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8 PERSPECTIVE Trethewey asks this same 172 Unit 2 ■ Analyzing Comparisons and Representations
question in her pilgrimage to Vicksburg in relation
to the living’s knowledge, understanding, and 8 into history, asking what is to becomehat is to become
w
memorialization of a violent past. of all the living things in this place?
of all the living things in this place?
9 SPEAKER By participating in what she 9 This whole city is a grave. Every spring—
This whole city is a grave. Every spring —
describes as a pilgrimage, the speaker reveals 20 Pilgrimage — the living come to mingle
Pilgrimage—the living come to mingle
that she finds value in rituals and memorials
brush a
with the dead, brush against their cold shoulders
with the dead,
g
ainst their cold shoulders
that enable the living to remember the dead. 10 with the dead, brush against their cold shoulders
By implying that the living can “mingle with the in the long hallways, listen all night
dead,” the speaker believes that the past and the to their silence and indifference, relive
present are directly connected and that the past their dying on the green battlefield.
has power over the present.
At the museum, we marvel at their clothes —
11 25 At the museum, we marvel at their clothes
10 PRONOUNS Here through line 24, the speaker preserved under glass — so much smaller
repeats the pronoun “their” to emphasize that than our own, as if those who wore them
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Strictly for use with its products. Not for redistribution.
than our own, as if those who wore them
while the living may experience interactions with 12
were only children. We sleep in their beds,
historical (or even supernatural) phenomena, were only children. We sleep in their beds,
these experiences center the dead: “their cold 13 the old mansions hunkered on the bluffs, draped
the old mansions hunkered on the bluffs, draped
shoulders . . . their silence and indifference . . . 30 in flowers — funereal — a blur
in flowers—funereal—a blur
their dying on the green battlefield.”
of petals against the river’s gray.
The brochure in my room calls this
11 PRONOUNS The speaker uses first-person The brochure in my room calls this
plural pronouns to recognize that her individual 14 living history. The brass plate on the door reads
living history. The brass plate on the door reads
experience extends to a community of travelers.
Prissy’s Room. A window frames
12 COMPARISON The speaker humanizes the 35 the river’s crawl toward the Gulf. In my dream,
Confederate soldiers by comparing their clothes the ghost of history lies down beside me,
the ghost of history lies down beside me,
to those of children. This comparison implies 15
rolls over, pins me beneath a heavy arm.
some degree of innocence and affability. rolls over, pins me beneath a heavy arm.
13 IMAGERY Even in the present, the speaker
notes that the mansions still appear to be in
ceremonial mourning for the loss of life in the
city, as though they were decorated for a funeral
despite being hundreds of years removed from
the war. Copyright (c) 2023 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Uncorrected proofs were used with this sample chapter.
14 PERSPECTIVE This detail is one that has
potential to highlight a connection between the
speaker’s and the reader’s perspective because This image depicts an
it communicates that though history exists in the Islamic pilgrimage.
past, its effects still linger in the present as though
history were not dead and trapped in the past. What are some other
pilgrimages? Explain a Muhannad Fala’ah/Getty Images
15 SHIFT The speaker’s perspective shifts in contemporary pilgrimage
the representation of the “ghost of history” as a and the impact of the
force that is confining the speaker (rather than a journey.
reverent stagnant presence).
CRITICAL APPROACHES
Historical 03_williamlit1e_46174_ch02_116_207.indd 172 22/09/22 9:47 AM
The Siege of Vicksburg was foreshadowed COMPREHENSION CHECK
on Christmas Eve in 1862. Local socialites,
Confederate General Dr. William Balfour and his 1. Which river is referred to in the text? [The Mississippi River and/or the Yazoo River]
wife Emma, were hosting a Christmas ball to 2. The speaker notes that the clothes preserved in the museum are “so much ________” than her
celebrate the recent defeat of Grant’s forces in own. [smaller]
northern Mississippi. However, the ball was 3. Which city does the speaker visit every spring on a pilgrimage? [Vicksburg, Mississippi]
interrupted by a courier who announced the 4. On which avenue does the speaker notice statues of “white marble” memorializing those dead?
imminent arrival of Sherman’s Union Expeditionary [Confederate Avenue]
Force. According to records preserved by the 5. The speaker realizes that the informational brochure in her room calls the scenery of the city
National Park Service, “Emma Balfour and ______ history? [living]
hundreds of others were trapped underground in
caves to escape the constant bombardment of . . .
cannon and heavy mortars. Maintaining a diary of TRM Unit 2: Comprehension Check Digital Comprehension Check
life in Vicksburg, and detailing with great emotion
the horrors of cave life and the sufferings of the
civilian population. She survived the siege.”

172 Unit 2 Analyzing Comparisons and Representations

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