Reading Resonse #2

Wow! This book is hard to put down. I am finding the character of Kate to be increasingly interesting. She seems very unhappy, even though she has everything she ever wanted. I think Kate almost feels guilty in a way. It has been the dream of people in her family for generations to send their children to school so that they can have a better life. Kate knows that she is the exception in crow lake, the one lucky one who got out. I think Kate feels guilty for not being happy, when she has so many more advantages then everyone else from where she came from. I think part of her unhappiness streams from her guilt over Matt not getting the same opportunities as her. I think she feels like he deserved it more than her, and like she stole it from her. I haven't gotten to the part where we know why Matt doesn't know to school, but Kate says it was his own fault. Having said this, she still seems to feel blame.
I am finding the Pye family very interesting. I think their family is like a lot of things in Crow Lake, they haven't changed in a hundred years. Each member of the family seems to be suffering physically and emotionally from something. A bad temper seems to have been passed down through all the Pye men. This family has evolved amazingly little. Every father has yelled at his son, who has yelled at his son, and so on and so forth. I suspect that you can't expect them to change too much, if they have only ever known one type of behaviour. I think changing their behaviour towards their children, from what was modelled for them is one of the hardest things any parent can do. The Pye family certainly contrasts the Morrison's. The Morrison family has always wanted better for their children, and always worked impossibly hard to have their children receive a better education then they had. Kate's father is the first to go to high school, and Kate is the first to go to University. The lives of the Morrison's 100 years ago was very different then Kate's life today. The Pye's lives were almost exactly the same.
I am glad that Kate has found Daniel. I think Daniel really wants to understand Kate, and won't let her off easy when it comes to her family. I think if Kate wasn't being pushed by someone she might never try to figure out her feelings with her family. Daniel manages to help her without alienating her. I think Kate not wanting to introduce Daniel to her family is understandable. I think Kate has trouble seeing her two different worlds together. I think she loves them both, but doesn't think it is possible to have both. I think Kate is really trying though, to figure out her own thoughts. That is one thing I really like a bout Kate. She doesn't deny she has a problem, she tries to work through it. It is clearly painful for Kate to have to revisit all these memories, but she does it anyways, because she knows it will help in the end.