BNW- blog 15

Chapter 14

Summary:
John shows up at the Park Lane Hospital for the Dying and goes to see Linda. Linda is sitting in her bed barely awake watching tennis. The nurse that had greeted John rushes to meet in the identical Delta children.

John then starts thinking about all of the good memories he had with his mother. The children have flocked to Linda's bed because they have never seen anything like her. John hits one child and the nurse distracts the children with a game on Hunt-The-Zipper. Linda, who had fallen asleep, starts to wake up and mumbles something about Popè. John is so furious that she would think of Popè. Now all John can think about is all the bad memories surrounding Linda and the Reservation. John shakes his mother out of her sleep. Linda realizes its John but in her mind she is with Popè, and John is intruding. Linda starts gasping for air and dies. John yells for the nurse and starts crying. The nurse doesn't understand why John is freaking out. A little boy repeatedly asks John if Linda is dead and John pushes him over and walks away.

Vocab:
Moribund ~adjective~ in a dying state; near death.

Lit. Terms:
Simile: "...the little figures noiselessly darted, like little fish in an aquarium."
Irony:
~ The Hospital has no visitors. Hospitals normally have visitors. It is usually encouraged  to go visit the sick.
~ John is freaking out about his mothers death and the nurse asks him to behave. Usually when someone dies like Linda did, it is normal to freak out. John thinks he killed his mother, and he can't understand why the nurses aren't caring.
 
Chapter Importance:
We see how the society views death. We see the difference in how John sees death and how the society views death. Where John comes from, death is considered sad and when someone dies they are to be morned. The society views death as a happy thing. When someone dies, they are cremated and the ashes are used to help plants grow.

The way Linda dies is a little unusual for the society. Most people go peacefully; but when Linda is taking her last breathes, there is a look of absolute terror in her eyes. She was clawing the air, like she was checking to make sure it was there. When he had finally died, her face was distorted and her lips were blue.