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History of Wolves


"Electrifying . . . as beautiful and as icy as the Minnesota woods where it's ...
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How does being members of a former commune affect Linda's parents? How do you think Linda was harmed or helped by her early upbringing?

Created: 11/18/17

Replies: 12

Posted Nov. 18, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
davinamw

Join Date: 10/15/10

Posts: 3442

How does being members of a former commune affect Linda's parents? How do you think Linda was harmed or helped by her early upbringing?

Over the course of the novel, it is revealed that Linda and her parents are the left-behind members of a back-to-the-land-style commune. How does this affect each of Linda's parents? How do you think Linda was harmed or helped by her early upbringing?


Posted Nov. 27, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
emfremont

Join Date: 03/12/14

Posts: 19

RE: How does being members of a former commune affect Linda's parents? How do you think Linda was harmed or helped by her early upbringing?

Her parents don’t seem to know how to live in the real world or parent. They don’t interact with her in any normal way. There is some doubt as to whether they are even her parents.


Posted Nov. 27, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Carol Rainer

Join Date: 09/03/15

Posts: 89

RE: How does being members of a former commune affect Linda's parents? How do you think Linda was harmed or helped by her early upbringing?

There are some people who should not have children. Linda's parents were of that ilk. Linda was just left to come and go as she pleased, and out of her loneliness, became interested in the new neighbors across the lake.


Posted Nov. 27, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
rebeccar

Join Date: 03/13/12

Posts: 548

RE: How does being members of a former commune affect Linda's parents? How do you think Linda was harmed or helped by her early upbringing?

I don't think Linda was helped in any way by the commune life. She is not well adjusted, often insecure at best, and does not strike me as someone who would do well with a child of her own. It's like wild animals that are kept in captivity and reject their offspring when born in a zoo.


Posted Nov. 27, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
annar

Join Date: 06/13/11

Posts: 114

RE: How does being members of a former commune affect Linda's parents? How do you think Linda was harmed or helped by her early upbringing?

Her parents are poor excuses for parents. Did the mother use drugs? She seems a bit "off" to me. The author doesn't say much about the dad. Why did Linda have to clean the fish? Seems to me he should have done that.


Posted Nov. 28, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
JLPen77

Join Date: 02/05/16

Posts: 362

RE: How does being members of a former commune affect Linda's parents? How do you think Linda was harmed or helped by her early upbringing?

I think her parents were weak-willed individuals who never really grew up; they didn't know how to chart a new course for themselves when the commune failed, and just clung to the remnants, living in survival mode rather than being proactive to make a better life for themselves and for Linda. They each lived in their own little emotional bubble, not really engaging with Linda or teaching her much about the world. This made it very hard for Linda to see herself fitting into any life beyond her home, and yet she didn't feel fully at home there either. She knew something was amiss, and didn't know how to fix it. She lacked confidence in her own ability to move beyond her isolated world. That is why her role with Paul and her relationship with Patra meant so much to her.


Posted Nov. 29, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
susiej

Join Date: 10/15/14

Posts: 363

RE: How does being members of a former commune affect Linda's parents? How do you think Linda was harmed or helped by her early upbringing?

Living for so long in a communal situation has seriously hindered Linda's parents and left them immature and irresponsible in most ways. Barely existing on their own in their cabin in the woods, they are completely ill-equipped to raise a child. Linda, as a result, looks to others to help her make sense of what she surmises is lacking or not quite right. At school with teachers and even other students, at work, and with Patra, she watches and listens to gather information and some insight, but it never seems to be enough for she never quite puts it all together. She knows her life is lacking but she is too young and perhaps damaged by that life to reach far out enough for help and understanding.


Posted Dec. 04, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
shannonl

Join Date: 12/04/17

Posts: 50

RE: How does being members of a former commune affect Linda's parents? How do you think Linda was harmed or helped by her early upbringing?

I don't know how much it harms Linda but it certainly doesn't help....all children need to grow up exposed to life outside a small tight circle. If they don't their abilities to interact, compromise and build new relationships is extremely distorted. I doubt that her parents, because of the lifestyle they chose, would have recognized this.


Posted Dec. 05, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
peggya

Join Date: 06/03/15

Posts: 42

RE: How does being members of a former commune affect Linda's parents? How do you think Linda was harmed or helped by her early upbringing?

I would speculate that growing up in a commune for this individual was not a positive thing. Linda’s father seemed extremely passive as a parent and the fit between Linda and her mother was abrasive at best. I think many kids could slip between the cracks of experiencing solid bonding between the two people that are the biological parents but refuse the emotional commitment that one needs to be a nurturing parent.


Posted Dec. 06, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
reene

Join Date: 02/18/15

Posts: 497

RE: How does being members of a former commune affect Linda's parents? How do you think Linda was harmed or helped by her early upbringing?

Living in the commune did not help Linda at all, and did little for Linda's parents. They probably should have stayed with these adventurers? and never had a child. There is the hint that Linda might not even be their child. This section of the book left too much unsaid. Linda's mother seems unable to do anything but sit by the table, yet we read later that she was pretty much the leader of the commune - - creating rules and setting the standards. Linda's father was laid back, but did seems to care for Linda. Carrying her downstairs to be near the heat, when it got cold. And he must have taught her about the birds and the trees. He at one time had a job. Too little said about these peripheral characters and definitely not enough about wolves.


Posted Dec. 07, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
rivkahh

Join Date: 05/04/15

Posts: 35

RE: How does being members of a former commune affect Linda's parents? How do you think Linda was harmed or helped by her early upbringing?

I agree with JLPen77 and reene--Linda never had healthy family relationships and felt disconnected and unsure of everyone, including herself. She looked to Patra to model a loving mother-child relationship, yet there was jealousy and a lack of true connectivity with Patra's family, too.


Posted Dec. 07, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
annar

Join Date: 06/13/11

Posts: 114

RE: How does being members of a former commune affect Linda's parents? How do you think Linda was harmed or helped by her early upbringing?

Linda was neglected by her parents. Yes, this did affect Linda and not in a good way. She had no role model as to how to live a good life. She took care of herself the best she could but had no curfews or any interest in what she was doing or where she went. In the parts of the book that told about her later life, she certainly didn't make good choices. How could she have since she didn't have any guidance from her parents? She certainly wasn't shown a good example with Leo and Patra.


Posted Dec. 18, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
acstrine

Join Date: 02/06/17

Posts: 438

RE: How does being members of a former commune affect Linda's parents? How do you think Linda was harmed or helped by her early upbringing?

When there was a commune, the weaknesses of some members would not have necessarily been evident. If you lacked in child rearing skills, your role maybe was cooking or growing food. Therefore, everything was taken care by the one best suited to do it. There is also always a group looking out for one another, to talk to, or play with. Needs are met cooperatively. There was obviously an incident that divided the initial group. Linda's parents refused make the necessary adjustments after the fact. They became more isolated which made things even more difficult for Linda. It was like they were incredibly disappointed that their plan did not work out the way they wanted it to and just stopped trying. the forgot about the "community" in commune and turned more inward. Linda had limited social schools and did not know how to appropriately interact with others because of how isolated her home was from town. She was also very isolated within her home. Her most meaningful and loving interactions were with the dogs.

I admire her courage to leave. First she went to Duluth and then to the Twin Cities. She had a quiet, inner strength due in some part to how she raised herself in the woods and her experiences there.


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