After Ruthie goes missing, what do you think keeps the remaining family members bound together? What do you think pulls them apart?
Love keeps them together. Guilt and anger pulls them apart especially for Joe.
Love, hope, and memories keeps them together. Especially for the mother her faith and beliefs. They all knew that Ruthie had to be out there, and prayed and hoped she was thriving. Joe’s guilt and anger almost totally destroyed him; which was painful for the family to witness. His self-destruction affected so many people, even him not being a father to his daughter, until he was near death. The family was powerless in this situation. They kept on with life. They had other joys that occur despite all the pain.
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Don’t you wonder if Ruthie hadn’t gone missing if Joe’s life would have been… I don’t know… less chaotic? More centered?
This family loves deeply and grieves deeply.
Well said @Paula_Walters
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What binds them is their family. The love of the parents, the way the kids were raised, the love for each of their siblings. Joe’s anger pulls him apart from them. But they never stop loving Joe.
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I agree with @Patricia_Hawley. They were a very close family. I think after the experience of the “Indian School”, their parents were going to make sure they all stayed together. They loved and valued each other. I know they all grieved for Joe as much as for Charlie and Ruthie. That poor mother.
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It might have been a bit less chaotic if Ruthie had not gone missing. Joe was only 6 when Ruthie was kidnapped. It’s a bit hard to separate out how much of Ruthie’s kidnapping contributed to the intensity of Joe’s feelings (anger, guilt, etc.). Later in the book, it was hard not to wonder whether Joe would have gotten as angry as he did at Charlie right before Charlie got beaten up.
Ruthie’s family is very close before her abduction, bound by cultural and strong ethnic ties. They continue to search for her for some years others may have given up. I agree that anger and guilt pull the family apart, especially Joe who feels responsible for the loss.
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Hope, faith and love kept them together, faith specifically for the mother. Anger and guilt almost destroyed Joe.
I think Joe’s personality would have sent him down the same path no matter what. His life was meant to be chaotic, never finding joy.
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The strength of the family bonds , including love and tradition, keep them together. Within the family they know their own worth, despite how society views them. They have to live in the world around them, and each makes their own way to do that. Joe’s temperament is different from his brothers and he doesn’t have an opportunity to learn how to manage his emotions before the multiple losses at a young age, coupled with continuous injustice to his family and community., take their toll.
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I felt that the hope that Ruthie was still alive and that her family may see her again one day held them together. I feel that Joe was pulled apart from the others due to his guilt over the disappearance.