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The Structure Of 'Ruth' By Interpreter

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To properly understand a story, one must understand the background that correlates with it. Ruth was a Moabite and consequently disliked by the Israelites. This tension initiated when the Israelites looked at conquering the land of Canaan and the King of Moab, Balak, had his ritualistic prostitutes seduce the Israeli men in hope to subdue the Israelites and make them commit adultery. The Lord was furious with this and told Moses to destroy the Moabites, igniting a hatred that surpassed the anger felt towards the Egyptians (Numbers 25). This history between the two groups is what makes this story of Ruth so incredible. As with most of the Old Testament, the structure of the story indicates the key aspects of the story, and for Ruth it shows us the central point of the story. The story of Ruth is written as a chiasm, which is the repetition of the same element in inverted order, such as a-b-c-b’-a’, where part c would be the main focus (Interpreter's Dictionary 587). Due to this structure, it is seen that the main point of the book of Ruth is the turning point of the story, where she meets her kinsman redeemer, Boaz, who was a relative of her father-in-law Elimelech. From identifying the structure and central point of the text, the audience may realize that Ruth’s journey …show more content…

Naomi’s family lived in Judah and worshiped god’s other than Yahweh, praying to them for their crops and harvests. The book of Ruth opens with the “famine in the land of Judah” that caused Naomi’s family to leave the promise land, showing their lack of faith in Yahweh (Ruth 1:1). Naomi and Elimelech’s distance from Yahweh was evident in the fact that they had given their son’s Canaanite names, Mahlon and Chilion. This family moved even farther away from Yahweh when they abandoned their family inheritance to move to Moab (Ruth 1:2). This distance from Yahweh bears relevance since it signified what life is like outside the presence of

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She began to have hope in something bigger than her and this pushed her to get on for her life for her and for Dennis. “I started to become a Christian and the Jew in me began to die (218).” She felt as if her life as a Jew died when her mother died and this is because the only thing that held her back as an actual Jew was her mother. Ruth loved her mother no matter what and to see her go hurt her really bad, but believing in Christianity opened the doors for her future gave her something to hold on to as things were only going to get harder in her marriage. Being an interracial couple in the 60’s was not socially okay; infact they feared people would separate them at times, but they knew God would stay by their side and protect

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Her attitude, does allow her to be successful in her business. It does nothing to better her character, though, causing her to be the most uneducated and naive of the three. The usage of multiple narrators could symbolize the fact that the situation in the Congo also has multiple perspectives and is a complicated web, as life is. The first and last chapters are extremely similar, the first being Orleanna’s perspective, and the second as Ruth May’s. In the first chapter, Orleanna speaks to Ruth May, apologizing furiously, and begging for forgiveness.

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Ruth tells James about her past although she avoided and ran away from it for many years. She passed on her actions and reactions to her children, especially James, as she formed a family. James learning about his mother's past made him realize that he resembles Ruth in many ways. They both grieved on their own, but how they grieved was similar. Whether it was drugs or a bike ride, they both had their own way to run.

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Her mother was crippled, spoke no English, and was not loved by her husband. Ruth was sexually abused by her father and began to look for a better life filled with friends, a home, and love. The day after high school graduation she fled Virginia to New York to live with her grandmother and aunts. She got a

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She grows old with the self-condemnation of staying with Nathan for as long as she did, for if she mustered up the courage to leave the Congo earlier, Ruth May would not have died. Ruth May’s plea for Orleanna to forgive herself, just as Ruth May has forgiven her, presents the possibility of repentance for anyone, no matter how great of consequence their mistakes are. Though she never passed the age of 6, Ruth May seems to have learned better than most the importance of finding strength from and learning from wrong-doings. Urging her mother to “Move on. Walk forward into the light”, Ruth may passes along her own moral reassessment to anyone whom will listen, telling the error in letting so-called sins weigh down ones self forever

