In Which We
Discuss Hitty: Her First Hundred
Years
Written by Rachel Field, illustrated by Dorothy Lathrop
HITTY
Her First Hundred Years
Week of
Chapter Seven: In
Which I Learn the Ways of Gods, Natives,
and Monkeys:
Hitty has been taken from her family to become a god to a tribe of savages. She didn’t know what was expected of her but finds that she is being treated very considerately. The Indians have made her a temple of green leaves and bamboo shoots. She has an altar of hibiscus flowers and small offerings of fruits and nuts. She is well taken care of. The Indians presented her with a lump of red coral which they hung about her neck on a thread of grass. She took this to be a sacred talisman and trusted that “my being of mountain-ash wood might keep off any evil power it possessed.”
Hitty found it “rather lonely to be a god for days on end.” This was not to last long, however, because a dramatic escape has been planned by the Prebles and crew. A ship had been spotted in the distance earlier that day and immediate plans were made to get off the island. Hitty awoke in the night to hear the sound of stealthy human footsteps coming nearer and nearer. A hand closed around her and she was lifted up. They sped through the darkness to the shore and when she saw Jeremy Folger she was overjoyed. Andy had made a daring rescue and now they must be off before the Indians find her missing. After rowing and rowing, the crew finally spotted the ship and after several attempts to signal the ship, they were sighted!!
DISCUSSION:
Hitty is now an idol to the Indians. They do treat her with great respect. I love where she thinks to herself "It is rather lonely to be a god for days on end." Normally, I think our Hitty would enjoy being an idol, but in this case, no.
________________________________
I don't
know...Hitty is so humble and sweet that I think it is natural for that
much
adoration to feel uncomfortable for her. It seems to me that she is
happiest
when cherished by one person, preferably a child.
________________________________
The thing I like
best in Chapter 7 is that it shows how Hitty appeals to people of all
ages and
genders.
Hitty is captured,
treasured, and honored by the native Chief, who is a man, and
stealthily
rescued by Andy who is a boy.
Jeremy applauds
Andy's risk to steal Hitty away from the natives, and says she
"deserves a
chance to get saved as much as the rest of us".
Captain Preble
changes his stern attitude towards Andy's absence without leave at a
critical
time, when he learns that his mission had been to rescue Hitty, and I
don't
think it was just because of Phoebe's sense of loss, because he agreed
with
Jeremy.
Earlier, I believe
Phoebe's mother had come to accept that Hitty might have had some
responsibility for their safe deliverance from so many dangerous
situations.
Even now Hitty
appeals to people of all ages and both genders, whether they are
carvers,
collectors, photographers, travelers, or enablers.
I am thankful that
the men in my family support and encourage my love of Hitty. It was great fun to attend a Hitty retreat
with my DH, and to carve Hitty dolls with him.
________________________________
What I thought about in this
chapter was how foolishly brave Andy was and would the natives be
afraid to go
after them because he had their idol and had much bravery?
I also thought how today it's almost like the
real Hitty is an idol again, in the Library.
________________________________
Andy was brave, but
somehow I think the Indians would be really ticked off and gone after
Andy if
they had discovered him in time.
Yes Hitty is now an idol enclosed in a glass case like those dolls we read about in The Doll House book. Poor Hitty - she needs an adventure!!