Synthesis Page #2: Lara's Gift

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Lara’s Gift by Annemarie O'Brien

Critical Thinking Question: Who has “power” in your text? How does that power get shown?

Example #1: Bohdan

Quote:

• [After Lara’s mother refers to the unborn Bohdan as a he, Lara says to the reader:] “Every mention of the word he fed my heart bitter bites of poison.” (pg 41)

Elaboration:

Lara’s brother, Bohdan, even though he is just a little baby, has a lot of power over Lara. This is for one simple reason; he is a boy. Lara wants to take over the dog breeding business after her father, but since she is a girl, she can’t do that if there is boy in her family, even if that boy is younger than her. Before Bohdan is born, Lara is all set to take over the kennel. But when her mother gets pregnant, everyone wants the baby to be a boy. Everyone except Lara, because if it’s a boy, then she can’t carry out her dream of working with the dogs. Lara shows this hatred for people who want him to be a boy in the quote above. Many countries and jobs in the real world put men above women, as they do for Lara.

Example #2: Lara’s Father

Quotes:

• [Lara’s telling her father about her vision, when he interrupts her and says:] “Not another word. . . . Speak of this to no one.” (pg 7)
• [After Lara proves herself to be able to take over the kennel even after Bohdan is born, the father says:] “I suppose we could have two kennel stewards.” (pg 167)

Elaboration:

Lara’s father has the biggest power over Lara in the book. He decides whether Lara can still be in charge of the kennel after Bohdan is born (as shown in the second quote), who Lara is married to, and whether she can go on hunts or not. He even tries to stop Lara from having vision from the future, as shown in the first quote, even though he can’t control that. Lara, who looks up to her father and recognizes his power, does mostly whatever he says, even though she doesn’t like most of his decisions. Like Lara’s father, fathers and parents in the real world have more power than their children, and in some countries the parents arrange their kids’ marriages just like Lara’s father can.

Example #3: The Tsar

Quotes:

• “Sending Zar [Lara’s talented dog] to the Tsar is the best choice for the kennel.” (pg 163)
• [After being told Zar should stay with her, Lara says:] “Nyet, he has to go to the Tsar. A promise is a promise. . . . Alexander’s family [The family of the Count] would lose favor with the Tsar if we don’t.” (pg 162)

Elaboration:

The Tsar, or the king of Russia, has power. Besides the obvious reasons, like him being the ruler of the land, the Tsar is so powerful that Lara decides that Zar would be better off with him, even though Lara loves Zar with all her heart. She raised him since he was a baby pup. But when the Tsar asks to have him, Lara, after much consideration, decides that she want Zar to be with such a powerful being, as the quotes above show. The Tsar, being Russia’s king, has the same power that many kings in the real world’s past had.