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Quite a freaky encounter with Ida Paine...What are the important points of our oracle here? What should Edgar take away from the encounter?
"The catastrophe, when it came, turned on a vanity of Edgar's so broad and innocent that he would look back on the events of that afternoon and find blame only in himself." What was the catastrophe? What was the vanity?
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When I think of popcorn, what comes to mind is a food that is not necessarily substantial. In a way with “Popcorn Corners,” we come to find out that it is composed of “A tavern, a grocery, three equally decrepit houses, a band of feral chickens…” (301). In my opinion, these aspects were not meant to hold up to the test of time.
With Edgar’s inclusive monologue, we know that Edgar is a bit intimidated by the idea of Ida Paine. Whenever she rang a purchase up, she made the buyer feel like their life was not reaching its full potential. When Ida stated for Edgar to not “Come back, not for nothing” it brought alarm to him because he knew that Ida grasped the malignant secrets that Claude kept (306).
The first thing anyone should notice about popcorn is that it doesn't have corners. I feel the name works because popcorn pops erratically with no pattern, and by the description of the town it seems as though it was just randomly put up for just a quick place for a few people to live. Edgar's encounter showed that Ida seemed to have an understanding of the situation that Edgar had found himself in.
When I think of popcorn corners I think iof a variety of things. First of all, I think of how each corner of popcorn touches another corner of popcorner, then that peice of popcorn touches another corner of popcorn. Each corner always touching another, like a repeating translation pattern in art. Likewise, every store and structure in Popcorn Corners is very close. In addition, popcorn has a volatile popping rhythm. On never knows when the next "POP!" will metamorph a tiny kernel into a crispy treat. So on, the "catastrophe" that occurs in this chapter is as volatile and uncalled for as the "POP!" of popcorn.
Edgar should treat his encounter with Ida Paine as a helpful warning sign. Ida is trying to warn him of the bad omen that ensares Edgar's near future. She is trying to warn him of Claude and bad things to come. Thus, Edgar should be weary and approach the future with a more precautious gait.
The chapter’s title and the place that Edgar goes to in the book is a contradiction. Popcorn has a different shape to each piece with no perfect corners. Ida Paine can be compared to a kernel of popcorn because every time you talk to her she’s different. She always has something crazy to say or do. She doesn’t have any definite lines. When Edgar goes to the grocery store Ida Paine is creepier than the last time she was mentioned in the novel. She talked about how his father came into the store before he passed away. She recalled having a bad feeling when he was checking out eggs. Ida then got Edgar to show the picture he had placed in his pocket. Ida realized what Claude had been up to. From this strange experience, Edgar should know it really was Claude who killed his father and that he should go with his gut feeling.
Ida gave good advice, once you get passed her creepiness. She says a coin can make a difference, could save someones life. Telling Edgar anything or anyone could make a difference. And that any moment could be our last, sometimes no one can stop that. Life and death are what they are. We can't stop them. Also during their talk, Edgar shows Ida a picture with Claude in it. She mentions dog fights. Edgar should put some stuff together. Like how she saw Claude and mentioned dog fights, yet the story Claude told him was that Edgar's dad was the one into the dog fights. Also one thing I was still trying to figure out was when Ida says "don't you come back, not for nothing. It's just wind." What's just wind? His dad? People calling him? That's something I still think about.
Popcorn don't have corners! Or any predetermined shape for that matter.
Ida Paine does not claim to tell the future. She interacts with people and sometimes gets a weird vibe or "juice", as she calls it. It could be weak or strong, negative or positive. When Edgar's father last went to that store she got a strong negative jolt from him when she was handed the eggs. She didn't know what was going to happen, but she knew something was going to happen and it wasn't going to be good. She also knew that Edgar had brought something with him in his pocket to the store. The picture. Not to mention, that incident with the vision and the coke bottle turning into some sort of ink well? Edgar should listen to her advice about getting out of there when things turn sour. He should also try to figure out what the visions were about that he saw.
The edges in popcorn, in my own perspective, can be compared to the ripples of space/time or the lobes of Ida’s brain. Its crevices have no definite shape or perceptible outcome, much like “the oracles” sayings. I know now that if you look past her creepy disposition that Ida is a good guy, contradicting my earlier feelings. The woman speaks of dog fights when she sees the picture of Claude, Edgar is confused. He remembers back to when Claude said that Gar was the one who abused dogs, not the other way around. Obviously, one of these two stories is wrong and I don't particularly trust Claude.
Popcorn Corners, much like the corners of popcorn, is not definitive or definite. Popcorn does not have corners, so therefore can’t really be defined as a shape. The rundown town, Popcorn Corners, is only defined as “a tavern, a grocery, three equally decrepit houses, a band of feral chickens that lived in the culverts” (301). That doesn’t sound very squared off or definite to me, like something that would have corners. It seems that this place comes and goes much like the people that may or may not pass through it, so it can’t be suffocated and cramped into a shape. No two popped kernels of popcorn are the same, just as no two days in Popcorn Corners are the same.
