My favorite story from Gabrielle Roy's Street of Riches was, "To Earn My Living...". This final story of the book finds Christine about to bridge the gap into maturity and her adult life. Her mother asks her what she plans to do for a career and more importantly to "earn her living". Christine reflects, "To earn one's living! How mean, it seemed to me, how selfish, how grasping! Must life be earned?...That evening it was as someone had told me, 'For the mere fact that you live, you must pay.'" I can relate to her painful realization that one must earn their living. This question has proved a dilemma to me for over a year now. I am constantly torn about making a decision as to what I want to major in while attending college. Ideally I could have practicality intersect with an academic passion, but sadly that is not always the case. I feel as though this drive for pragmatism and economic importance severely hinders the extent of choices an individual has when choosing a path in life.

Christine and I have both made the "disconsolate discovery" that we may be required to life through the immutable succession of predictable years, often devoid of true passion before we can start to live our dream (if that ever even occurs, i am yet to find out). When Christine tells her mother that she wishes to be a writer, her mother offers, "Wait first until you have lived! You've plenty of time." My parents recently offered me this same advice. I did not find it comforting though. I was rather upset that I had overlooked this upcoming transitional period of my life.

My favorite story from Street of Riches is The Two Negroes. Opening the book, it presents a perfect profile of the antagonistic situation between Christine’s family and the Guilberts, immediately depicting crucial personality traits among the main characters. Simultaneously, it illustrates the social acceptance differences among people of different races as well as the generational gaps within the families.

Maman’s rivalry with Madam Guilbert is the first conflict evident in the book and clearly extends to every aspect of their lives. From the dispute over which woman should host dinner to the debate about which family has the better Negro, neither woman is ever willing to admit her weakness (even about such silly things). Christine explains, “And, as though to establish for good her neighbor’s bad faith, Maman prophesied: ‘You’ll see that now Madame Guilbert is going to claim she has a better Negro than ours! You’ll see!’” (14). While the interactions between Maman and Madame Guilbert are constantly competitive, they still seem to maintain a small degree of closeness. Maman shares food with the Guilberts during rough times, and they interact on a social level, gossiping and taking walks together.

The generational gap between the adults and children in both Christine’s family and the Guilbert’s family is directly related to their acceptance of the Negroes for their races. While Madame Guilbert and Maman constantly compete with regards to “their” Negroes, each woman still displays intolerance toward them. They discuss their surprise that the Negro is clean and hygienic and argue with their children for interacting with the Negroes in a friendly way. Christine recollects, “Maman was annoyed. Cutting short her walk, she returned to rebuke Odette a little. ‘That you should chat with the Negro on the porch, in the parlor-well enough! But do you have to do it before the eyes of the whole neighborhood?’” (19).

While the women continue to doubt the Negroes’ humanity, it is their children who behave civilly toward them. Odette and Giséle form friendships with the men, treating them respectfully and nicely. Even Christine observes, “…our Negro gave us lessons in kindness” (15). I think that by starting the book with this story, enough conflict is presented to generate interest in the characters and their different behaviors. I wish the Negroes had reappeared later in the story. Within this chapter they inspired dynamic observations and telling facts about all the characters, especially highlighting the competitive nature between Maman and Madame Guilbert and Odette’s altruistic temperament.

I choose THE GADABOUTS FROM Roy's Street of Riches.
"They were sitiing in the midst of this dreadful silence when Maman very quietly opened the door. Papa raised his eyes. He saw us. He turned pale, arose from his chair, and said, "Ah! At last! My gadabouts!"

Gabrielle Roy has given us a heartwarming story of one woman's courage. Maman could have been the Ane of Green Gables grown up. Her intensityof purpose, her self determination, her assessment of a situation, her belief in the future, her strength of committment, her longing for self-fullfillment, for self-actualization, all character traits developed in each of the women.

Maman is approaching the birthday year felt by most as a serous right-of-passage. Fifty candles on your cake can also put a weight on your shoulders. So, here was Maman, poised for the freedom of the wind, the birds, her silent dreams and the ever-present longing from deep within. This is when her sub-concious plan began to take shape. Outwardly silent but inwardly boisterous, the journey began nudging at her and a plan was being formed.

She chose religion and particularly God as the scapegoat. "If God affords me the means to make enough money to leave, it's because He wants me to go." As she says this to her little daughter, her confidant and fellow traveller you feel she already has one foot out the door. Maman, with God's encouragement pulls it off. Mother and daughter arrive in Montreal and again Maman's cleverness and intense desire for completeness, forge them on through the unsuspecting in-laws lives. They are mesmerized by her ability to manage such a voyage with all its complications. Of course they would never learn of her "Dear John" letter to Edouard or her children being left at the nunnery--these were simply details. That she was there from Manitoba and exhibited the airs of a lady of tremendous self-confidence impressed all who experienced her visit. There is a touching reunion with her childhood friend Odile, Sister Etienne du Sauveur.

Fulfilled and exhausted, Maman and little daughter embark on the return to reality journey. A chance remark from a fellow female traveller regarding the husband left behind--"Why did you leave him?" prompted a telling response from Maman..."Perhaps to become a better wife."

