Jack helps the Martinellis move into a cabin on camp for a large farming operation, Welty Farms, while also encouraging Elsa to unionize its workers. Elsa falls in love with a union organizer and helps to organize a strike against their bosses, but gets shot by the farm boss. I listened to the audiobook and loved it. Follow along on Goodreads, or keep in touch via the newsletter. Instead, she meets and sleeps with Rafe Martinelli. Unlike any other person in her life, he made her feel valued. Never forget the dog. At 18, Loreda prepares to return to California to go to college.). In my travels after that book and talking to people, I really began to understand how much that story of female courage and womens lost history resonated with people, Hannah says. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. She feels restless and destined for spinsterhood. She is eventually picked up by Jack Valen, a union organizer who takes Loreda to a union meeting. Best-selling author Kristin Hannah reveals the unusual journey of 'The For more detail, see the full Chapter-by-Chapter Summary. The past few years have been difficult, with the Great Depression, an on-going drought and frequent dust storms ravaging the lands. . Nevertheless, I think its worth suspending your disbelief and judgement to just sit back and enjoy this sprawling, tender and engaging historical tale. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. What do Jack and the Communist union organizers offer the migrant workers, and Loreda in particular? Even if they didnt speak of their love, or share their feelings in long, heartfelt conversations, the bond was there. A gangly, awkward spinster with no self-confidence, Elsa is forced by her circumstances to find the strength and courage she never knew she had and confront a life marred by seemingly endless tragedy. Edit: Someone in the comments mentioned that its mentioned at some point that people in that area pronounced drought as DROW-TH at that time in that case, I love that the narrator included it in the audiobook! Life was very different for unmarried young women in earlier generations. Do you or your family have any keepsakes that represent your familys hope for the future? His efforts seem largely inspired by the memory of his mother, a single woman who died in a factory fire after her employers locked the factory doors to prevent employees from taking smoke breaks. One of the darkest periods of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl era, has arrived with a vengeance. It is Rose who supports Elsa through her years on the farm, offering wise counsel about how to deal with Rafe, how to raise children, and how to cope with grief. Why do you think Elsa is reluctant at first to go to the relief office or stand in the food line when they arrive in California? Why was it so important for Loreda to get her mother back to Texas, even if at such a high cost? The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American Dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation. Chapter 5 Summary. What on earth happened to Rafe and Ellas family? . Sturdy. Unloved by her family, she falls for the sweet words of Rafe, a younger man who woos her but is not ready for the responsibility of fatherhood. In the Epilogue, in 1940, Loreda has been living in Texas. She visited Dalhart, Texas, the town where Elsas story begins, and later, after driving remnants of Route 66 west to California, spent time at the Sunset migrant camp near Arvin, in order to see the conditions into which she later placed Elsa and her children. What does she learn about motherhood from Rose? This post contains links to products that I may receive compensation from at no additional cost to you. What did you think of Loreda as a character and how her relationship with Elsa shifts throughout the novel? She misses her mother. Poor simplistic review. When Elsa gives birth to Loreda, Tony and Rose love their grandchild immediately and eventually accept Elsa as the daughter they never had. They might have come off the boat as Anthony and Rosalba, but hard work and the land had turned them into Tony and Rose. However, Tonys tenacity eventually proves fruitful, as the land recovers with the help of the new farming techniques instituted by the Conservation Commission. What did you think about their romance? Do you have a favorite quote or scene in the story? In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsalike so many of her neighborsmust make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family. Before she departs, Rose and Tony announce they won't be going. "Come in," she said. The strike ultimately ends up leading to Elsas death, as she is shot after delivering an impassioned, heartfelt speech urging the wealthy farmers to recognize that migrant workers are Americans, just like them. How does Elsa represent the courage it takes to stand up and make trouble and be counted? However, as time passes, Loreda comes to appreciate Elsas quiet strength, and she begins to realize that it is Elsas parenting that has turned her into the sort of person who can fight for her dreams and ideals, unlike her ineffectual dreamer of a father. Jack calls Elsa a warrior. Both Elsa & Loreda, are very strong personalities, which eventually find common ground & are able to come together in family love & unity! Loreda longs to leave as well, and she prefers her father's dreams to her mother's dreary, joyless work ethic. THE FOUR WINDS DISCUSSION GUIDE Book Club Collection (630) 232-0780 x366 bookclub@gpld.org . What do you think prompts the changes in her behavior or in their relationship? She wants to join, despite her mothers prohibition, and sneaks out at night to attend meetings. Did you expect him to leave? eNotes.com document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Were they really communist the union organizers, Why did they have them leave grandmas farm. Lets talk about the similarities they share and how different it is from Elsa. Ant