Animal Dreams
by Vinitha Fredenburg

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Although, on the surface, Animal Dreams is a book about family conflict, the central theme is about self-discovery. Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver is a story about a family who lived in the town of Grace. The history behind Grace is very vivid and descriptive. The family that becomes the reader's concern, is the Noline family. The family members are Homero Noline and his daughters Cosima and Halimeda. Cosima or Codi, as she is known in the book, comes back to Grace after fourteen years. Halimeda or Hallie, goes to Nicaragua, to help the farmers cultivate cotton in the war- torn area. Homer, the father, is the only doctor in Grace. He has Alzheimer's disease. Codi comes back to be close to her father while Hallie is kept in the dark about her father's disease. When Codi returns, she confronts all the issues that led her to leave Grace in the first place.

Codi meets friends from her past in Grace. She tries to find a niche in the world she is living in. Her sister Hallie, is a heroic figure to her. Hallie has found her calling by helping other people. Codi feels that, "What we suffered in our lives we went through together, but somehow we came out different doors, on different ground levels." (89;ch.9)

Codi meets Loyd, who was her boyfriend when she was in high school. She has a past with him that she has managed to keep hidden successfully. She was pregnant with his child and had a stillbirth. Her father knew that she was pregnant. When she had the stillbirth, her father tried to help her, and show his love by giving her the medication she needs without being intrusive. As he was the only doctor around, he feels that, "This is the full measure of love he is qualified to dispense" to his own daughter. (142; ch.13) Codi thinks that her father has always been controlling of her life. She resents her father because she feels that he alienated her from the other children in Grace, when she was going to school.

She talks to her father about the mishap that occurred when she was a first-year medical resident. Codi told [tells] him that "...and I lost my nerve. You can't lose your nerve. You're the one that taught me that." At that point, she sees a side of her father that she has never seen before. He father admits to her, "I lose my nerve a dozen times a day."

She realizes that the women in Grace take care of her father, and that she is '..superfluous'. Codi renews her relationship with Loyd. She is not sure about telling Loyd about the pregnancy. Loyd draws her out of her shell by sharing his life and perspective. He gives her the strength by loving her just the way she is. Codi is trying to discover who she is and what her purpose is in the world. She sees her sister, Hallie, doing a lot more than she has ever done.

Codi thinks that she has no mission in life. Coming back to Grace, she finally discovers who she is. As a General Biology teacher, she finds hope by teaching the children at the high school. Codi is a spirited teacher. Through her classes she discovers that the river in Grace is being polluted by the mining company. Codi lets the community know about it. The people of Grace draw Codi in to be the voice of the community. Although she does it reluctantly, she finds that in doing that she has indeed found herself to be a part of that community. She champions the cause for the removal of the mining company.

After her sister is killed by the Contras in Nicaragua, she reaches a new sense of awareness. Codi leaves Grace devastated but returns because she has found her home. Codi discovers that " all griefs are bearable."(327 ch.25) She has her friends to depend on and her new found family members. She realizes her father was just trying to protect her and Hallie by keeping them in the dark about their true heritage. Through all the trials that Codi has gone through, she not only discovers hope but also realizes that she has found herself. "You find youre not the center of the universe, suddenly its all flipped over, you have it in you to be a parent. You're not all that concerned any more with being someones child. It helps you forgive things." (341 ch.28)

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Questions? Brian McKinney (bmckinne@home.com)