HELP, PROF MARTIN -------PLEASE SEE PARAGRAPH #2 OF MY JUST BARELY POSTED comments....THERE IS A GLARING ERROR. IF YOU ARE ABLE TO MAKE A CORRECTION PLEASE DO OTHERWISE RETURN IT TO ME & I WILL TAKE CARE OF IT. IT SHOULD READ ...all character traits developed in each of the women. NOT which Roy developed etc. I AM SO SORRY. elizabeth keough

Among many good stories the one that stood out the most to me was undoubtedly Roy’s “My Whooping Cough”. I liked this chapter in particular because it was written with a different tone than most of the other stories. Roy describes her thoughts in incredible detail during her sickness as she spends “…almost the whole summer, in the depths of [her] hammock.” (p. 63).

This story was appealing because she seemed to evaluate herself on a deeper level than she previously had and it becomes a very significant landmark in her journey towards a career as a writer. Putting aside the other characters she explores psychoanalysis as she drifts into a long period of solitude. Because of this she learns that it is very important to be able to keep herself company without having to rely on other people for companions or entertainment. She says “Why does one not learn sooner that on is, oneself, one’s best, one’s dearest companion. Why this great fear of solitude, which is merely an intimate commerce with the sole true companion?” (p. 64). This quote is very important in her development as she learns to embrace herself as her best friend.

This passage alone provoked a lot of thought. Although it is unbelievable for a young girl to have articulated such thoughts as eloquently as she writes here, the meaning is one that we all face at one point or another in our lives. This becomes a necessary mentality for all people and especially writers who live a larger portion of their lives separated from others merely because their career requires so.

We can’t expect to leach off of other people our entire lives, and though it isn’t necessary to be confined all of the time, we should be able to live a fulfilling and happy existence in solitude as times like this will inevitably arise. You must be able to recognize that your best friend is always yourself, and she does so in this salient chapter.

The story I found most interesting from Gabrielle Roy’s Street of Riches was “To Prevent a Wedding”. Of the many things I enjoyed about this story, the most was how everything from trying to preventing the marriage, to the Dukhobors, to Maman’s marriage itself, all came together at the end. I was curious as to why Maman was so ardent against the marriage of Georgianna to the man she says she is in love with. However, at the end, we see a slight glimmer into why Maman is so against it in a short conversation she has with her youngest daughter on the train.
“Don’t you know it- for good and all- when you’re in love?’
“Sometimes not,” Maman answered.
“You knew it, though?”
“I thought I knew…”
That short conversation about knowing when you are in love really gives us insight into Maman’s own marriage, possibly her regrets, and why she is so concerned that Georgianna wants to marry this boy that her father says is not good enough.

I also noticed how nicely mother’s disapproval of Georgianna wanting to get married and her acceptance of the Dukhobor have really juxtaposed one another. It’s almost comical how mother spends so much energy trying to discipline Georgianna about the marriage, and trying too hard to convince her it is a bad idea, and so easily and readily accepts and defends the Dukhobor to her youngest daughter after the other passengers continue to complain about their violent act of burning the bridge. Maman says “They are visionaries. They use bad means to accomplish what are most likely good ends.” If only mother could be that accepting of Georgianna, who is doing no harm by loving someone, as she can with the Dukhobors, who just burned a bridge that they were supposed to pass over. The two issues in the story, as well as Maman’s comments about knowing when you’re in love, really tell a lot about Maman herself. It seems to be a theme of the novel that each story seems to give us more insight and detail into a particular character. This story, I believe, is Maman’s.

I really enjoyed the story about The Well of Dunrea. I enjoyed this story because it took a deeper look at the character and meaning behind the father figure in the novel. It explained a lot to the readers about what influenced the sorrow that he felt throughout his life and why this sorrow drove him as a person.

One thing I found captivating about this story was the fact that Gabrielle Roy describes the landscape around the village of Dunrea so magnificently. “Thus from year to year the river yielded more water, and in places reached a depth of six feet. Thereafter, of their own accord, all sorts of other little trees began to grow along its shores and interlaced their branches and created a kind of tunnel of verdure through which flowed and sang the Lost River. For, even when rediscovered, it continued to be called the Lost River” (Roy 115). It is her that we see Roy’s ability to draw us into the natural landscape and the beauty that is this small village in Canada. This is an important passage because it leads us as readers to later feel immense loss and sorrow at the loss of such a beautiful landscape at the hands of a great fire. “When Papa opened his eyes on the desolation that was now the Lost River, he believed in hell. Curiously, it was not with the furnace of the night before, with the outcries, with the unfollowed orders, that he was to associate hell, but with this-a thick silence, almost inviolable, a dismal land, black everywhere, a dreadful death” (Roy 131). Roy makes us believe in this place through her flowing description and it is because of that belief that we as readers feel sadness at the loss of such a magnificent place as Dunrea.