experienced extreme sickness from the impacts of the dust storms, which finally forces Elsa to make the decision to move the family to California. Rafe's abandonment of his family is based on a widespread phenomenon that occurred during the Dust Bowl era, as increasingly destitute and desperate men abandoned their families in order to. The strike is broken, at least temporarily. On the journey she has to contend not just with the hardships of picking cotton for pitiful wages, but with the weaker wills of the men around her, who abandon family or run ruthless corporate farms that exploit their employees. Throughout the drought, Tony continues to work hard and plant seasonal crops in hopes that rain will come and nourish the land again. Did you dislike Loreda during these years? eNotes.com, Inc. This holds true when the Bible refers to the "four winds.". Why did Elsa initially refused to move away from the farm? In a wild, remote corner of Alaska, the Allbrights find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. Rose Martinelli is Rafes mother and Elsas mother-in-law. Its the first of Hannahs books to be adapted for American TV or film, though by the end of the year The Nightingale, starring Elle and Dakota Fanning as the books sisters, is expected to be released. What lessons of resilience and healing might be embedded in this story? That hope is quickly dashed when they encounter discrimination, a lack of jobs, and the reality of life in a muddy squatters camp. As the Texas panhandle parches out, Elsa watches their crops wither and has to send her children scrambling through the dirt to find any scrap potatoes that might remain in the fields. He brings Elsa and the children to an abandoned hotel where he provides them rooms for the night. Lets discuss Loredas new found activism and how that carried on to every decision she made going forward. The Four Winds : The Fiction Addiction Jack takes her to the hospital, but the damage is too severe. Rafe is younger than Elsa by several years, having just turned eighteen on the night of Elsas twenty-fifth birthday. An encounter with eighteen-year-old Jesus changes everything. What does Rafe represent to Elsa on the night they meet? Im a West Coast gal, and Ive moved around a lot, so I dont come from one of those families that are connected to a place sort of fundamentally. The level of hope and resilience and love for the land that that shows to me is just inspiring, Hannah says. In 1921, Elsa Wolcott is a 25-year-old unmarried woman who is not particularly pretty and too tall for most men. She moved in with his family, and together they made a healthy living, raising two children while they worked the earth. How is Elsa shaped by these expectations and her failure to meet them? In a very real sense, its sort of the core of it, she says. "The Four Winds - Characters" eNotes Publishing The Four Winds. What did you think of Elsa as a character, and did your perception of Elsa shift throughout the novel? I really loved Elsas finding her strengths & the relationship between mother & daughter, throughout the story is fascinating, touching & heart braking, but hopeful! During the Dust Bowl, while many families went west in search of work and a better life, most of them stayed behind on their parched farms. A first-person narrator announces, "Hope is a coin I carry.". What dreams do they share? Going into the novel, I had wondered how much of the trip from Texas to California would be covered. How is the modern world different? After a rough childhood with parents who didnt love her, she met Rafe Martinelli, the soulful and handsome son of Italian immigrants. How is it different? Earned his first newspaper paycheck at the Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat, fled the Midwest for Los Angeles Daily News and finally ended up at the Orange County Register. The Four Winds is an epic novel of love and heroism and hope, set against the backdrop of one of Americas most defining eras the Great Depression. Review: The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah - Book Club Chat How do you think these perceptions have changed over time? How do Elsas and Loredas actions embody this idea? Texas, 1921. Elsa soon realizes that Welty's camp is designed to keep their workers poor and indebted to them, but she doesn't want to risk her job. By 1934, Loreda is 12 and has a difficult relationship with her mother. Elsa finds that the hard work of farming agrees with her, but Rafes dreams lie elsewhere. As the drought worsens and the dust storms become more severe, Anthony, Elsa and Rafes son, becomes sick, eventually requiring hospitalization. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. As the Dust Bowl ravages Texas, one woman must make a choice: Leave the farm that has been her familys livelihoodor stay and risk succumbing to cyclones of dirt. Book Club Questions for The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah Initially hesitant of Jack and his ideals, Elsa ends up falling hard for himand experiences romantic love for the first time. Loreda longs to leave as well, and she prefers her father's dreams to her mother's dreary, joyless work ethic. by Kristin Hannah. What differences can you see in the two difficult times? How does she change? Did they impact your perception of the characters? Elsa is likewise drawn to Jacks forceful personality, but she sees his ideas as dangerous. I also thought it was charming that at the heart of the story is a mother-daughter relationship. Kristin Hannah had spent a year researching and writing an early draft of her new novel when she realized shed gone astray. The Four Winds : A Novel by Kristin Hannah (2023, Trade Paperback) - eBay I was much more interested in their lives in California and how they would try to make it work. While both these novels are survival stories, The Four Winds is the one Id recommend if youre on the fence between the two of them. We flash forward to 1934 and the farm is experiencing a