Reading #6, Question 1

[Emily Richards]

In "Style," why do you think the girl was dancing after her family was
killed?

[Jessica]

That's a very good question Emily. I think that the girl was dancing
after her family was killed because dancing was something she enjoyed,
and that brought her happiness and peace. "She took tiny steps in the
dirt in front of her house, sometimes making a slow twirl, sometimes
smiling to herself," (O'Brien 129). I think she was dancing because
she was in shock about what had happened to her family and by dancing
she could find a way to fill in the loss and hurt. "When we dragged
them out, the girl kept dancing. She put the palms of her hands
against her ears, which must have meant something, and she danced
sideways for a short while, and then backwards," (O'Brien 129). I
think the girl held her hands to her ears when the soldiers pulled out
her family members because she didn't want to see or hear what the
soldiers were doing with her family. Putting her hands to her ears
could have been her way of blocking out what was going on around her,
so that she could forget and move on.

On Feb 9, 4:39 pm, Emily Richards <emilynicholericha...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[Lakey]

Good question Emily. In some ways this is a really tough question to
answer. I think thar there are two possibilities that could be true.
First of all, she could have gone into shock or kind of lost her
mind. All three of her family members "were dead and badly
burned" (O'Brien 129). Yet she was dancing outside of the house they
had, not long ago, died in. She wasn't even crying, she was just
dancing gracefully in the yard. I don't see how anyone who just lost
there whole family can do something like that in their right mind.
Another possibility is that, as Azar says, "Probably some wierd
ritual" (O'Brien 130). She may have been doing a dance ritual because
of her families death. Her religion may have called for this after
someone dies.

On Feb 9, 4:39 pm, Emily Richards <emilynicholericha...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[Ian McKay]

Those are great points Jessica and Lakey.

I think the girl in "Style" was dancing after her family died because
she was traumatized by their deaths. When people experience those
kinds of traumatic events, sometimes people can lose their minds. She
was in such shock that her family just died that she didn't know what
to do, so she did the first thing she thought of, which was dancing.
She danced, and danced, and danced because that is all her mind knew
at the time, and she liked to dance. I think she was trying to focus
on something other than her families death. "When we dragged them out,

the girl kept dancing. She put the palms of her hands against her

ears, which must've meant something, andshe danced sideways for a
short while, andthen backwards" (O'Brien 129). The girl kept dancing
even as the soldiers dragged her dead family out of her house; she
covered her ears to block out any sounds she might have heard relating
to her family, or possibly to focus on a tune she had in her head.
Even as the soldiers walked out of the village, she continued to
dance. I believe this girl was so shocked by the death of her family
that she just danced because she like to, and because she lost her
mind and that is the only thing she could think to do.

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[Abigail Seay]

I agree with Jessica about the reason for the girl's dancing.  Losing multiple family members is a shocking experience for someone to go through and the reactions to this event can vary from person to person.  Dancing is a form of expression, and the girl may be coping with the tragedy through a positive outlet such as dance.  By performing a dance that makes her happy, the deaths wouldn't have been on her mind as much.  Although keeping it off her mind was the purpose of the dance, I think the main reason that, "She took tiny steps in the dirt in front of her house, sometimes making a slow twirl, sometimes smiling to herself (O'Brien 129) is because she knew that her family was in Heaven and would no longer have to deal with the misery on earth that they had been going through.  This would cause her to be happy that their suffering was over.

[Ashton Trice]

Excellent question Emily!
I have to agree with Jessica’s point. I think the girl was dancing
because it was her escape from reality. She “put the palms of her
hands against her ears” as if to block out the distractions around her
(O’Brien 129). From O’Brien’s description of the girl, the dance
brought her happiness through the tragedy of her family’s death. The
girl “took tiny steps in the dirt in front of her house, sometimes
making a slow twirl, sometimes smiling to herself. Her face had a
dreamy look, quiet and composed” (O’Brien 129). Instead of mourning
for her loss, the girl found that doing something she enjoyed was a
better way to cope. I think the girl realized that she had to stay
optimistic during the hardship she faced because she didn’t want to
feel weak and vulnerable. Even though her family’s death was tragic,
she was in the middle of a war and she needed to do whatever she could
to feel safe. I think the girl’s dance is a very significant symbol
that O’Brien mentions in the book, although he doesn’t clearly state
what it represents. It’s also the most optimistic story that O’Brien
mentions in the novel so far in my opinion.

On Feb 9, 4:39 pm, Emily Richards <emilynicholericha...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[Jonathan Jackowicz]

I agree with Emily but there are other questions that need to be thought of. First of all we don't know how the family treated her. She ma have been constantly beaten and abused by the old woman and when she died she was so relieved to be free that she started dancing. Maybe it was a way of mentally blocking out the pain. Today many victims of horrible accidents never remember what occurred because its too painful to think about so their brain blocks it. She may have been dancing to relieve the stress. But most likely I think it had something to do with their religion as Azar said, "Probably some weird ritual" (Page 130). It was probably some ritualistic dance that would carry her families souls to the afterlife.

--
Jonathan Jackowicz