After explaining in our discussion that Christine's father was the character who most affected me, it shouldn't come as a shock that my favorite chapter was By Day and by Night. Christine opens the chapter with "My father, so sad and withdrawn during the day, toward night began somewhat to revive. You might have thought that the sun as it set, the daylight as it faded, freed him of a dreadful verity which he ceaselessly carried before his eyes" (223). This is a very poignant observation that resonates throughout the novel. Withdrawn, yes; sad, most likely- but more significantly is the idea that as the day fades, the father feels most liberated. He doesn't have to put on a show for those around him, and, excluding Agnes, he doesn't need to appeal to any family members about the events of the day.

Before she explains how her father's death came at his least favorite time, Christine describes Maman's struggle as she takes care of her husband. She notes, "she would bend her head a little and, like a child, slip briefly into the haven of sleep... until pain once more claimed her" (234). Here I read pain as the presence of Maman's husband and Christine's father. Maman would get her rest, but then the struggling father would wake her, grabbing her out of her otherwise calmest state.

Christine then goes on to mark when exactly her father died, saying that it was "the hour that was most cruel for him, when the sun rises over the earth" (234). I found it interesting that she makes it a point to mention this, and that Gabrielle Roy closed the chapter with it. Might this be a slight slap in the face for the father? He died when he least wanted to- perhaps it's karma. Either way, this was a heavily emotional chapter for me to read, with a particularly somber ending.

This is a test to see if this works.

While the story I wish to discuss wasn't my favorite for entertainment purposes, it was my favorite in terms of being thought provoking. "The Two Negroes" was a fascinating story in Gabrielle Roy's Street of Riches. Perhaps the most tantalizing aspect of the story was the harsh reality of the way that blacks were viewed during this time period. Although, at the same time it can be considered forgiving when compared to an American view point. In the beginning of the story when Maman decides that financially it is best if the family takes in a border, we learn that there are minimal standards that she has. She wants someone with class and dignity. When Robert finds someone that meets these standards and even goes beyond Maman is ecstatic. However, the border’s personal qualities and the fact that he will only be in their home a few days a week is nearly negated by his skin color. Firstly, I think this addresses the important aspect of race and reveals that Canada was no exception in terms of a place where racial discrimination existed. Secondly, this story deals with more than the existence of racial discrimination, but goes beyond to show how Canadian citizens, at least these characters, dealt with that issue as close to home as possible.
Despite the childish competition between Maman and Madame Guilbert over which Negro was better, as if they were some object only fit for the encouragement of bickering, a lot of good came to perhaps both household by having the black men present. “In the meantime our Negro gave us lessons of kindness.” The child narrator describes to readers. Furthermore, the black man integrated with the children of the household on intellectual and artistic levels such as the French lessons or the engagement with the piano music. Also, this presence of racial diversity infiltrated even on a social level when he begins walking with Odette. He brings another perspective the rural French –Canadians that shockingly to modern readers they really hadn’t encountered before. I think this story because is a story of learning. The last line of the story is telling, “And for a long time, for years even, Rue Deschambault missed it Negroes.” While a summer of having a border of a different racial background may seem unsubstantial, Roy creates subtle, but profound change in her characters. I appreciate these less obvious, but pure indications of social advancement in terms of diversity in fiction novels. I believe it makes characters more realistic.

One of my favorite stories in this book was To Prevent a Wedding. One of the things in the story that drew my attention was the dialogue that is used here. At this time in the story, the author is still a young child recalling what is going on around her yet she has some of the sense of a more mature person. Not a whole lot of words are actually spoken between characters but what is said is very meaningful. In particular, things that are said by the adults reflect a "superior" attitude toward the younger people. Maman says "Poor Georgianna, you talk of love as though it would last but when it goes, if there is nothing left to take its place it is horrible!"

Maman seems to have lost hope in love based on some experiences that may have happened to her which have led her to think her the wiser in this situation. Another expample is what one women says in the box car train. "Isn't it dreadful? Young people who an hour ago did not know each oher-and look at them in each others arms! Think of dancing at such a moment!" Christine and the dancers still possess some childhood spirit for fun and excitement while life seems to have worn down the older characters in the story.

I found "To Prevent a Marriage" to be a rather interesting short story. From the story's beginning, the conflict is presented: "You have to go out there, Eveline, and try to make her listen to reason. I've tried, but you know me; I must have been too violent. I didn't succeed in talking to her as I should have. You must go, Eveline, and prevent this marriage at all costs." (41). The story appears rather serious, as Maman and her daughter travel by train to prevent Georgianna from marrying. This, more serious tone of the story however is contrasted to the narrator's innocent nature and personality. It lightens the tone of the story, and at times even humorous moments emerge. The narrator, rather curious about love and marriage asks Maman, "So in real life it's wrong to get married?..But why must Georgianna be prevented from marrying at all costs?"...You have to be old to get married." (43). In this story Roy really does a great job in bringing her characters to life. The story is never dull, and as a reader I was able to relate to almost all the characters, particularly the narrator, perhaps because of her innocent and naive qualities. Toward the end of the story, Maman's daughter asks yet more questions about love and marriage: "Don't you know it-for good and for all- when you're in love?" (48). Maman, irritated by her daughter's repeated questions replies, "You're too prying! It's not your problem...all that...Forget it...go to sleep!" (48). In the end Maman appears a bit hypocritical. She tells her daughter, who is just curiously along for the ride, that she's "too prying" and that "it's not your problem." Maman however, travels all the way to Saskatchewan to pry into her seemingly adult daughter's life to try to prevent her from marrying, despite Georgianna's strong claims that she's in love. Although this may be justified, Maman, like her daughter, seems too a bit uncertain and perhaps fearful of topics concerning love and marriage. Perhaps the apple doesn't fall to far from the tree.

