A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Chapter 11 and 12

Charles Wallace is assigned Matthew Maddox after Chuck. Matthew Maddox is a cripple, crushed by the weight of his horse after a failed attempt at a jump. His twin brother, Bran Maddox, recently came home from fighting for the Union in the Civil War. Bran recalls the things he witnessed in battle, including some descriptions too gory to put here. He came home "sick of soul," even going as far as breaking his engagement to his fiance Zillah. After said descriptions, I can piece together the horror he would have been witness to. He lost his faith in man, and I don't blame him for letting the pain of the truth get to him.

Bran finally comes out of his seclusive state and moves to Patagonia, the new Welsh colony, to sort himself out again. Zillah, now his wife to be (again), tries to move with him, but her father, Doctor Llawcae, refuses to let her go. There are so many connections I have with this that it would take me years to list them out. Let me just say that being the daughter of a good father, I know how she feels.

After a few years, Matthew catches a bad chest cold, eventually sending him to his death. While he lived, Doctor Llawcae looked after him. Matthew used the money from his books to send Zillah to Patagonia without her father's blessing or knowledge. I now wonder if Llawcae let Matthew die because of this. I know that Llawcae was livid. Perhaps, in his irrationality, he needed to do something to get revenge. I can only guess, though.

All's well that ends well. Mom O'Keefe had heart problems, according to the twins. It was suggested that she may not have made it to see her grandchild, but I have a feeling she did alright. Half of the story was about her, anyway. It seems that Gaudior was forgotten by all except Charles Wallace, and that no one knew about Mad Dog Branzillo after he and the unicorn changed the timeline. I have seen events similar to this in stories. I wonder if they got it from here.

A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Chapter 10

In the previous chapter, Chuck Maddox is struck by his stepfather, Duthbert Mortmain, and takes a tumble down a flight of stairs. The beginning of this chapter is utter confusion, words strung together in a barely sensible fashion. I have noticed the difference in writing styles between the 1960s and the present. It seems that almost every chapter in this book repeats the same elements, like the Echthroi attacks. But Charles Wallace's newest encounter with an Echthros is a bit different; this one is cunning, trying to lure him out from Within Chuck by acting like Gaudior. But the illusion isn't quite flawless.

Charles Wallace chooses to stay Within Chuck, but his experience is a frantic one. Chuck had fractured his skull and sustained brain damage when he fell. He can barely see, and when he can see clearly, he cannot comprehend what he sees. The time he lives in and the time of his ancestor, Matthew Maddox, swirl together, barely separable. I have only one comparison to give: This boy is now little more than an idiot, incapable of any original thought or reason. I have met so many people similar to Chuck, but none of them are like him at all. They cannot see the past for what it truly was, as if they were there, yet I know for certain that they cannot comprehend.

I imagine that life is a nightmare in Chuck's world. He is told what to do and has to do it, because he cannot say no. He can barely hold his job, a simple matter of putting price labels on canned goods. He knows not where he is, nor what is said or done around him. I choose not to pity him, for his condition is the result of his effort to protect someone he loved. The irony is that it didn't do either of them any good. Grandma died of a heart attack while he was unconsious in a hospital bed.

A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Chapter 9

Meg comes out of kything when the telephone rings downstairs. Mom O'Keefe comes back over to the Murry house with an old letter written by Bran Maddox to Matthew Maddox. In it, we hear for the first time of a man named Gedder, but this is an incorrect pronunciation. I assume that his real name is Gwydyr, and is descended from the original Gwydyr's line. If this book is consistent with how it has been since Chapter 4, I can predict that Gedder will be cruel.

Meg finds her kythe with Charles Wallace again. Since Chuck's father is dead, his mother and grandmother search the house for thing they might be able to sell to keep their home running. They come across a chest containing letters and an old leather journal owned by Zyllah Llawcae. In this journal are beautiful paintings and sketches, and written journal entries. Zyllah tells her story about how Bran Maddox proposed to her and left for the Civil War. He came back different, barely present in his own mind. These things came from the horrors of war he was witness to. I cannot say that I find relation to him, for I have never seen the things of war. I can only imagine how devastating it may have been.

Chuck's mother had to marry Duthbert Mortmain (wow, what a name) to keep the family from losing the apartment. Mortmain was cruel, though at first he acted like a gentleman. He beat Mrs. Mortmain and was unkind to her children. He would have beaten Grandma, if Chuck hadn't stepped in his way. Chuck fell down the stairs when he was struck by Mortmain, and I am not yet certain he didn't die. I don't think I will ever understand men like Mortmain.

A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Chapter 7 and 8, Part II

I have to admit that I had never heard of the superstition of dandelion clocks before I read this book. They say that you're supposed to be able to tell the time by counting the breaths it takes to blow all of the feathery spores from a dandelion. This trick comes from Grandma in the book. She's a strange bird, but maybe it comes from just being old.

The story of Branwen, Princess of England comes from Grandma as well. She relays how Branwen used Patrick's Rune to help her after the Irish King's betrayal. Here we learn that Beezie, the granddaughter, is named Branwen Zillah Maddox, and she is the 11-year-old version of Mom O'Keefe. Her brother, Chuck, is Charles Wallace's host and can smell feelings and identities.

