Noah

[Rachel-K]

Noah is still a young kid during these chapters, but he's growing up fast. What kinds of lessons is Noah learning from his family? Do you have any sense of what kind of person he is becoming?

[vivico1]

Ever notice that some kids just seem to be born very smart and perceptive? Noah seems to be an "old soul". He is a smart young boy and very observant. Because of these things, he is learning a lot of things, good vs evil, love and hate, jealousy and envy, how people can use each other, bribe kids but also how others just love. I think he is becoming a wise young man and could be a formidable person among all these mists and bees. He may be the Noah that builds an "ark" for his family. Hard to say with him this young.

---

rkubie wrote:
Noah is still a young kid during these chapters, but he's growing up fast. What kinds of lessons is Noah learning from his family? Do you have any sense of what kind of person he is becoming?

---

[Carmenere_lady]

I compare Noah's constant collicky crying to Eva's bees.  When he cries, people come to appease him.  Then as he gets older and suddenly stops he seems to turn into Daniel, a momma's boy who can't be quieted when his mother leaves for a short period of time.  The jury is still out as to what kind of man he will become.

[dk_phoenix]

I can't say that I really got any sort of definite sense about Noah, other than being a perceptive child who responded in a way you might expect to the adults around him. Children often can tell things about a person, whether they're 'good' or 'bad' in a way that adults can't, so I thought it was very interesting how Eva picked up on that and managed to turn around his view of her.

That said, I think the other characters definitely overshadowed Noah, and it seemed that his personality often got lost among the other strong figures in the book. I wouldn't say that's a bad thing - after all, the book wasn't necessarily about Noah - but I find it hard to speculate on what kind of person he would become in the future because of it.

[dhaupt]

Since Noah is still a child I think it's hard to guess the kind of person he'll grow up to be. He is learning like all children do how to play people in his family against each other to get what he wants and I don't think that's a flaw it's just what kids do. But from what I see of him he is polite and caring and even seems to have forgiving Elias for the attack by kissing him goodbye.

I don think that the worst is still being kept from him especially the war between his mother and grandmother. 

[CathyB]

I think it is still too early to predict what type of adult Noah willbecome.

He is a sensitive child and somewhat stubborn - I refer to the bunny incident - he didn't want the bunny when he thought he was being teased and whenit was purchased for him, he refused to play with it (in the presence of his parents).

He has learned to play one adult off the other in order to get what he wants; however, when he sees what the bird is doing to his mother, he finds his strength , realizes the manipulation (this may be reaching) and sacrifices the bird in order to save her/have her come back to him. He is finding the strenth to stand up to grandam Eva.

He is able to recognize good/evil.

[Sassy398]

Noah is just a normal kid as he can be under the circumstance he is in... like someone

suggested he tries to play off the adults...when he can't get from one he'll try another.

As for what kind of an adult... he's learning at an early age as to how to minipulate people...

so therefore he might become a controller???

[emmagrace]

vivico1 wrote:

---

Ever notice that some kids just seem to be born very smart and perceptive? Noah seems to be an "old soul". He is a smart young boy and very observant. Because of these things, he is learning a lot of things, good vs evil, love and hate, jealousy and envy, how people can use each other, bribe kids but also how others just love. I think he is becoming a wise young man and could be a formidable person among all these mists and bees. He may be the Noah that builds an "ark" for his family. Hard to say with him this young.

---

Well said!

The only good role models that little Noah has at this point are his mother and father(mostly). I think little ones can sense evil and he certainly detects some bad vibes from evil Eva. The only way she could ever get his attention is to bribe him.

[booksJT]

Noah is a smart kid to be so young. He already knows how to play the mother against the grandmother to get his way. He is learning a lot by watching his parents. Already he has learned to manipulate his mother. But he will learn soon that it won't work all the time. Noah will be the child that  mends the  fences  between the two families. He is the only grand child now and everyone will do what they can to appease him.

[libralady]

I think Noah is growing up to be more like Meridia.  He is sensitive and sometimes shy.  I think he has an inner strength that he can and will call on when necessary.  He is very perceptive and he is learning to play adults one against the other.  He does not appear to be a very happy little boy.

[Tarri]

Noah appears to be a normal boy, who is smart and able to adapt to all types of people and personalities.  And with his extended family . . . it's a good thing.

