I have never read a school book where the title of the novel is revealed before the first fifty pages. I know this does not mean much to most people but I love it when a play, movie, or book hides the title in the words for me to notice it. It is an "aha" moment where you think "so that's where the title came from!"
I also know what the title is referring to. From what I gathered, Ramatoulaye is the eldest of her family and was given the house. The author introduces the title right after we meet her with the line "her responsibilities had become very great, because the house of which she was the eldest was large: there were no less than twenty of 'God's bits of wood'"(40). Since the title is in a way connected to Ramatoulaye I predict that more of the book will revolve around her. I also know what "god's bits of wood" actually means: it is referring to the people that live in the house.
Aside from finding the title, the chapters were very religious. I kept seeing the word "God" and Islam was being referred to. I expected as much because the title does have "God" in it and religion seems to be playing a large role in the recent books we have read.
I hope that my prediction is true and the main character is actually Ramatoulaye.
I noticed the title, but I wasn't completely sure for a while what it was referring to. Thanks for clarifying. If your theory of Ramatoulaye being the main character is correct, which I think it very well could be, I wonder why the author has so many other characters. I thought it was a book about a whole country, so why is the author singling out a character at all?
ReplyDeleteI think that you're right about the title "God's bits of wood" referring to people, but I don't think it's only the people who Rama is responsible for in her house. Since the novel is about the country dealing with a strike, I feel as though the title is referring to each person in the country as a "bit of wood." I'm assuming that the reference to wood will be clarified later on, but I agree that the reference to God in the title is made very clear by the multiple religious references throughout the chapters.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Sierra. I love that "aha" moment when you realize the meaning behind/origin of the title of a work. I think the theory presented in your blog post is really interesting and I agree that Ramatoulaye will likely take on a larger role as the story progresses
ReplyDeleteWhen I was reading and I saw "Gods bits of wood" it came as a shock as it did to you. Nor have I ever read a book where the title actually comes up within the first fifty pages! I do agree with the reference of the title to the people, but I would also like to see more in depth to it because right now I don't think I can make a clear assumption of what the title is referring to.
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