Bella
What is the only thing that brings Bella joy at the beginning of her chapter?
Making money for her family
Why does Yetta get arrested?
Disorderly conduct
What exciting thing is coming to NY that Jane is going to see?
Airplane
Review page 90 and explain men’s view of women. How does Yetta’s faith help her reclaim power at the end of page 90?
Men view women as having no power and try to belittle the strikers by suggesting they are no better than prostitutes. Yetta, however, reclaims her power through her belief in being made in the image of God and God having a purpose for her life.
What does fathom mean?
Understand
How does Signora Luciano exploit Bella?
She doesn’t pay Bella for making flowers
Who asks Yetta questions about the strike?
Law student
What language does Eleanor most want Jane to study in preparation for a trip to Europe? Why might this be important later in the novel?
Italian—it will help Jane communicate with Bella
Find an example of the oppression of immigrants in the reading for today. You have 1 minute.
What does pecuniary mean?
Having to do with money
Look at pages 72-73. What has happened at the factory?
They are trying to form a union
Who hires prostitutes to beat up the strikers?
The bosses
“Seeing, watching—what if her whole life passed by and she never did anything?” (94). How does this quotation relate to Jane?
Jane is tired of merely taking in sights and being a spectator. She wants to act and do something purposeful.
Find an example of the uneven power dynamics between men and women in the Bella chapter. You have 1 minute.
Various answers, but I want to make sure you noticed that women can’t go to the bank—gendered spaces—spaces only men are expected to be in, so Bella does not deposit her own money for her family, Signor Luciano does. What do you predict will happen?
What does pariah mean?
Outcast
Who walks Bella home? Why?
Signor Carlotti to persuade her to keep working
What piece of clothing does Yetta borrow from Rahel for the strike?
Hat
Review the paragraph that starts, “Jane sighed, barely listening” on page 91. How does Jane’s perspective on wealth and what it can buy differ from the shirtwaist bosses’ perspective? What is more important to Jane?
The bosses prioritize wealth to such a high extent that they do not care about basic human decency and fairness. Jane has lost interest in the dresses her wealth can buy and only wants to pursue more intellectual ideas that challenge the status quo.
Find an example of language being a barrier for Bella in your reading for today. You have 1 minute.
Various answers. (73 doesn’t understand about the union )
What unit 1 vocab word describes Bella and Yetta?
Impecuniary
Explain the last line of the chapter, “I will. That was exactly what the Old Bella would have done.” What is the context? What does she mean that the Old Bella would have done it?
Bella is going to skip making flowers and go out with Rocco instead. She is behaving like the Old Bella because she is brave again, emboldened by her raise.
“In America, money is God.” Who says this quotation? How is this quotation true in this novel so far?
A prostitute who attacks Yetta. The employers exploit the employees because they only care about money, not people
Who is Miss Milhouse?
Jane’s governess/nanny
Explain the cage symbolism in Jane’s chapter.. How does the airplane add to the symbolism on page 94? The group with the most complete answer wins the points.
Jane feels like she’s trapped in a cage because her father will not allow her to go to college. When she asks if she can ride in an airplane, Miss Milhouse says women would never be allowed to, and Jane realizes that she is also “caged in” by her gender. The freedom that comes from flying directly contrasts with the trapped image of the cage.
What vocab word was in your reading for today?!
Tawdry: “their dresses were tawdry colors…” (84)