Welcome home Lulu

Q1:Setting and Mood – Describe a scene in which the setting and mood are particularly effective. What language made them effective? Be specific.

When I came back to the reservation after my long years gone, I saw the leaves of poplars applaud high in the wind. I saw the ducks barrel down, reaching the glitter of the slough water. Wind chopped the the clouds to rolls that rose and puffed whiter, whiter. Blue Juneberry, tough diamond willow. I watched my own face float over the grass, traveling alongside me in the dust of the bus window, and I grinned, showed my teeth. They could not cage me anymore.

This is from the chapter, "The Island" which is told from the point of view of Lulu Nanapush who is described as a strong but obstinate woman whose many affairs and political clashes with the tribal council make her something of an outcast. This quote reflects the setting of the reservation as Lulu returns. The beauty attributed to the landscape reflects Lulu's appreciation of the reservation and in a way her lust for Nector. There is a subtle strength underneath the beauty which mirrors Lulu's own strength. She is also a "tough diamond willow." As she returns to the reservation, she feels that she is no longer "caged" by the white man.