My favorite story in Street of Riches would have to be the Well of Dunrea. Aside from the actual events being more interesting and engaging than the rest of the novel, it shows a small glimmer of the positive side to the mostly negative father character. As opposed to the sarcasm and moodiness at home, with “his little Ruthenians” the father is a guiding inspiration, the beneficial guardian of the settlement.

The contrasting aspects of Eduoard’s nature is summarized in the first sentence; “His strange life, so beautiful upon occasion, yet so hard and exacting, my father kept locked from our curiosity”. Further backing this quote we shortly after find out that Christine heard this story from her sister Agnés.

In the second part of the story, in a near biblical fashion, a forest fire sparks north of Dunrea, spreads, and burns the settlement to the ground. Eduoard blames himself, saying, “…there had lain his crime: to have interpreted god, in a sense to have judged him”. When the Ruthenians are slow to leave the village, Eduoard tries to expedite their escape urging that these fires are the wrath of God, where the Ruthenians stop and wait, assuming there is nothing they can do. After Jan is crushed by the rafter, they finally leave, but needless to say Dunrea is destroyed.

The lost river seemed to be a pretty obvious metaphor for the ‘life’ of Dunrea. Although it was, at it’s start, a dry river bed with polished pebbles along it’s base, Eduoard gives the Ruthenians the correct guidance in nursing it back to life. Dunrea flourishes, and the town takes comfort in the safety the river would provide against fire. Roy mentions that it was a particularly hot summer and that the river was down a few feet before the disaster, and after the town is level, it is yet again a dry bed. “When Papa opened his eyes on the desolation that was now the Lost River, he believed in Hell”.

The various themes running throughout this story as well as the increased level of actual action relative to other stories made the Well of Dunrea my favorite story of the book.

Going into class last Wednesday, I had a few stories that I had been particularly drawn to and looked forward to discussing further in class. While reading Street of Riches, I became captivated by ‘Papa,’ who I continued to critique as a character from story to story. Although in some of the short stories he was somewhat of a passive spirit, I viewed Papa in a new light in the “Well of Dunrea.” I believe that this particular story was when I felt I could identify Papa as a passionate individual, rather than the previous stories where I simply viewed him as a piece of the puzzle that was Christine’s family. “…he patted their cheeks, tweaked their ears…a strange thing, for which his own children Papa never did such things…these people believed him endowed with an almost supernatural power” (Roy 116). In some of the short stories, Papa seems awkward and unsure of how to deal with ‘home-life’ situations, such as the rhubarb incident with Christine. It is evident that his intentions are good and true in such instances as these, but when with the Little Ruthenians in the “Well of Dunrea,” Papa seems at ease and extremely devoted.
In “Well of Dunrea,” I felt as if Papa had lost a part of himself, and used his occupation of helping others, in order to possibly fill a void in his own life. “…and maybe his joy sprang even more from the fact that the Little Ruthenians had so well fulfilled his dream” (Roy 116). Although I feel that there was a distance between Papa and his family, I feel that he viewed his job as a duty that he found comfort in, especially when his success was measured in the success and happiness of such people as the ‘Little Ruthenians.’
In the other stories, it seemed that Papa was unsure of how to give his family that love and support that they appeared to want so much. However, I found it extremely interesting and somewhat comforting to see that he was able to use his job as an outlet for positive expression and maybe even happiness. I wonder, did he feel most comfortable in his job setting which is why he found such contentment and success in that specific setting?