severe drought. A big theme of the novel is obtaining the American Dream whether its through financial independence of owning a farm or traveling to California in search of a better life. The Four Winds: Recap & Chapter-by-Chapter Summary - The Bibliofile Spoiler Alert:Please note that the discussion guide below contain spoilers to the book. Somehow managed to get a lovely lady to marry him, and with her have two daughters. In yourself? Review: The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah - The Bibliofile Elsa is resilient, and readers will be drawn to her devotion to her children and her tireless efforts to keep her family well, efforts that bring her to pack them up and head west. The Four Winds is a rich, sweeping novel that stunningly brings to life the Great Depression and the people who lived through itthe harsh realities that divided us as a nation and the enduring battle between the haves and the have-nots. Elsa dies, surrounded by Jack, Loreda, and Anthony. [Scheduled] The Four Winds, chapters 8-15 : bookclub - Reddit Kristin Hannah's new novel "The Four Winds" is a historical epic about about a woman finding the strength to keep her family going during the hard times of the Dust Bowl and the Depression in. Tony and Rose were the kind of people who expected life to be hard and had become tougher to survive. When Jeans baby dies in childbirth, Loredas anger at the inequity of their situation boils over, and she runs away. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsas tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive. Prior to his work with the Okies, he tried to help organize undocumented Mexican laborers. Do you have sympathy for how broken he felt by the poverty and hardship? Loreda, too, skips school during cotton-picking season to help, though Elsa's ardent wish is for Loreda to go to college. During the COVID- 19 pandemic, Americans were faced with many of the same challenges of the Great Depression. With your friends? Is this some type of pronunciation that Im not aware of? In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. PDF THE FOUR WINDS DISCUSSION GUIDE - Google What does it say about Loreda as a person that she chooses to do this? Discussion Questions: 1. In Kristin Hannahs recently released The Four Winds (published February 2, 2020), Elsa is a woman trying to raise two children on a Texas farm as they watch the lands dry out and as relentless dust storms ravage everything in sight. Businesses have been devastated and so many people have lost work. Eventually, Elsa finds work picking cotton, and between the work and government relief money, she is able to eke out an existence. Loreda feels especially betrayed by his departure, as she had thought the two of them would leave together. Lets talk the impact of Elsas pregnancy on all parties involved. It is Jeans memory that inspires Elsa to commit to going on strike. The audiobook runs 15 hours. Texas, 1934. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah is a historical novel about the Dust Bowl and subsequent westward migration by drought-stricken farmers. When the squatters camp is destroyed by flooding, Jack and his colleagues are the only help the migrants receive. The Deweys and the Martinellis become vital support for each other, sharing food, funds, and resources as needed. But we women of the Great Plains worked from sunup to sundown, too, toiled on wheat farms until we were as dry and baked as the land we loved. (1) The stories of women have largely gone undocumented throughout history, and this era is no different. 5: Loreda: Martinelli: Elsa and Rafe's daughter. Did you find the end of Elsas and her familys journey satisfying? When Jean falls ill with typhoid and eventually dies for lack of medical care, Elsas anger at their inequitable treatment reaches a tipping point. Rafe Martinelli is Elsa's husband. What about the land they farm? How difficult is it to defy both family and society in a small town? Rafe's fianc. She wished shed never read The Age of Innocence. Cora will do anything for the man she loves, even if means following him into the unknown. Although she is initially ambivalent about Elsa, she comes to genuinely care for her, viewing her as the daughter she never had. Anas pent-up longings intensify amid the turbulent resistance to Romes occupation of Israel, partially led by her brother, Judas. How does Elsa remain herself after giving birth? Elsa and Rafe now also have a son, Anthony ("Ant"), 7. In 1920s America, there was significant prejudice against Italians; we see that prejudice in Elsas own family. Thats not to say this book has no substance, its just that its not that kind of book. In this tale, Kristin has written a survival story about resilience, love, family, courage and the American Dream. It is his optimism and childish sense of wonder that inspires Loreda and Elsa to remain strong, and they are both fiercely protective of Ant. Did Elsas married sisters survive? How do Elsa and her family remain unbroken even while enduring crippling poverty, food and shelter insecurity, and living in a town that is hostile to them? Tony is proud of his land, and he is convinced that it will provide for him and his family so long as he continues to nurture it. I mentioned this in my review but its eerie how the hardships presented in The Four Winds remain today and even more so due to the pandemic. The Four Winds Chapters 9-11 Summary and Analysis - eNotes Kristin Hannahs absorbing new novel begins just a few years before, when it seemed as if Elsa Wolcottmight finally have a peaceful, fulfilling life ahead. From the number-one bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes a powerful American epic about love and heroism and hope, set during the Great Depression, a time when the country was in crisis and at war with itself, when millions were out of work and even the land seemed to have turned against them. What do you think the idea of owning land and working the land means to people?