Beulah Land Chapter Summary

ulahland andIndigo Snake

Beulah land chapter focuses on Janisse’s relationship with her grandmother Beulah. Janisse begins the chapter describing her grandmother physically as a small hunched over woman. While describing her visits to her grandmothers house it easy to see the contrast between Beulah’s lifestyle and the junkyard lifestyle Janisse was accustomed to. While staying at Grandmama’s Janisse was able to enjoy farm fresh food and explored many recipes, her favorites involved baking. Janisse tells of an anecdote where Grandma found a snake and called Uncle Perry to kill it. Snakes were looked down as, “the lowliest of creatures” (Ray 179) and would be condemned to death for their natural harmless actions. After the snake anecdote Janisse goes on to explain how her and her siblings were able to enjoy commodities at grandmama’s house that their parents would not let them enjoy at home. They were able to watch television however, once their parents arrive there would be no trace of what they’ve done, a sece=ret kept between the children and their grandmother.

Or if the snake was able to avoid human contact and laid her eggs, would the offspring ultimately meet the consequences God’s condemned creatures deserved? Surely if seen by a human the snake would have had its head cut off never reaching the length of a pick-up truck or producing babies. These questions are what represents the underlying message of these two chapters. Our ignorance as humans is detrimental to the wilderness and animals in it. In Beulahland, Janisse describes the human reaction to seeing snakes as a “cold irrational panic.” (Ray 179) This irrational panic leads humans to killing something whose actions are harmless and natural for no reason except fear. A fear strong enough to end the life of a creature and prevent the life of off