After reading and discussing, Street of Riches, I have come to love L’Italienne for many different reasons. The first aspect of the story that sticks out is its structure. At the start of the story, the narrator describes material items on top of the piano. What sticks out is a, “sort of blue pitcher with two handles and a long neck- a flower vase, I imagine, but in which we no loger put anything to spare the poor relic, which was badly battered.” As the young girl drops this mysterious jug, she also describes Maman’s anger over her accidental mistake. In dropping this jug, we learn more about Maman’s character as well. “I was about to answer when I realized that Maman’s anger, assuredly like many people’s was no more than wearisome regret, the accumulation of many hurts in her heart.” It seems in a sense, that this jug functions in the story for many different reasons. First, its old, battered presense suggests that it holds a great deal of meaning, and secondly, Maman’s reaction to it almost breaking provides us with a closer look at Mama’s personality. And with all this happening, Roy hasn’t even started to explain the story behind this jug.
In general I loved this story because it seemed similar to the Two Black Negros, and Wilhelm. In all three of these stories, Roy incorporates outsiders, which help readers to learn about the main characters in the book more intimately. In this story specifically, Papa and Maman are first concerned that the house he is building will block their view. But as Papa talks to the Italian more and more, he decides to give him a tree as a gift. It seems at this point that Papa and Maman are warming up to the outsider. As the story continues, another conflict is introduced when the Italian kisses Papa’s daughther. In anger he tells Maman, “One’s always too much in a hurry to make friends with foreigners.” This irrational comment is almost comical, as Papa had just recently given the Italian a tree.
Overall, the historal relevance, comedy, and simplicity of this story is what I loved so much. Through this lighthearted story, we learn more about Canadien’s outlooks on Italians and foreigners at the time. We also start to question Maman’s character at the end of the story. When offered the Italian Jug, it seems as if Maman is perhaps taking this jug as a symbol of the happiness that once filled her heart. This ultimate realization comes at the very end of the story when the narrator says, “Maman likewise was crazy about a kind of blue jug which the Italian woman told her she had bought from an almost blind potter on the streets of Milan. On the same occasion, Lisa recounted how the potters, worked in streets ad sang over their tasks; that wrteched and poor, they were, none the less, often happier than the rich....Was it because of this that Maman loved Italy? And did she love the crock for Italy’s sake?” This prediction and conclusion suggests that Maman is unhappy and unsatisfied with her life. As mentioned, this theme of regret, hurt, and unhappiness, is brought up the start of the story when the narrator almost drops the jug. It is through these characters and this Italian Jug that the story becomes far more than just a story about a blue jug.

The collection of short stories focuses so much attention on Christine and Maman's interests and activities it is a breath of fresh air to read The Well of Dunrea, which brings Agnes and the father (Edouard) into the picture.
Agnes isn't discussed much, but we do learn that she is a quiet, soft hearted,overly sensitive girl and Papa's favorite, all of this information is according to Christine. Perhaps Agnes is Eduoard's favorite child and the only person in the household he wishes to discuss his life with because she Agnes has the above mentioned qualities. She may be the only person he feels comfortable with to open up to.
The story also informs the reader as to some of the specifics about Eduoard's occupation. He has a great deal of responsibility in assisting immigrant communities in surviving and trying to thrive in a very harsh Saskatchewan. Many of the individuals living in these communities don't make it because they don't have the necesarry skills or attitude to settle in such a place.
We also get a glimpse as to what life is like for the settlers on the Canadien Prarie. "Fire," he had said (Eduoard),"and drought are my settlers' worst enemies; running water their greatest friend" (115). Christine informs us that the wind in Saskatchewan can get so intense that "...it sometimes tore the roofs from buildings" (122). I think it could be argued that the climate Eduoard is exposed to explains why he is the husband and father that he is.

One story in particular which I enjoyed was L’Italienne. What I liked about the story was how apprehensive the family was at first about their new neighbor and how drastically their attitudes changed towards the end of the story. At first they are worried that this Italian immigrant moving next to them is going to build a house which blocks their precious sunlight. At first when they learn that an Italian is moving next to them they act as though they are worried. Mamman even says, “As long as he’s no Sicilian bandit!” The relationship gets off to a rocky start, but they slowly begin to warm up to him. His almost excessive displays of emotion are at first awkward and confusing to the family, but it eventually becomes endearing. The father is at first taken back by how excited Guiseppe gets upon receiving the plum tree as a gift, and is initially outraged when Christine comes in to tell him, “The Italian kissed me.” To which he responds, “One’s always too much in a hurry to make friends with foreigners!” However his passionate personality soon becomes less of an annoying trait and more of a pleasing albeit slightly odd one. The love that he projects, especially towards his wife, is so great that it spills over thus giving the family a contact high of love. It is ironic that when he first showed up the family was so afraid of his stealing their sunlight, but when he dies Mamman says, “The sun of Italy… today… leaves our street!”

