*Summary - This part introduces Green Lake's past stories. It happened 110 years ago at Green Lake, where there were once beautiful lakes, flowers and peach trees. Miss Katherine, the village's only schoolteacher, was a woman who was very beautiful, passionate and fond of teaching. Instead of a rogue Trout Walker who bragged about her wealth, she falls in love with Sam, the village's onion master. At that time, because of extreme racial discrimination, blacks could not receive education, nor could they marry white people. Nevertheless, Miss Katherine and Sam loved each other wholeheartedly, and confirm their love through the romantic kiss of a rainy day. Unfortunately, however, rumors fell throughout the town because of a villager who witnessed them, and the two try to flee in a boat, avoiding a village sheriff who threatens to hang Sam, saying the act of a black man kissing a white man is illegal. But the vicious Trout Walker followed them in a boat and shoot Sam, he fell into the water and died. But Miss Katherine survived, and after Sam's death she wandered aimlessly and became the most notorious outlaw(thief) in the West with the name 'Kissin' Kate Barlow'.
* Feelings and reflection after reading - Finally, the story of KB, or Kate Barlow, was revealed. Although it has yet to be seen what they have to do with Stanley's ancestors, the curiosity about the letter KB was greatest throughout the book, so I couldn't take my eye off of this story whole time. The author asked the reader 'What did God finish?' The answer to that question is probably 'both the Green Lake town and the townspeople.' I think it is a strong criticism of the times and people who were criticized for their different skin colors, and who did not even enjoy the natural rights of being human, such as education, love and happiness. Personally, I thought it would be okay because I don't like the romance genre, but the sight of Sam being shot dead and Catherine losing her reason to live turned a little red.
*Vocabulary
(1) batch : a group of things or people dealt with at the same time or considered similar in type
Once or twice a week he would row across the lake and pick a new batch to fill the cart. (107p)
(2) concoction : the result or process of concocting something
They would get regular medicine from Doc Hawthorn and onion concoctions from Sam. (108p)
(3) wobble : to (cause something to) shake or move from side to side in a way that shows poor balance
When the windows were fixed, she complained that her desk wobbled. (110p)
(4) wriggle : to move somewhere using short, quick twisting movements
She tried to wriggle free. (113p)
4/21 (Sun) *Read Hour - 5:00~5:45 (45min)
*Page - 116~123p
*Summary - The story comes back to the present. Instead of helping Zero dig holes in Stanley during the day, the routine of Stanley teaching Zero to write continues. Other children who do not know this sarcastically say that the sight of a black child doing the work of a white child instead reminds them of an old era when it was. On the day Zero learned all 26 letters of the alphabet, Zero, who kept writing his nickname on the paper, told Stanley his real name. His name was Stanley 'Zeroni'. Meanwhile, returning to Kate Barlow's story, she became a notorious robber in the West and returned to Green Lake after 20 years. Living in the only remaining cabin in the town where everything had been ruined, she still misses Sam very much. One day when she was spending her days in tears, suddenly Trout Walker and his wife Linda Miller came and threatened her with a gun to give them all the money she has been stealing around the West. Kate said she didn't know about him at the end, and angry about it, the Walker couple tied her legs together and made her walk barefoot all day. Still, she has maintained she doesn't know about loot, and a lizard comes up to Kate's side, exhausted by the intense thirst and heat, and bites her. The lizard's venom slowly killed her, and Kate cursed the Trout couple shouting where they buried her property. She ends her life by telling her to dig, that you, your children and even his children, will all dig for life, and that you will never find it.
*Feelings and Reflection after reading - Kate's last was also heartbroken. It was sad to see her change after the loss of a nice and beautiful man she truly loved, but it was clear that her love for Sam was that deep. And now it feels like the thread of the relationship between the events and the characters is slowly unraveling In the book, Trout's wife Linda said she had red hair. And considering the curse Kate uttered as she died, it is clear that the red-haired, the Warden, is their offspring. What was more surprising was that Zero's name was revealed. He must be a descendant of Madame Zeroni. And the fact that Stanley, cursed for failing to keep their promise to her, and Zero was met, by the way, was also fate. They were meant to be. At first, I was confused by the intertwining of different stories, but now I admire the writer's ability to tell these events. Increasingly, the story is more interesting and makes me look forward to the back story.
*Vocabulary
(1) sparingly : in small amounts, or without wasting any
He had to drink sparingly, because he didn't know who would be driving the water truck the next time it came. (116p)
(2) puffy : slightly swollen
The swelling on Mr.Sir's face had gone down, but it was still a little puffy. (118p)
(3) loot : (usually of large numbers of people during a violent event) to steal from shops and houses
"You've exactly 10 seconds to tell me where you've hidden your loot." said Trout. (121p)
(4) blotchy : If someone's skin is blotchy, it is covered in marks, usually temporary ones, that are not regular in shape
(5) scraggly : growing in a way that is untidy and uneven
Now her face was blotchy, and her hair was dirty and scraggly. (121p)