Writing Prompt:
In a topic-driven, well-developed, and tightly
focused paragraph, offer a brief critique of House’s “Prologue” and first
chapter. Analyze the effectiveness of the author’s introduction. Use evidence from the text to support your claim.
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Amanda McMahon
ReplyDeleteProf. Kirk
ENGL 3353
8 September 2015
Introduction Critique
In the prologue of Silas House's novel A Parchment of Leaves, House introduces the reader to the characters Vine and Saul, and introduces the conflict in a small town between the Cherokees and the rest of the population. Vine is perceived as a witch by the townsfolk and even admits to having "plenty of magic about [her]" (12). Saul is a young man attempting to escape his mother's watchful eye and becomes a bit of an advocate for the Cherokees by the end of the introduction. House provides a foundational understanding of what seems to be the two main characters for the reader. He also includes foreshadowing of a deeper, darker tale when Saul speaks of "hellfire" (7) and thinks that "dark was the only way he could describe [Vine] to himself" (12). House gives the reader a roadmap to the text from the beginning and provides enough foreboding for the reader to want to continue reading.
Kelsey Wheatle
ReplyDeleteProfessor Kirk
ENGL 3353
9 September 2015
Leaves Introduction Critique
In Silas House's "A Parchment of Leaves", his main two characters Vine, a Cherokee girl, and Saul, a young white man, are on the verge of falling in love, and bringing unity to an area that has been plagued with hate, malice, and fear for more than eighty years. When Saul had traveled to Redbud Camp to clear land for Master's mansion, he no intention of requiring the help of the Indian girl that is feared by many men because of the deaths of men traveling on the mountain that she is rumored to cause. Saul ran to Vine after his brother Aaron had gotten bitten by a snake in the mountains. Although they are both from two different cultures, and their people have quarreled with each other Vine agrees to help Saul in the prologue, and this becomes the start of a beautiful and compelling union between the two. After Saul asks Vine's father for her hand in marriage, Vine later "cried into the nape of his neck, not knowing if it was from grief or happiness, for both gave me wild stirrings in [her] gut"(19). This quote from the novel not only represents her feelings knowing that she will be leaving her family and starting life amongst people whom she'd been isolated from, this could also be a reference to the grief and happiness that the two sides, Cherokee and white, will have to endure when both sides encounter each other throughout the novel.
Katy Dyches
ReplyDeleteProfessor Kirk
ENGL 3353
9 September 2015
“Prologue” Critique
In his novel A Parchment of Leaves, Silas House uses the prologue to introduce the characters of Saul and Vine, and to develop an air of intrigue about Vine. Saul is introduced as a realistic, serious man who “was not afraid of anything and certainly did not believe in such foolishness as maledictions,” (4). But Vine is first mentioned as the “Cherokee girl who was able to invoke curses on anyone passing her threshold,” (3). This is later attributed to her remarkable beauty, rather than witchcraft, but the rumors create an interest in the character with a sort of whispered intensity. After Saul’s brother, Aaron, is snake-bitten and healed by Vine, he returns to Redbud Camp to thank her. She, acknowledging the rumors about herself among the townsfolk, asks if Saul believes that people can lay curses. He claims that he does not. Vine responds, saying “You ought to believe… There’s plenty of magic about me,” (12). Such a vague, cryptic remark adds tremendously to the intrigue surrounding Vine’s character.
Callie Brothers
ReplyDeleteProf. Kirk
September 9, 2015
"Prologue"
Saul and Vine, are two very different people. Vine comes from an Indian culture and Saul is a true, strong, "white man". As the cultures intertwine, many see the Indians as a purpose of witchcraft, but Saul sees something different. As described, Vine is a delicate beautiful girl and Saul is very serious and very emtional. As conversations happen between the two, they acknowledge each others differences, yet blend in secretiveness. Silas, shows deep emotion involved throughout the text grabbing the readers attention to "dig" for more, and to focus with more of an in-depth purpose. As Saul speaks of the fire, also known as "hellfire", he gives brief details involving that matter to obtain the complete attention of the reader. Silas also gives a very different summary of each character, making each of them different and makes it seem almost impossible to figure out, unless you read on.
Ashton Dickerson
ReplyDeleteProfessor Kirk
ENGL 3353
8 September 2015
Critique of the Introduction
The prologue and first chapter of A Parchment of Leaves by Silas House foreshadows what is likely to happen in the rest of the novel. This section is fast-paced and shows Saul and Vine falling in love rather quickly. When it’s time to make it permanent, Vine gets cold feet and starts to panic. At the beginning of chapter one Vine says, “I didn’t love him – that came later – but I thought that I did. I mistook lust for love, I guess” (13). She then recalls the summer that she met Saul and started courting him. This first part of the novel is just a small glimpse of what is to come. However, it is packed with enough details to spark interest in what happens between Saul and Vine during that summer. In these first few pages House is clearly foreshadowing something that is going to happen later on in the novel although it is not clear at the moment.
Mikkaela Bailey
ReplyDeleteProf. Kirk
ENGL 3353
9 September 2015
Parchment and Pride
In the introduction to A Parchment of Leaves, Silas House foreshadows the grief-filled life ahead of Vine and those she leaves behind. She enjoys the life she lives in Redbud camp, but longs for something else. This could be gathered from the symbolism of the touch-me-nots that she plays with, causing them to open (7). Later on, when Saul and Vine are making plans to marry, she realizes that her desire to move on to something new will come at a great cost. “I seen Daddy nod his head and put his finger to the touch-me-not bush that hung on the fence. All the flowers were gone from it now, for summer was beginning to die. For some reason, I felt sick to my stomach” (17). Those that Vine leaves behind will also likely have to face the repercussions of her choice to try to assimilate with Saul’s family because she has been one of the ones protecting the community from development. “The men who died on the mountain went to their graves knowing what had really happened…. They had been possessed by the Cherokee girl standing at her gate, but she had not done it intentionally” (3). Vine looks to belong and move on from Redbud Camp, but life will not be as easy for her outside of this tight-knit community.
Sadie Wyant
ReplyDeleteProfessor Kirk
ENGL 3353
9 September 2015
Leaves—Introduction
The introduction of Silas House’s A Parchment of Leaves offers an idea of what the novel will be about. In the prologue, Saul Sullivan is introduced as a man who “was not afraid of anything and certainly didn’t believe in such foolishness as maledictions” (3). The malediction, or curse, that Saul does not believe in is that a Cherokee woman, later introduced as Vine, has been cursing the white men that go up on Redbud Mountain. Saul sets off with his brother Aaron, who ends up bitten by a copperhead. Vine is found to be different than she is pictured, and actually saves Aaron’s life. The prologue gives just enough detail of Vine and Saul’s back stories to foreshadow their relationship in chapter one. The split narrative of the prologue helps give the specific details of each character’s thoughts.