The more I read into this book the more interesting it becomes. At first the idea of having her own room had drawn Helene to the Sugar Beach house but after moving in, she realized that maybe that wasn’t the best thing for her. The seclusion from society at Sugar Beach made their house very prone to being burglarized. Within the first few nights of them being there, many of their possessions were stolen including an ivory tusk and her mother’s favorite painting. On the fourth night as Helene lay in bed “heartmen” snuck into her room; “Heartmen are witch doctors who kidnap people and cut out their hearts while they’re still alive to make medicine” (Cooper 24). Luckily she was able to scare them off be screaming but after that incident her parents decided to get her a “live-in friend”. The girls name was Eunice and she was a Bassa girl. Bassas were another tribe that resided in Liberia and young Bassa children were often sent to live with Congo people in order to receive better care and a better education.
At first Eunice and Helene don’t hit it off very well. Eunice runs away three times before she finally becomes comfortable in the house. She begins to bond with Marlene, Helene’s younger sister, until she and Helene solve their differences. After they talk Helene moves into the room with Marlene and Eunice and they become very close. This is a turning point for Helene because she is learning how to interact and reach out to other people. Before Helene tried to act like she didn’t care at all and putting down that front is a big step.
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4 comments:
It seems that we are being shown what being one of the few wealthy people in a very poor country can cause. Despite their wealth, they are still among very poor and desperate people that are just trying to survive while they live in luxury. Yet their lives are by no means perfect as we see, Helene always had a barrier up, protecting herself from others. When she is able to let her guard down and become friends with Eunice she is definitely making an effort to be more sociable.
I agree with Callan, though they may seem like the luxurious and perfect family, nothing is ever as it seems. It's so amazing the the wealthy can still be so poor, and makes me think about different cultures and parts of the world.
No matter if one is well off or has a poor family, infortunes will still come find them out. No one is completely imaculate, and sometimes there is just nothing to be done for mischances such as those burglaries.
This seems like an interesting book. The heartmen sound terrifying! I don't know what I would have done if they had come to my house in the middle of the night. I'm with kristen and callan; nothing is as it seems. Sounds like you've got an interesting book.
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