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| Plot Summary of The Optimist's Daughter |
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"Laurel McKelva Hand leaves her job as a textile designer in Chicago, to go back home to the South when her father calls because he's sick. This book opens with Judge McKelva seeing a doctor with both his daughter and his second wife Fay (Laura's stepmother) because he's having trouble with his vision. When the doctor recommends that he has an operation to fix his retina, Laura and the Judge decide that this is best, over Fay's objections. The operation is a success, but the Judge has to spend weeks in bed with his eyes covered. Unable to move, he begins to lose heart as Fay, who's a grasping woman who thinks always of herself, torments him, and by the end of part I, he's died. Part II then revolves around Laurel and Fay's trip back home with his body to the small town where the family lives. As the town gathers to mourn the Judge, Fay's family (whom she's denied) turns up."
Ann Gaines, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Optimist's Daughter |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- 1930's-1950's
Family, struggle with
Yes
Struggle with:
- Step Parent(s)
Family, caring for ill
Yes
Who is sick?
- Father
because he/she is
- physically ill
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- artist
Age:
- 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- homemaker
Eccentric/Smart/Dumb:
Yes
Eccentric:
- emotionally unstable
- dumb
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an above average amount
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Intelligence
- Dumb
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 3 (some)
United States
Yes
The US:
- Deep South
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Eudora Welty Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Ann Gaines
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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