The encounter with Ida Paine is quite strange to say the least. But Edgar needs to take away the few statements she says about the bottle. This entire moment with Ida circles back to the prologue. I believe that’s what Ida is trying to tell Edgar, in her vague, oracle way. She’s warning him of what Claude did and telling him, in so many words, that he needs to find the bottle that contains the substance that killed his father, or more terrible things could happen.
When I think of popcorn, I think of random shapes and things. As many said above, popcorn has no set defined shape (such as a cracker does). There are no "corners" in popcorn. This relates to the title of this chapter because the town Popcorn corners is very "misshapen". The town is not definite, and there are not many things here. Just some random things here and there, like the random shapes popcorn can make here and there.
I think the encounter with Ida Pain should scare Edgar into knowing bad things are coming, most likely with Claude. Edgar should stay alert. She was acting pretty creepy and strange the entire time she spoke with him.
When I think of popcorn I think of its lightness, the air inside of it, how it melts away. Popcorn isn't meant to hold up for long, much like how the town is. Everything is just old, and for the only place that seems to be the midway between Mellen and everything else, you would think it would be stronger. At first it just seems like it will be a regular checkout at the store. Then she starts talking to him, about how his dad came in. How her vibes started coming, her "juice", and how the eggs just stood out. I think Ida is trying, in her own way, to tell Edgar she knows the secrets and he just needs to uncover them for himself.
When I think of popcorn I think of random shapes and how they are all together in a bowl. This is comparable to the town. A few random things (chickens, grocery store, tavern) are all together in a bowl (the town).
The encounter with Ida Paine is freaky because she is a freaky woman that clearly knows things about the Sawtelle's that not many people know. She obviously knows something that Edgar needs to know in order to solve his mystery of his father's death. What Edgar needed to take away from that encounter is that he needs to get the courage to back to freaky Ida Paine and find out what she knows.
The important points of the encounter was the oily liquid, an Oriental man, and the prescription writing. Edgar should take away that the same oily liquid in the syringe he found was the same liquid Ida "showed" him. He should also take away that the liquid wasn't from around here and had to be brought here. The only one who had recently traveled was Claude.
Edgar shouldn't discount Ida Paine's words. her oracle ties in with what took place in the prologue. She in a way is trying to tell him more about his father's death, and that he should listen to his gut regarding his feelings about Claude (who more than likely killed his father).
If you've ever watched popcorn pop you can see very clearly it's random. There is no precise plan where, how, or when it pops. Just like Popcorn Corners. It appears to be a town that was just thrown together in someones spare time to give a small number of people a decent place to live.
You can tell from the encounter with Ida Paine that she knows a lot more than she lets on and the fact that she knows as much as she does about the Sawtelles is already a puzzling situation.
To me, Popcorn Corners relates to Ida Paine's fortune telling. She is far from consistent in telling fortunes, but when they do occur, they are a big change. A popcorn kernel is much the same way. When heated, it is the same for an indeterminable amount of time, until they pop into something unique. For example, Gar's "popcorn" moment was when he handed the eggs to Ida.
From Edgar's meeting with Ida, he can take away that his initial presumptions on Claude being his father's killer were accurate, however, he needs to act quickly on his information.
To me Popcorn Corners is in relation to Ida Paine. Sometimes she will touch an item a customer is purchasing and feels like a hand pops up and grabs her. Ida knows when something is wrong, it pops up like popcorn in her mind and she can sense it. Ida tells Edgar that he needs to find a bottle and if he goes to not come back for nothing. Ida herself is freaky, but the fact she knows so much is even stranger.
The first thing I notice when I look at the picture and think about the title of this chapter is, popcorn doesn't have corners. Popcorn is unique in shape, like snowflakes. Each piece is different and it pops randomly and without pattern. Same is true about this town, Popcorn Corners. The town just "popped" up in the middle of nowhere, providing the residents with only the necessities.
Ida Paine is the quite the interesting character. She reads people when they come into the store and buy things, she is sensing a weird vibe, or "juices" as she calls it. She doesn't tell the future, but it is quite strange how she knows Edgar's family so well. What Edgar should take away from this encounter is his feeling that Claude murdered his father was correct. He is right not to trust Claude and he should warn his mother before something else happens to his family.
You can tell from reading about Ida Paine that she knows more than she is telling. Ida knows Gar was murdered and instructs Edgar to go and find a bottle that will prove Claude killed his brother. Edgar needs to take away from Ida's encounter that his instincts are right about his malicious uncle. I predict that Edgar will go off on his own to find this mysterious bottle.
Ida Paine, although she is really creepy and weird, is very wise. She knows more than people think she does, and more than she lets on. She knows what happened to Gar and that Edgar knows too. She also knows that Edgar is wanting to leave or wanting to do something durastic and she thinks that he should do it. She wants him to get as far away as possible because she knows it would be good.
