"In those first months at the Cottages, our friendship had stayed intact because, on my side at least, I'd had this notion there were two quite separate Ruths." - p. 129
Just as I suspected, Ruth cares more about what people think of her than most people. I think she feels like the veterans are constantly judging her every move. She's very self conscious around them, which means she'll do anything to please them. I think this might be because she and Tommy had been considered a respected couple at Hailsham, and now the veterans see them as just more new kids at the Cottages. But then, Kathy describes Ruth in a way that makes her sound like an incredible best friend. The two of them talk and enjoy each others company just like my friends and I do, and they also get over their petty fights and go back to normal by bedtime. They fight a lot more than my friends and I, but the way they can just talk and talk and talk together reminds me a lot of my best friends. I've figured out that Ruth and Kathy stay friends, because Kathy talks about caring for her in Dover. This is very reassuring, but it also makes me wonder what happened to make it that way.
No comments:
Post a Comment