Sunday, March 1, 2009
Character
The main character of Out Stealing Horses is Trond Sander, a 67 year-old man living in a remote cabin in Norway. Trond is the narrator of the story and he describes each event in detail, allowing the reader to create a fairly accurate mental image. He seems to enjoy time to himself in order to reflect and simply think. Trond often flashes back to the summer when he was fifteen and shares with the reader his tragic past and the wisdom he received from it. One piece of wisdom that Trond shares is about being hurt. He tells a story about his father pulling nettles from the lawn with his bare hands saying, "you decide for yourself when it will hurt" (27). I think that this quote shows a lot about not only the wisdom Trond has gained throughout his many years, but also much about Trond himself. He obviously idolizes his father, quoting him even at an old age and thinking of him when he needs advice. Also, one can assume that Trond needed to think of that quote at one or more points in his life, or else he wouldn't have brought it up. Therefore, Trond must have been through some painful events in his lifetime. To me, at this point in the book, Trond seems to be a kind old man with much to say about his past.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement that Trond enjoys his time alone to reflect and think about his past. So far into the book it seems that he does this a lot. Also I like how you noticed that Trond learned about pain when he was youg. That quote shows how he was taught and learned alot from the actions that his father did.
That quote about not feeling pain is amazing! Like Austin said, it is a teaching that seems to have stayed with Trond his entire life. Trond carefully chooses his emotions and actions, this is shown when he doesn't say anything right after Jon breaks the bird nest, he decides it would be best to wait until Jon calms down.
ReplyDeleteI really like that you included the quote that Trond's father said about you deciding when you feel pain. The quote itself is very interesting and is kind of hard to understand. It seems almost too easy to just say that you have the power to decide when you will feel pain.
ReplyDeleteSarah-
ReplyDeleteI like how you pulled the fact that Trond idolized his father from being able to remember a quote like that at an old age. The quote itself is important to Trond and therefore will be specifically important to the story itself.
Stacey
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your view that he enjoys the time he has alone to reflect about life. I also really like the quote you chose. I think it shows really well Trond's personality. I came to the conclusion Trond highly respected his father as well and I feel this quote really proves this to be true.