“With Manny around, he was exposed to an entirely side of Ana. All they talked about now. the little they saw each other, was Manny and the terrible things he did to her. Manny smacked her, Manny kicked her, Manny called her a fat twat, Manny cheated on her.” P.44

This quote in the book really illustrated the reality of this twisted love triangle. On one hand you have Oscar who is in love with Ana Obregón and would treat her well. However, Ana has a boyfriend, Manny, who is abusive and treats Ana very poorly. Ana sees Manny come back from the army and quickly goes back to him. Manny disrespects Ana by calling her names, cheating on her, and physically abusing her. Oscar advises her to break up with Manny, Ana claims that she knows she should, but she really loves Manny. Ana talks about her sex life with Oscar and other things about Manny which Oscar probably hates hearing about. This quote tells us all the bad things that Manny has done to Ana, all those actions are basically domestic abuse, and for some reason Ana continues to be with Manny. Looking at the relationship from an outside perspective, Ana really should leave Manny since he is treating her so badly, but if we think about it from Ana’s perspective, love can be a really influential force for someone. Even if Manny isn’t treating Ana well, she still loves him and she can’t get herself to leave him even if she is suffering. Because of this, Oscar has to suffer as well since he is clearly in love with Ana yet she decides to stay with a boyfriend who abuses her.

” As young as the boy was, I thought he would question my sanity if I told the truth. Alice Greenwood. How would she marry this boy? Or would it be marriage? And why hadn’t someone in my family mentioned that Rufus Weylin was white? ” p28

This quote was said by Dana when she meets Rufus again in his bedroom. As they talked and Dana learned more about him, she concluded that he was one of her ancestors. Somehow, Dana had went back in time to 1815 in Maryland and she is talking with her ancestor. When Rufus tells her his last name she thought it sounded familiar and when he spelled it out for her she confirmed that he was from her family line. She asks him about a girl named Alice and he says that she is a free black woman who is also his friend. Dana remembered about her family records, she recalls Grandmother Hagar Weylin who was born in 1831 and she listed her parents as Rufus Weylin and Alice Greenwood Weylin. Dana couldn’t tell Rufus about the situation she is in because Rufus probably wouldn’t believe her. In this quote Dana questions how Alice ended up with Rufus and questions if it even is marriage. Maybe it wasn’t a marriage, perhaps it was common for slave owners to rape their slaves. Maybe they fell in love and got married, Dana has many questions while being in 1815, but has no one to answer them.

Elwin Law

“Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air;
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve;
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep. Sir, I am vexed.” (Act 4, scene 1 lines 148-158)

These lines in act 4 scene 1 are said by Prospero during the wedding of Miranda and Ferdinand. Prospero is very joyous of the fact that his daughter is getting married and prepares a whole wedding for them, but he is hit with a sudden truth. He recalls of the plot that Caliban, Trinculo, and Stefano plays to kill and overthrow him to take control of the island. He is confronted with reality during the wedding and feels anger at first which later turns to regret and forgiveness. This line from the play is the turning point of the story which Prospero realizes that he is so caught up with revenge and magic that he ultimately decides to forgive everyone and abandon magic for good. We can really see how this love between Ferdinand and Miranda opens up Propero’s eyes to the important things in life instead of his hate and vengeance that he carried in the play leading up to this scene. From this speech on, Prospero seems relieved that he is cutting himself off from the world he has created on this island which had been so meaningless and wants to return to Milan to live and focus on a “real” life.