"The Lost" Post 3a

Vocabulary
nuanced (155): filled with subtle differences in expression or meaning
gopher (156): a type of wood used by Noah in the Bible to make his ark, perhaps cyprus

Three Appeals
"The Pacific is vast" (157). Although this is a logical appeal (the Pacific is a vast ocean) the use of the world vast implies an extremeness that seems to lend in an emotional quality. Additionally, the previous sentence relates that the author views the Atlantic as a "manageable" size, perhaps the immensity of the Pacific makes it unmanageable to comprehend, in which case this statement would also have an emotional appeal.
"And then she added this: Because she herself was in danger, was "passing" at that point, she couldn't allow herself to betray any emotion when she saw the bodies of her family passing by in the wagon..." (169). This is obviously an emotional appeal because of the great sadness in (a) people, especially familiy, dying, (b) bodies being heaped on a wagon unceremoniously (c) not being able to release emotions and (d) the context of the Holocaust.
"I imagined that it must seem unfai rto her to have this young American man intervene in her life, suddenly, fanning out photographs of people he never knew as if they were cards in a deck and asking her to pick one, photographs of her girlfriend's parents, when she had no photographs of her own parents" (182). I think that this quote has an emotional appeal because of the sadness that it relates, that some woman has no pictures of her parents to remember them by. This takes on special meaning in context of the book, where respect for family history is an important value.

Quote
"I would compare and contrast these columns, when I was much younger, and even then I would wonder what kind of present you could possibly have without knowing the stories of your past" (162). I really liked this quote because I think it may evolve into another theme relating the importance of personal history.

Theme
As above, our familial histories not only shape who we are but deserve to be a part of our lives today.