[debbook]

I was worried for Noah when Eva seemed to have him in her clutches. That was very insightful of him to realize what was happening to his Meridia. I knew her would turn out to be a special character and a son she could depend on.

[DSaff]

I'm not sure what to think of Noah yet. I had hoped that he would be the link that would bring healing to the two families, but that doesn't seem possible with Elias's death. What I see is a child fiercely loved by his parents and both sets of grandparents. Yes, I think that Gabriel and Eva love him, although their ways of expressing that love seem to deal more with controlling the situation and people than a genuine outpouring of love for the child. While Noah obviously loves his mother, he turned on her. His fear of Eva had kept Eva away, but that changed when she left the bees at home and started buying his attention with gifts. Her whispering conversations with him trying to get him away from his mother were unforgiveable. Her "gift" of the bird was also unforgiveable. All of this was to gain control of someone new, to regain the upper hand. Eventually, someone (I think Gabriel) killed the bird and broke the spell Noah was under. My hope is that this young boy will take the best of all the people around him and run with it!

[fifenhorn]

unfortunately, it appears that Noah learns early the lessons of manipulation from Eva.

He is a good child (after his early issues with screaming and crying - colic, anyone???), and knows that his parents LOVE him. I think at first, he hates Eva because he can tell she is taking is father away from home much too often. Then, he hates Eva because he KNOWS she was behind his "accident" with Elias. He doesn't so much hate Elias as he does fear him. Because he understands, even at his early age, that Eva has broken and can control Elias. He fears Gabriel...but I think it's an underlying fear that his own mother passed on to him. Gabriel knew no other way to be; he was also a broken man, but broken in a different way.

As he grows, Noah becomes a formidable character, and most unfortunately, a pawn in the battle between Eva and Meridia.

[mamawli]

In the beginning, Noah appeared to be a difficult child.  He went through the terrible twos, by saying no to a lot of things.  For example the rabbit.  He adored Eva's attention and gifts at first, thinking it was love.  He soon learned to love Ravenna and the warmth that she gave him, making up for the love and warmth that she did not show Meridia at that young age.

Yes, he allowed Eva to manipulate him because he is a trusting child and she could show the sweet side of herself.  It wasn't until the incident with Elias that he learned about he other evil side.

As far as the bird incident, I'm not sure who let the bird out and who killed it, however, I suspect Ravenna.

[Deltadawn]

Noah is a sensitive, strong willed (stubborn-in some ways) boy. He is also very loyal to his mother - (with the exception of the short period of time when he was "bewitched" by the bird). Largely as  a result of the family's interactions, he is becoming wise beyond his years in his understanding of deception, manipulation, trustworthiness and betrayal.

He seems to have a stronger will than his father - he is able to break Eva's evil grip on him when the bird "disappears."

though he is stubborn, he seems to have the capacity for forgiveness.

[PiperMurphy]

---

rkubie wrote:
Noah is still a young kid during these chapters, but he's growing up fast. What kinds of lessons is Noah learning from his family? Do you have any sense of what kind of person he is becoming?

---

So far Noah seems to be a pretty normal child. He is learning to be a loving child from his parents, Ravenna, and Elias. He dislikes Eva to the point that she has to bribe him and give him bewitched birds to get him to like her. He knows who is truly responsible for his scar, but it is sad that he couldn't rebuild his relationship with Elias. I think he will continue to avoid Eva and may eventually be her downfall. She hasn't been able to influence him up to this point; I think she will continue to fail.

[Em18966]

Noah is still a young kid during these chapters, but he's growing up fast. What kinds of lessons is Noah learning from his family? Do you have any sense of what kind of person he is becoming?

IMO, Noah is a lot like Meridia was at his age -- he is very observant, very aware of his surroundings, and looks to find explainations for things that he has trouble understanding.  His know with which parent his loyalties truly lie, as his mother did as a child

[gl]

I'm afraid that I started the book too late and then read too fast - because Noah is one of my favorite characters in the book.  

I first thought that the incident of the rabbit doll was a bit annoying - ignoring it and only playing when nobody was around.  But then, as I read he didn't become a sneaky child but instead it seems that he's just a very private child.   

I appreciate his loyalty to his mother and liked that he was so fond of his grandfather. It was as through he knew and responded to those that love him deeply.   

[AIRKNITTER]

A very sad 'feeling' overcame me when Noah refused to nurse, or sleep. One could say a 'deep sense of dread' for this child.