Out of the collection of stories in Streets of Riches, I feel I got the most from Petite Misere as it might have been obvious after showing my enthusiasm for the story in class. I was planning on blogging about another story in the novel that I enjoyed as well, but felt the need to express my connection with Petite Misere even more in this discussion. As I expressed in class I saw a lot of humor in this story that I don’t think could have been achieved by having any other narrative voice then that of a small girl. If this story had been told by the mother, father or a third person narrative the entire point of it would have been missed. I babysit a five-year-old girl who throws fits over the smallest things and reading the sorrow and over the top language she uses to describe how sad she was makes me laugh a little because of all the times children are telling you that they hate you and are going to have their mom fire you one second and sitting on your lap playing princess and hugging you the next. Gabrielle Roy hit the nail on the head with this entire story especially the sentence about Christine stopping on every step to sulk just that much more. I don’t know how many times I did that as a child, accessorizing it with a sigh carrying the weight of the world, and now that I spend my entire summer along side a five year old, just how great it is to see it as a spectator. I have to hold back a little laugh because I remember exactly how that felt.
This story also pulled me back to a time when I was little and cried my eyes out over a very small issue. I would have wanted to express myself the same way that Christine did when she said that “I fled; I ran up to my attic, where, face against the floor, I tore my nails over the rough boards and tried to dig my way into them that I might die”. As a child once you start crying you keep it going for as long as you can because if you don’t you would almost feel stupid for crying at all. When you are young its all or nothing, there is no middle ground of a tear or two. Being a youngest child myself I could really relate to the idea of being that upset if your father snapped at you. I loved reading the end of the story especially, after the wallowing was over and Christine gains sympathy for her father. When I used to fight with my dad, or should I say strictly guilt trip him, it would always come to a point where I would begin to feel guilty myself. When Christine eats the pie her father made just because she knows how sad he is and just wants to make him happy again I felt as though I was reading my own memories. I guess that is why I see this story not as a story of a depressed man hurting his child but instead as a story of love. Even though her father took his sadness out on his daughter you can feel his remorse when he makes silent peace with a large peace of pie. The best thing about it was that it is obvious by how bad the pie is that her father does not cook and struggled to do something nice for her. I can also see exactly how his face would look when he took a bite of pie after her to find it is yet another failure in his life. The fact that they ate it anyways is such a large gesture of love in my eyes. It’s an understanding of support and affection for one another. It is at this point when Christine says “And how keenly then, through my own poor childhood sorrow, did I gain a notion of my father’s so much weightier sadness, the heaviness of life itself: that indigestible nutriment which this evening, as though it were forever, my father proffered me!” and she understands a new aspect of why her father is they way he is. She also realizes how much he loves her and how sorry he is that his sadness affects her.

I really enjoyed this book and am hard-pressed to pick on story I liked above all the others, so I will discuss my two favorites, “Petite Misere” and “The Well of Dunrea.” Each dealt extensively with Christine’s father, and he was basically the protagonist of both stories. I loved how Gabrielle Roy portrayed the perspective of a child in “Petite Misere.” The author transported me back to my own childhood, when little things held such weighty significance. A few passages stuck out to me, the first was very humorous and echoed the pretend-seriousness that children sometimes exhibit: “That day I dug the word from my memories, seized upon it, and, not yet aware of the terrible meaning it contained, I repeated to myself, ‘A child of duty! I am a child of duty!” And the very sound of this word sufficed to make me weep anew, for sorrow I did not yet know.” (pg. 27) This passage made me crack up and is indicative of the humor that suffuses this collection of short stories. The other passage that stuck out to me from this story was a lot more serious and poignant and dealt with actual serious life lesson learned by Christine from this episode, “And how keenly then, through my own poor child’s sorrow, did I gain a notion of my father’s so much weightier sadness, the heaviness of life itself: that indigestible nutriment which this evening, as though it were forever, my father proffered me!” (pg. 32)
The other story I liked, “The Well of Dunrea,” was suffused with religious significance. I found the tale itself to be remarkable and loved Roy’s portrait of how religious devotion is a two-way street; it can go from being an excellent, helpful thing, to an awful, destructive ball and chain. The religious devotion of the Little Ruthenians allowed them to build this utopia on the windswept prairie, but it was also the ultimate cause of their downfall after Christine’s father claimed that the prairie fire was destruction sent by God. The Little Ruthenians saw this as something that was ordained and therefore felt that there was nothing that could be done to combat it. This was Christine’s father’s biggest mistake, invoking God, and my favorite line from the story deals with the Little Ruthenian’s regard for his authority. It is also humorous: “Was he not obeyed there as God had once been in His Eden?’ (pg. 117) I know this line was pointed out by Professor Martin, but for the record I had it underlined, before yesterday’s class.

Petite Misere was certainly the easiest of all the stories for me to relate to because I can distinctly remember a situation very similar to the story happening to me. I especially appreciated her response to her mother and friends because it emphasized how miserable she was set out to be. When she commented on her mother's leaving it set up the fact that no matter what she was going to wallow in her misery, and everything any one did was going to contribute to that. "She was in a hurry; her feet seemed to run - and I was miserable that - this evening - she could leave with a free heart to indulge herself in anything so futile as card playing (pg 30)." The idea that anyone could go on with daily life when she was so wounded seemed abominable to her. It highlighted the idea she had developed that she was an unloved or not fully loved child. When considering giving up on her self pity to go out and play she came to the conclusion that her friends "were children better loved by their parents that I was by mine", and so she could not bring herself to leave the attic. However all it took to eventually get her out og her place of sorrow was a peace offeringof the person who put her there in the first place.

My favorite story in Street of Riches is “The Gadabouts.” I think I liked this story the most because of the way it depicts the relationship between a daughter and her mother. Even though Christine and her mother have a seemingly close relationship, the trip she takes allows her to realize, even at a young age, just how much about her mother’s personality and her past she does not know. When they first begin their journey, Christine remarks, “I became aware how much travel made my mother seem younger; her eyes filled with sparks that glowed with the sight of almost everything we saw…I held a little against Papa that he did not more often allow Maman to seem youthful” (90). I think there is a point in every child’s life, when she realizes that her mother has not always been the woman she knows; this is Christine’s realization.

