Split Peas

As we finish Houskeeping, we see the final moments of the main conflict throughout the novel -- the split between Lucille and Ruth. I'd say most of us wouldn't be too surprised with how things ended; after all, Lucille goes out of her way to remove herself from the rest of the family, going so far to move out of the house and live with Ms. Royce, the home economics teacher at their school. I digress -- I don't agree with all of the actions that Lucille took to have a more mainstream life, but I do get where she's coming from. Moving out to live with Ms. Royce was a good call -- I can't imagine living in such a rat/cricket (cockroach too probably?) infested area. Wait I meant a rat/cricket carcass infested area, with birds flying around a sea of cans and newspapers. There's also a huge litter of kittens that basically came out of nowhere. By moving out of the house not only does she avoid all of these... environmental hazards, but she would also start attending school regularly (I'm sure Ms. Royce would make sure of that).

It is evident that Lucille still loves her sister, as we see her anger when Ruth and Sylvie came home late,

"'I wish you'd take off that coat.' 'My clothes are wet.' 'You should change your clothes. . . It doesn't matter, . . . where have you been?' . . . It seemed Lucille was talking to me. I think she said that I need not stay with Sylvie. I believe she mentioned my comfort. She was pinching a crease into the loose denim at the knee of her jeans, and her brow was contracted and her eyes were calm, and I am sure that she spoke to me in all sober kindness, but I could not hear a word she said" (Robinson 174, 175).

So I can't wrap around as to why Lucille ignored Ruth at school. I mean, the supposed reason is for her to make friends for herself, as she mentions to Ruth that they both need to be more social, but that doesn't mean you should just straight up ignore your sister. By doing so, you're acting cold, which isn't exactly the most attractive attribute if you're trying to get more people to be around you.

Forgive me for jumping around here, but why did Lucille burn up the dress that she was making? I mean sure Ruth gets distracted a lot, but like burning the whole thing is kinda... I don't know it just makes me sad you know? She already put a lot of effort into it... I know that I wouldn't be able to abandon a project that I had already put so much effort into (which actually can be a problem but that's a discussion for another time).

As you can probably tell, I can complain about Lucille quite easily, but for Ruth... I can't really think of anything to complain about. Yes she's aimlessly wandering about and ends up helping Sylvie burn their own house down, but I can't help but feel that... she's happy with what she has. Maybe she's just so distant to us that she doesn't really complain, but there are just so many cute little moments that Ruth and Sylvie have on their own. Take their trip across the lake as an example,

"I said, 'I wish I had a hamburger.'
'I wish I had some beef stew.'
'I wish I had a piece of pie.'
'I wish I had a mink coat.'
'I wish I had an electric blanket.'
'Don't sleep, Ruthie. I don't want to sleep.'
'Neither do I'" (Robinson 170).

If you take things out of context, it just sounds like two best friends doing naught but watching clouds run along in the sky at their own steady pace. It's quite the peaceful scene! Of course if you add on the fact that not long after they're going to hop on a freight train it sounds really sketchy, but if you just take this small instance of time out by itself, it's really... calming for the soul. It's as if one has accepted for how things are, and decided to go with the flow rather than against it. It's basically the opposite of how I feel now -- I want to go with the flow, but I kinda have to go against it (this probably sounds ambiguous, but I'm sure some seniors could relate). I remember after reading this part I wanted to go outside, but it was rainy and depressing so that didn't quite work out...