Quotation Analysis 3 “All their words sounded as if they were coming through a wall. At times I felt I was standing a long way outside myself, watching and listening without interest to what was happening to me (37).”
The main character in the short story, “B.B.”, by Chaim Potok, is struggling with family secrets. Her mom had just lied B.B. about becoming pregnant and is about to have the baby. Her dad did not want another child because B.B.'s younger brother, Timmy, had gotten sick and died as a baby, a while before. At the point in the story where this quote occurs, the 12 year old, B.B., has just found out her dad is leaving. The day before, she listens to a message from her father, saying that he couldn't deal with losing another baby in the family. He told her that her mother would have told her this and directed her to the message. However, B.B. found the message by herself and listened to it. She is at school when her classmates are asking her about her mother, who has just gone into labor, and if her parents will throw a party for the class. B.B. is overwhelmed. Right after this quote, B.B. surprised herself by asking one of her classmates why his parents got divorced. He told her, but became very emotional. When B.B. gets home, her neighbor tells her that her mother had the baby boy and brings her to see them in the hospital.
This quote signifies B.B.'s panic about the whole situation. She knows something that no one else does. She can't tell anyone at school what is going on. She has a secret that she can't let go of. The kids at school are talking to her and asking her questions. When it says “All their words sounded as if they were coming through a wall,” I feel like maybe B.B. is trying not to hear what they are saying because she doesn't want to think about it. She doesn't want to think about her parents and their problems, or the new baby. She doesn't want to think about her father leaving. Maybe she just can't focus on what they are saying because she is too emotional. It's not that she is zoning out, but she might be tuning the world out so she could let go of her emotions for a little while. She says “watching and listening without interest to what was happening to me.” This makes me think that she is indifferent to her classmates and school and more interested in letting herself slip from the real world. She is numb to her feelings. However, maybe B.B. is trying to figure out the secrets within her family. Because she is trying to find out why one of her classmate's parents divorced, maybe she's trying to figure out why her own parents are fighting. Either way, B.B.'s mind left her own body like a person with many troubles might do, whether she was trying to forget her troubles, or solve them is something different.
I can relate this quote to my own life, and other things I've read. I have secrets within my own family and sometimes when I'm stressed or worried about something, I will just let go of life, letting my soul and mind be peaceful and numb. Or sometimes I will go into deep thought to try and figure it out. When this happens, it's hard to focus on the people and world around you. B.B. might have been doing one of these things in the quote. Also, I remember reading books where the main character would go into deep thought and say something about how that they were “hovering above their own bodies, watching what was happening to them.” This may be something that humans commonly do to either let go of life, or try and figure it out.
“All their words sounded as if they were coming through a wall. At times I felt I was standing a long way outside myself, watching and listening without interest to what was happening to me (37).”
The main character in the short story, “B.B.”, by Chaim Potok, is struggling with family secrets. Her mom had just lied B.B. about becoming pregnant and is about to have the baby. Her dad did not want another child because B.B.'s younger brother, Timmy, had gotten sick and died as a baby, a while before. At the point in the story where this quote occurs, the 12 year old, B.B., has just found out her dad is leaving. The day before, she listens to a message from her father, saying that he couldn't deal with losing another baby in the family. He told her that her mother would have told her this and directed her to the message. However, B.B. found the message by herself and listened to it. She is at school when her classmates are asking her about her mother, who has just gone into labor, and if her parents will throw a party for the class. B.B. is overwhelmed. Right after this quote, B.B. surprised herself by asking one of her classmates why his parents got divorced. He told her, but became very emotional. When B.B. gets home, her neighbor tells her that her mother had the baby boy and brings her to see them in the hospital.
This quote signifies B.B.'s panic about the whole situation. She knows something that no one else does. She can't tell anyone at school what is going on. She has a secret that she can't let go of. The kids at school are talking to her and asking her questions. When it says “All their words sounded as if they were coming through a wall,” I feel like maybe B.B. is trying not to hear what they are saying because she doesn't want to think about it. She doesn't want to think about her parents and their problems, or the new baby. She doesn't want to think about her father leaving. Maybe she just can't focus on what they are saying because she is too emotional. It's not that she is zoning out, but she might be tuning the world out so she could let go of her emotions for a little while. She says “watching and listening without interest to what was happening to me.” This makes me think that she is indifferent to her classmates and school and more interested in letting herself slip from the real world. She is numb to her feelings. However, maybe B.B. is trying to figure out the secrets within her family. Because she is trying to find out why one of her classmate's parents divorced, maybe she's trying to figure out why her own parents are fighting. Either way, B.B.'s mind left her own body like a person with many troubles might do, whether she was trying to forget her troubles, or solve them is something different.
I can relate this quote to my own life, and other things I've read. I have secrets within my own family and sometimes when I'm stressed or worried about something, I will just let go of life, letting my soul and mind be peaceful and numb. Or sometimes I will go into deep thought to try and figure it out. When this happens, it's hard to focus on the people and world around you. B.B. might have been doing one of these things in the quote. Also, I remember reading books where the main character would go into deep thought and say something about how that they were “hovering above their own bodies, watching what was happening to them.” This may be something that humans commonly do to either let go of life, or try and figure it out.