I also think it is interesting how Maman’s character really blossoms in this story, and how she demonstrates, as an adult woman, the role women played at that time in this type of community. Although she goes against the wishes of her husband and explores the Canadian country on her own, she still feels a connection and a responsibility to her family that she cannot avoid. The family who was once burdensome to her, she now feels closer too and misses her role as their mother and wife. On the train to Winnipeg, a passenger asks her why she left her husband, and she replies, “Perhaps to become a better wife,” which Christine interprets as, “it is when you leave you own that you truly find them, and you are happy about it; you wish them well; and you want also to be better yourself” (107).

No one has mentioned anything about "A Bit of Yellow Ribbon" yet, so I'll take it upon myself. Over and over throughout Street of Riches I’ve been impressed by Gabrielle Roy’s flawless depiction of a little girl’s mind. To me, Christine seems like a typical little girl – silly, imaginative, jealous of her older sisters, selfish, and even a little manipulative. Even her less admirable qualities are important to her character. Roy isn’t afraid to portray children as children really are.
In this story, Christine’s sister Odette is leaving to become a nun and Christine notices a yellow ribbon in her room. Naturally, Christine wants it terribly because it isn’t hers. Christine even admits that “Perhaps I admired Odette too much to really love her…. Above all, however, I was terribly envious of Odette’s possessions,” – at first this sounded strange and sad to me, but I realized that the substantial age gap between the two sisters would understandably keep them separated.
The rest of the story is devoted to Christine’s efforts to acquire the yellow ribbon. She spends time with Odette and “sucks up,” telling Odette not to go, that she would miss her too much. Over Odette’s last few days at home, her heart melts toward Christine. Christine however, is simply scheming. Finally Odette is about to get on the so Christine starts crying, hugs her sister and openly asks for the ribbon. Odette tells her it’s already in her room. Christine tells readers “After that, whatever became of the little yellow ribbon… I no longer remember.” Even though Christine was manipulating Odette the whole time, she still developed a closer relationship with her sister.

“To Prevent a Marriage” is a stand-out story in this book. I like it because it’s one of the first to present one particular narrative thread in a clear way: the exploration of the idea of “happiness,” and whatever its opposite might be. Christine exists in a world of small joys and greater sorrows. By this point in the collection, we are already aware of her family’s poverty and her father’s sadness, which is representative of the sadness of adults, an inevitable state that is achieved by journeying through childhood, as we see Christine doing. Still, the characters strive for happiness—whatever that might be—and this seems to me achingly beautiful and acutely human. In “To Prevent a Marriage,” we see Christine journeying with her mother to prevent her older sister from marrying too young. Christine sees this trip as an opportunity, not quite understanding what it will mean for her family. She asks her mother, “‘Are we in Saskatchewan?’”…because passing from one province to another seemed to me so great an adventure that it would certainly and completely transform Maman and me, perhaps make us happy” (43). At a young age, Christine already has that human pull toward seeking happiness, despite not fully understanding what it means or what it is. (Few people actually do, and it’s that very fact that keeps us all looking.) Her mother’s response is only “…a distracted nod, as though it was as sad in Saskatchewan as in Manitoba.”

For me, “The Well of Dunrea” is the most profound and powerful story in the collection for many reasons. First, the story opens with a very powerful line that reveals the true nature of Papa’s relationship with his children. “His strange life, so beautiful upon occasion, yet so hard and exacting, my father kept locked from our curiosity.” This line sets the tone for the rest of the text and prepares us for the dark and tragic story ahead. Also within this line we are able to detect a sense of longing for a deeper connection with her father from “le petit misere.” Further into the text we begin to see deep biblical allusions to creation and Eden when Roy describes the creation of Dunrea and how Papa was “obeyed there as God had once been in His Eden.” These allusions give the story a mystical air and help to build the reader up to the fall at the end of the story. This fall created by a massive fire effectively brings the people of Dunrea back to a heathen like state much like the disorienting haze experienced by Adam and Eve upon eating the forbidden fruit. Similarly after the “fall” of Dunrea occurs, Papa is propelled into a state of delusion where he became “a stranger to joy, so far removed from it that he was almost unable to recognize it in human countenance.” This is again similar to the stories of creation and the fall and untimely gives this short story a profound meaning and indisputable power.

One of my favorite stories in The Street of Riches was L'Italienne. I think that on a whole the theme of the foreigner is reoccuring throughout Roy's novel. Her family seems to be simultaneously open to the idea of the foreigner while also a little suspicious. In L'Italienne Christinne's parents are wary of the newcomber, who may possibly block out the sun through the building of a new house. But they warm up to him after they realize he will be building a smaller house. Christine quickly warms up to the Italian, he perks her curiosity, she watches him work intently. And eventually his prescence on the street is very much welcomed and enjoyed. He has the same effect as the sun to the family. This story is very effective, it subtely shows that being open and accepting to all people is a virtous quality to hold in your life.
Another story that I enjoyed and had a similar idea as L'Italienne was Wilhelm. Christine is a little older in this story and the idea of love is brought in as a theme. Wilhelm is also a foreigner. Christine likes him but everyone around her sees him as some what foolish. Wilhelm is her first experience with a "suitor", he treats her very well sending her gifts and calling up on the phone. But Maman restricts Christine's seeing of Wilhelm. At the end of the story we learn that Wilhelm returns to his homeland, Holland, and the hope for him and Christine is gone. The last line of the story says, " And Maman hoped that Wilhelm, in his own country, among his own people, would be loved...as, she said, he deserved to be" (194) It is interesting that the story concludes this way. It seems as though their is an acceptance to the foreigner so long as their is no mixing. Maybe this is just Maman's feelings reflected with no real forbearance on Chrisitine's worldview.

