Shining Houses
Shining Houses, Timur Fattahov
1.
Quotations that are Central
Context and Significance
1. “Twelve years. My boys wanted me to sell then and go and live in rooms. But I said no. I had my hens and a nanny goat too at that time. More or less a pet. I had a pet coon too for a while, used to feed him chewing gun. Well, I said, husbands come and go, but a place you’ve lived fifty years is something else. Making a joke of it with my family. Besides, I thought, if Mr. Fullerton was to come back, he’d come back here, not knowing where else to go.”
Mrs. Fullerton was talking to Mary about her husband and her unwillingness to leave her place. This quote is significant because the other people don’t understand how or why she’s been living in her place for so long. They just assume she’s being complicated and not willing to move, but one who talks to her, can understand that there might be some sadness in her. She doesn’t want to change because she misses her husband and if there’s a chance that he will come back to her, she’s going to take it. She’ll leave her house the exact same way so he will know exactly which house it is. Information that the other neighbors don’t know.
2. “’I’ll tell you what I’d do if I was next door to it,’ Steve said, beaming good-naturedly in expectation of laughter. ‘I’d send my kids over there to play with matches.’”
The community is at a meeting discussing how to get rid of Mrs. Fullerton’s house. This quote is significant because it expresses the immaturity of the people and how they aren’t taking the eviction of someone so seriously. They are willing to do anything they can for their selfish needs while disregarding the emotions of Mrs. Fullerton, their neighbor. They go as far as joking around about it.
3. “There’s nothing you can do at present but put your hands in your pockets and keep a disaffected heart.”
Mary left the meeting and is contemplating the current situation. She comes to the conclusion that there is nothing a person
1.
Quotations that are Central
Context and Significance
1. “Twelve years. My boys wanted me to sell then and go and live in rooms. But I said no. I had my hens and a nanny goat too at that time. More or less a pet. I had a pet coon too for a while, used to feed him chewing gun. Well, I said, husbands come and go, but a place you’ve lived fifty years is something else. Making a joke of it with my family. Besides, I thought, if Mr. Fullerton was to come back, he’d come back here, not knowing where else to go.”
Mrs. Fullerton was talking to Mary about her husband and her unwillingness to leave her place. This quote is significant because the other people don’t understand how or why she’s been living in her place for so long. They just assume she’s being complicated and not willing to move, but one who talks to her, can understand that there might be some sadness in her. She doesn’t want to change because she misses her husband and if there’s a chance that he will come back to her, she’s going to take it. She’ll leave her house the exact same way so he will know exactly which house it is. Information that the other neighbors don’t know.
2. “’I’ll tell you what I’d do if I was next door to it,’ Steve said, beaming good-naturedly in expectation of laughter. ‘I’d send my kids over there to play with matches.’”
The community is at a meeting discussing how to get rid of Mrs. Fullerton’s house. This quote is significant because it expresses the immaturity of the people and how they aren’t taking the eviction of someone so seriously. They are willing to do anything they can for their selfish needs while disregarding the emotions of Mrs. Fullerton, their neighbor. They go as far as joking around about it.
3. “There’s nothing you can do at present but put your hands in your pockets and keep a disaffected heart.”
Mary left the meeting and is contemplating the current situation. She comes to the conclusion that there is nothing a person