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One example of how Ruth’s sorrow is shown to the reader is early in the story when the narrator introduces Ruth, saying that “Ruth’s arm, linked with Matt’s tightened, he looked at her. Beneath her eyes there was swelling from the three days she had suffered” (111). This introduction to Ruth’s character is able to display her feelings of loss because of the fact that one of the first traits the reader learns about Ruth is that she had cried for three days after the loss of Frank, which does clearly show her sorrow because of the fact that three days is definitely a strangely long time to be crying for, especially since it seems like the entire family, besides her, had already moved on from crying about the loss. Another example of how Ruth is affected by loss is shown the night of Richard’s murder when Matt reflects on how “he believed Ruth knew... When Ruth said good night she looked at his face, and he felt she could see see in his eyes the gun, and the night he was going to” (116-117).

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“Honey…life don’t have to be like this. I mean sometimes people can do things so that things are better… You remember how we used to talk when Travis was born…about the way we were going to live…the kind of house… Well, it’s all starting to slip away from us…(89). Ruth is talking to walter about how if they don't act fast things will slip away and they won't be able to obtain their dreams and she is scared about that.

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Instead of giving in to the man’s racist ways, Ruth holds her ground and honors her husband by displaying her pride for him and their relationship publicly. She was undeterred by the possible negative outcome of her bold actions, which is key in an effective leader. Her courage and confidence lead her to making daring decisions, like marrying a black man, moving away from home, and helping her husband create a church from scratch. “‘What color is God’s spirit?’ ‘It doesn’t have a color,’ she said.

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Ruth would not associate the Jewish religion with white people so it made her children think that they were very different. James stated that he and his siblings took this feeling into adulthood (McBride 87). This affected him in a couple good ways including a better understanding of the Jewish people and their relationships with blacks. James said that he understood the relationship to the bone as an adult (McBride 87). These religious values also have some ties with the racial problem referenced in the

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When Ruth lets Walter win the arguments, he thinks he is right, even though most of the time he isn’t so than with him thinking he is always right, they argue more because Ruth knows he isn’t. In conclusion, Ruth and Walter are the characters who influence the plot the most because they are always arguing and complaining to each other. Ruth and Walter are a married couple and disagree about things which causes conflict between the

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Ruth the Perpetual Foreigner and Model Minority by Gale A. Yee illustrates how the story of Ruth and the

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In the narrative, Oates recalls her high school years in which she reconnects with Ruth Weidel, who gave teachers the implication that “something had happened” and how they “treated her guardedly” (Oates 561). This ties into the theme of the individual versus society. When she lived with her family, Ruth and the rest of her family were treated as outcasts and were talked about behind their backs. Now in high school, she remained alone until Oates worked up the nerve to befriend. Something had caused her to mature quickly and in the midst of that growth, Ruth created a barrier to protect herself from anymore pain.

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Yet, at home, she devotes love and curiosity to her family. This contrasts to multiple other characters, as the relationship between Ruth and her single mother is inspiring. Accordingly, she respects her mother, who provides encouragements like, “It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” With pure gratitude, Ruth seeks to apply her mother’s words. When bullies trouble Philip, Ruth can empathise with him.

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Edith Wharton stated once that at some stage in a story there will be that turning point or “illuminating incident” that would be a window that opens to convey the whole message and show the deeper meaning of the work. Basing this on Pride and Prejudice, the most significant, shifting point would be when Elizabeth realizes that her first impression has done her wrong, and that she’s the one being prejudicial, not Mr. Darcy. Jane Austen follows the development of Elizabeth’s and Darcy’s relationship in how they both change in order to overcome their own vanities and be able to love each other. Elizabeth’s visit to Pemberley, accompanied by her aunt and uncle, causes her to reconsider her thoughts about Mr. Darcy and shows how naïve and inconsiderate she was. After knowing the truth, Elizabeth’s reaction help build up the main themes of Pride and Prejudice which is to learn before making any judgments.

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Even though it seemed that she could not find a husband, she still stayed with Naomi. The second instance is Ruth’s loyalty to God. There are multiple times in her stay with Naomi where she could have complained to God. She was content with what she had with Naomi and God rewarded her for that.

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