Burn Baby Burn – Book Project

After witnessing her brother loot and set fire to a local pharmacy, Nora searches through his bag on the bathroom floor. She finds marijuana and prescription pills inside.

Nora’s mother finds her in the bathroom with the items spread out across the bathroom floor. She tells Nora to go back to bed in a matter of fact tone. This moment gives us a real glimpse into the character of Nora’s mom. She constantly down plays the actions of her son and always expects Nora to fix things for her brother.

After a heated but short exchange of words, Nora tells her mom that Hector needs help because he is hurting everyone around him. Her mother of course is telling Nora to leave things alone, or else it will agitate Hector. In response Nora breaks every stolen record that Hector has.

Hector walks in and hears what his mother and sister are saying as he stands behind them. After registering what exactly was going on, Hector responded with anger on his face and cursed at his mom and sister. (The zippo lighter was included in the image simply because Hector doesn’t leave without it).

Hector chases Nora out of their apartment and down the stairs, grabbing her hair and pulling her down. This leads Nora to fly through the air and narrowly avoid serious injury. This scene is not the first time Hector has shown violence toward Nora and their mother.

Nora manages to keep her balance and race down the stair of the apartment complex. As she does so she screams for help and asks a neighbor to call the police. Hector retreats back to the apartment and Nora can only imagine whether or not Hector’s rage was being taken out on their mother.

I chose this scene to depict, because it really does show us the dynamics within Nora’s family situation. It is a consistent representation of the family in this moment when comparing it to all of the other encounters with this dynamic in previous chapters. I also chose this scene because it is a turning point for Nora, a point where she stands up for herself and speaks about what she knows, understands, and suspects is taking place. This is the moment when Nora’s strength is evident. She has finally made herself share with those close to her as well as the police. It really is the story ending its arc for the most part. This is near the end of the novel and it is a moment in which I applaud Nora for doing what she did.

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