Middle Section

[Rachel-K]

Please use this thread to discuss the novel through Juliet's letter to Sophie on (or about) pages 163/164.

[Wrighty]

In this section we are starting to know more about the characters. Juliet hasn't even met the people on the island yet but they have begun to correspond like they are old friends. They seemed to have developed a comfort level that allows them to reveal personal things about themselves. I wonder if they would have said such things if they had known Juliet for the same amount of time but had only chatted in person and not through their letters. I don't think they would have. They seem to be private people who don't reveal that much about themselves, especially face to face. They are also very proud people who probably wouldn't want others to think they were complaining even though they have endured and survived horrific circumstances. Juliet seems to have earned their trust through her writing and her sincere interest in all of them.

[Annie_Barrows]

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Wrighty wrote:

In this section we are starting to know more about the characters. Juliet hasn't even met the people on the island yet but they have begun to correspond like they are old friends. They seemed to have developed a comfort level that allows them to reveal personal things about themselves. I wonder if they would have said such things if they had known Juliet for the same amount of time but had only chatted in person and not through their letters. I don't think they would have. They seem to be private people who don't reveal that much about themselves, especially face to face. They are also very proud people who probably wouldn't want others to think they were complaining even though they have endured and survived horrific circumstances. Juliet seems to have earned their trust through her writing and her sincere interest in all of them.

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Yes, I think people can be more revealing in the written word than in speech.We're less distracted by the oblications of small talk. I also think that if Juliet had simply arrived on the island and bumped into the members of the Society without knowing them, they would have viewed her as an outsider. It was the pace of their correspondence that allowed them to trust her.

[Wrighty]

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Annie_Barrows wrote:

Yes, I think people can be more revealing in the written word than in speech.We're less distracted by the oblications of small talk. I also think that if Juliet had simply arrived on the island and bumped into the members of the Society without knowing them, they would have viewed her as an outsider. It was the pace of their correspondence that allowed them to trust her.

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Since they already had a relationship with each other Juliet and all of the Society members were eager to meet face to face. The only person who wasn't happy about the visit and stayed very quiet and guarded at first was little Kit. It took her several hours to warm up to Juliet but when she was ready she approved of her and her visit. Kit had been the only person who didn't get acquainted ahead of time.