Chuck's gift is mainly ignored by everyone in his family besides Beezie. I assume this comes from the somewhat common phrase, "I can smell it." In normal circumstances, this rather means, "I can feel it." But Chuck smelled fear and death about his father, whose appendix ruptured only hours later. I cannot imagine what Chuck knows about people, given his gift. He probably knows more than he wants to.

A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Chapter 7 and 8, Part I

There are many connections to be made between the character names in this book. For instance, the Welsh translation of Madoc is Madog, similar to Mad Dog. Bran (like Brandon or Branwen) plus Zillo (Zylle's father) is Branzillo, the last name of Mad Dog. I find this ingenious, personally.

Charles Wallace convinces Gaudior to try to travel in both space and time, an idea that Gaudior has shed negative light on before. In this, we see the old Charles Wallace emerge, the one who thinks he knows best and can take whatever. He fails to heed Gaudior's warnings, and ends up in a barely post-Ice Age ocean, bruised and dying from the cold. It's called common sense...thanks to Meg, they both made it out.

In the beginning of Chapter 8, Gaudior takes Charles Wallace to his home to heal. When I read the description of it, I think about how difficult it must be for Gaudior. I wouldn't want to leave what sounds like such a beautiful and safe place and look after a 15-year-old boy who doesn't use his head often. But it runs deeper than that; if I had been born and raised in that place and had ridden the When-winds like Gaudior, I would be appalled at Earth and all of its imperfection.

A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Chapter 6

This chapter was one of the more fascinating ones in the book. This time, Charles Wallace is assigned to go Within Brandon Llawcae, the son of a carpenter living in the 1600s as a pioneer. Brandon can scry, meaning he can see the future in pools and puddles and other. I am surprised the Llawcae family can keep his secret from all the other colonists, having to depend so heavily on one another and all. In this time period, he may have been burned at the stake, or like Zylle's near fate, hanged, even IF he was just 11 or 12 years old.

This Pastor Mortmain acts like a hothead, which is quite contrary to his religious beliefs. I think he's just looking for a reason to get rid of Zylle. Many colonists, as our country's history can testify to, were of the mindset that the natives were "heathens." We saw them as a plague on what was "rightfully" our land. We learned quite a deal later that what we had done was very wrong. Zylle's strange ways didn't help her case at all, either. I've never heard of a woman shedding no tears during delivery, at least without some serious anesthetic.

The assumption that Zylle was a witch reminded of so many days sitting in history class reviewing the Salem Witch Trials. In the town of Salem, a group of girls accused a woman of bewitching them. The woman was charged with a decision: Failure to admit her guilt would result in her immediate death, and her admission would have her burned or hanged. Either way, a person accused of witchcraft would die. Most of this injustice resulted from the panic of the citizens. It proves that a person may be smart, but in a group, people are only as smart as the dumbest person around. Logic and reason be hanged with the accused!

A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Chapter 5

The very last sentence in the previous chapter reintroduces Gwydyr, who was supposed to have died. Gwydyr is the brother of Madoc, and isn't a very happy tyke. He threatens to kill Madoc and make himself king of the New World, taking Zyll for his own. Then the epic battle arises as Madoc stands in his way. Accidentally, perhaps subconsciously, Charles Wallace gives Madoc Patrick's Rune to use against Gwydyr. This instance reminded me of a movie involving the military and a "breach of security." Should Madoc turn like his brother, the rune would give him all the power he needed for almost anything.

On the other end of the kythe, Meg gathers that Gwydyr, who still won't die, left for South America, the same place that "Mad Dog" Branzillo is from. She recruits the help of the twins. A group of explorers from Wales, or what used to be Gwynedd, settled in Vespugia, a country in South America in 1865. I was a little surprised to find out how many relatively important events happened in the year 1865. The most important to the story is that The Horn of Joy was written by one Matthew Maddox, supposedly a descendant of Madoc.

There is one phrase in this chapter that made me think above all the others. The statement made by Gaudior: "Your planet does not deal gently with lovers of peace." The images of Ghandi and America's war status popped into my head. How many times will we be blinded by our opinions and fail to accept other people's convictions?

A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Chapter 4

If one has followed the series in order, he/she will also know what an Echthros is. "IT" was a servant of the Echthroi (plural) in the first book. The first few paragraphs of Chapter 4 take us to what is called a Projection. This is explained as a possible future, in this case one that may occur if Charles Wallace is to fail. The barren landscape and the scabrous, blotchy creature remind us all of what may occur if the world were to partake in massive, global war.

In the next parts of the chapter, we meet Madoc, a 17-year-old prince from Gwynedd that had sailed with his brother to the New World. He is to be wed to Zyll, a native woman. In the talk that Madoc and Reschal (Zyll's father) have just before the wedding, we find that Madoc has chosen to forsake the gods of Gwynedd, whom he has served his whole life, and worship the gods of the Wind People (Zyll's tribe). I think the phrase, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do," is no excuse for changing faith. But I am quite different from Madoc.

The very end of this chapter suggests a threat from a neighboring tribe. The warning sign is a drum signal that in usually only played when the wind blows from the south. On this occasion, the wind comes from the north. I'm not sure how I would have behaved in this situation. Madoc has lived with the Wind People for years and trusts them, but he hasn't ever witnessed the People Across the Lake. He has heard tell of their strange ways. In his place, I may have evacuated instead of staying put. Yet there is a wedding at stake, and the fact that it's Madoc's wedding makes it all the more dear to him.