nebulinda said:
Hey guys. Sorry this is ridiculously late. I was so busy/tired on Thursday and Friday I completely forgot. But it probably won't happen again, as I don't usually have things due on Friday. For next week read up to location 6225.
Glad you're back.
Ethan Saunders
1. What do you think of the way Mr. Pearson treats his family and his guests?
What a horrible man. I thought initially that Ethan's opinion of Pearson was based on sour grapes to some extent. That may have been true, but I don't think even Ethan really knew the extent of the man's brutality.
Pearson's treatment of his family and guests could be classed as excessively rude and boorish. His treatment of Ethan understandable under the circumstances. I'm very much afraid that Pearson would have carried out his threats against his son if Joan hadn't intervened. It appears from the burns on the boy's wrist and his mother's wrist, that Pearson doesn't need much provocation to abuse them.
2. How do you think Ethan should act on the information he got from Turner? How do you think he will act?
How Ethan
should act is to use this information to expose and destroy Pearson. He is a royalist or more likely a war profiteer considering his wealth (now gone) and position in society.
I'm afraid Ethan doesn't have much control over his emotions. His life was destroyed, his mentor murdered, and Cynthia stolen from him. Understandably, he would be pretty impulsive at this point. Hopefully, he'll calm down some and act more rationally. I think Leonidas may control him somewhat, but in the end, it will come down to Ethan and Pearson. Considering Pearson's absolute ruthlessness, the outcome is not at all certain.
3. Do you think that Cynthia's reasons for not leaving are good ones? What do you think will happen to her if she stays? If she goes?
For the times, yes, I can understand Cynthia's reasons. She has no money of her own and no relatives to rely on. She might rely on the Binghams, but Mr. Bingham might treat her as a deserting wife.
If Cynthia stays, I think Pearson will hurt her badly because of Ethan, and she will allow it because of the children. That is what usually happens.
If she goes ... but she has nowhere to go.
Joan Maycott
1. What do you think of Joan's plan for Tindall and her conversation with Phineas?
I think Joan's plan to kill Tindall was as much to give herself "street cred" as it was to exact revenge. Her conversation with Phineas was almost surreal. The boy is severely mental and he admitted himself that he might go off the deep end at any moment and kill her.
2. Momentarily forgetting any knowledge of history you might have, do you think that Joan's whiskey rebellion and plans to destroy the BUS will work?
Illegal stills and the war between "revenoors" and distillers continued for a couple of centuries after the events in this book.
No, I don't think it would have worked any more than Shay's Rebellion worked. The government is becoming more centralized and Washington is still revered. He is backed by quite a bit of power, and he backs Hamilton. If anything can bring down the bank, it's Duer and his "pump and dump" schemes.
3. What do you think of the change that has happened in Joan since she first went out west?
I think Joan's character showed itself early in the story. Once she sets her mind to something, she goes after it. Only her methods and the size of the fish she goes after have changed.