot to do with why he acts protective of her. I think it actually might have been Fra Anton who took the jug, but I might be way off.

Sarah Johnson said...

I can't say for certain, but because Arlo's family later discovered that the boys he had been camping with ended up serving with "the paramilitary" (the paramilitary belonging to the province with which Arlo's had been at war), I think these boys may have eventually killed him after discovering he was from the enemy side, after a confrontation. The fact that Natalia is from the same province as these boys, makes this conversation with Fra Anton awkward.
As for who took the jar, I'd say it was someone from the village or possibly the deathless man. Natalia probably followed him thinking he could be the latter.