I liked the story of Alicia the most in Street of Riches. This story really seemed to demonstrate the narrators intuitiveness where she uses many techniques to illustrate her intelligence. Even the way that she refers to her parents she illustrates her knowledge of the situation despite the fact that she's a young girl. When referring to them, she italicizes "they" as if she's secretly informing the reader that she knows more than they think. If it wasn't obvious before that she knew the magnitude of the situation, she ends the story by creating this intricate metaphor describing her sisters death. I also loved this story because it's so interesting to be drawn into her frustrations of being immediately pinned as too young or immature. They refuse to allow her to be a part of a serious situation, especially one concerning a family members health.

One short story from Street of Riches that really stands out to me is Alicia. In the short span of fifteen pages, Gabrielle Roy weaves a tragedy through the voice of a child that leaves the reader unsettled and haunted by the nature of human suffering and the often unspoken cruelties of life. Through the voice of Christine, Roy comments on the condition of life where one is in a sense dead yet walking among the living. By using a child’s voice, Roy also comments on the propensity of adults to lie to their children to protect their “innocence” believing that a child is too daft and naïve to know the difference. Christine muses “They- I mean the grownups-were protecting me from the truth. They told me Alicia had nothing the matter with her. Is this what constitutes childhood: by means of lies, to be kept in a world apart?” (136) Despite her parents efforts to shield her from the tragedy and seriousness of Alicia’s condition, Christine understands acutely the heartbreak and cruelity of Alicia’s life. She expresses the frustration of being a child, and having one’s ability to be apart of something revoked. When her parent’s place Alicia in what I assume is a sanitarium Christine forcefully expresses the powerlessness of her position saying “They decided to send Alicia away. They did not tell me the truth; they arranged the truth; they wholly transformed it. To all my desperate insistence “where is Alicia” they replied that she was in good hands” (140). Christine even at this young age knows that she has no control over what her parents did to her sister and moreover they too ashamed to admit the horrible truth, would lie about it. Even when the parents try to use Christine to revive their dying daughter and perform what they call a “miracle” they insist on lying to Christine about her sister’s condition and what’s really happening. On their way to visit Alicia, Christine asks, “ ‘Have you locked Alicia up?’ Maman tried to laugh. ‘Locked up! What an idea! Of course not: she’s in very good hands. She’s being cared for by the best doctors’ ” (142). But when Christine sees the sanitarium she thinks “this structure had no means of exit anywhere. I remembered the field of corn; there one was locked in, true enough, but it was a very different thing! Might not freedom lie in remaining within a very tiny space which you can leave if you have a mind to?” (143). She realizes that this place with no exits, is not somewhere that Alicia can voluntarily leave and that in fact her parents have in essence “locked Alicia up”.

Roy also leaves the reader questioning the nature of life where the “soul has lost human countenance”. Alicia comes in and out of her insanity, and only comes out whilst in the company of her sister Christine, recognizing her alone. She has tiny moments of lucidity but mostly is mentally absent from the conditions of her life despite her physical presence. Christine recognizes how tragic it is for a person “to be all alone within oneself”(135). A few months after her visit to Alicia, she passes away. At the story’s close Christine heartbreakingly muses “They buried her, as one buries everybody, whether a person has died on the day of his death- or long before” (146). Christine realizes that her sister’s life had ended long before she stopped breathing. She sees that with all freedom revoked and all loved ones ripped away, Alicia’s lost any happiness and began to suffer so acutely as she watched her spirit die also. It was almost disturbingly sad to read Alicia’s recognition of her sister Christine. She was broken from living in the sanitarium; locked away from the love and the comfort of family. She cries out in joy “Little One! It’s you! You’ve come to get me! It’s you who have come to get me! I knew you’d come!” (145)

This story on its own is heartbreaking but when looking at Street of Riches on a whole , really plays to the theme that there are many influences on a person's identity and who he or she becomes in life. In many of the stories Christine comments on her mother's sorrowful way and how she appears as if a woman broken. It is difficult to understand the full nature of her mother's suffering utnil one reads this short story "Alicia". Like Christine, the reader cannot possibly understand the weight of the burden Maman bears until they read of Alicia deliriously staring at her in teh hospital as if she were a stranger. Christine somberly comments "only then did I understand the words that, for sometime now, Maman occasionally murmured to herself 'In my grave.. I wish I were in my grave!...' " (144). Roy's short stories expose perfectly the fragmented nature of human identity, which is formed through the moments and experiences Life, both tragic and happy.