Like many others, I too noticed that popcorn doesn't have corners. It just pops into a unique shape with unusual edges. And just as popcorn pops suddenly and is unique and asymmetrical, popcorn corners just built up quickly and stores and buildings were thrown in just to give people a place to get what they need.
It's ironic, because popcorn doesn't have corners. In fact, it doesn't have a unique shape. I think when he is talking about the catastrope, he means that he finally was 100 percent sure Claude was the one to blame for his father's death. From the encounter with Ida Paine, Edgar needs to dig deeper and try his best to keep up with the situation with Claude instead of sitting idly by.
From his encounter with Ida Paine, Edgar is told that if he cannot find the bottle (which must be the poison from the prologue), he has to flee. Upon seeing the photo of Claude, she basically spells out to him that the cause of Gar's death was certainly Claude, which Edgar had suspected. Ida is warning Edgar that this man is dangerous and there's nothing he can do because it's simply "what's in the juice."
Looking at the photo and then reading the title of the chapter "Popcorn Corners" you can tell it's ironic. Popcorn doesn't have corners they are pretty much just lumps, like clouds. Weird reference i know. Also, the popcorn is dull there's not much to it. That describes popcorn corners to a tee because there isn't much to it either. There is a tavern, a grocery, three equally decrepit houses and a band of feral chickens that lived in the cultures. At the grocery is Ida Paine i guess the cashier and owner. She is kind of creepy. From his encounter with Ida he needs to know she is wise. He needs to use his deep thinking and look into what she has said. He needs to take away that he shouldn't give up searching for the answers behind his fathers death. She knows it was claude not sure how but she knows. She told him "weight of a coin can make all the difference" i think it means little things can make a big difference. When i read that i thought back to the needle edgar found. He had thought it was natural what happened to his dad or that it was his fault but by finding that small needle he changed the blame to claude. Then she says "you need to look for that bottle. because unless you can lay hands on it, you need to go. you understand me you need to go" (306) I think the bottle is the bottle of stuff claude used. That would be the only evidence if he can't find that then he should just leave because he'll be stuck with claude forever. She is telling him to go.
Ida Paine's premonition saw Edgar facing a difficult task: find the bottle or run away, never to return. The visions Edgar received were Claude's from when he was at war in the book's prologue; he saw the dog, the man, and the bottle of poison. I think the bottle of poison Claude received from the man is the same that he used to kill Gar, and Ida told Edgar to find it lest it be used on him (hence the "run away" alternative). It bothered me that Edgar didn't immediately search for it, the dramatic irony was killing me. The title of the chapter coupled with the picture you gave made me think about the store's name for the first time, I noticed that, obviously, popcorn doesn't have corners, so the name must have come from the fact that corner stores like Popcorn Corners must have been common and rapidly spreading.
I notice that popcorn does not really have corners. Popcorn is in random shapes and sizes. This should tell the reader something about the town. I find Ida Paine to be creepy, but very knowledgeable and wise. I feel that Ida is not telling everything that she knows, but she gives him a lot of clues. I think that she wants him to follow his gut and listen to what it says about Claude. She knows of his father's murder and she had a bad feeling about it. I believe she wants Edgar to find the significance of the bottle as well.
The name Popcorn Corners is ironic because popcorn doesn't have corners, it actually doesn't have any defined shape. When popcorn pops, it is sporadic, similar to the surfacing of this town. It just randomly popped up in the middle of no where. We have learned that this town has a tavern, a grocery, three equally decrepit houses, and a band of feral chickens that lived in the culverts.
The chapter's title is an oxymoron. Popcorn is mostly rounded and there are no corners. When it pops the results will vary for the shape, you still won't get any corners though. What Edgar should take away from this event is never to return to that store; Ida Paine seems like she has the potential to become a dangerous person. She is an old woman, who doesn't have control of her actions and can't remember her actions when she does do them. She claims the last time she saw Edgar's father was when he went in to buy eggs. According to her, she freaked out and dropped the eggs because of some type of bad energy she got off him. I have really liked this book so far; however, the one disappointment are the few sections that include some sort of supernatural occurrence. The catastrophe was Edgar remembering memories that Ida Paine caused. She shocked him and brought back unpleasant memories while supposedly implanting memories into him.
popcorn does not have a uniform shape, and does not have corners. Edgar's hunch about Claude killing his father was right. Ida Paine is a sensitive person, she is sensitive to peoples emotions, lives, and horas.
Edgar should take away that this is a serious warning. Ida once helped Edgar's mother by sending her the women who knew sign language. She's powerful enough to see things that others cannot. Edgar already knows this, and is clearly shaken by her words. If she says to go, he should go. And later on, he does go, just like she says. the encounter with the flash of memory was extremely odd also.
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