1.
“Yellow Woman’ is a story of two worlds. The young woman lives in the modern world with tv’s and cars but often hears stories of the old times. The young woman has an experience with Silva that is reminiscent of earlier times and seems to be from a myth she has heard from her grandpa. They ride horses and sleep on the ground rather than enjoy modern conveniences. I think the stolen beef that is shot and skinned is a visual representation of times past when this is how her people lived. The jello is a visual representation of modern times. The stolen beef seems to bring a darker sinister mood to the story and the jello brings a lighter happier mood.
2.
Leila’s father seems to have love for her but he is more concerned about how others see him. He is humiliated by what has happened to his daughter. Her father claps for her when the crowd does but does not stand up and act on his own. When he was sitting in the court room he thought about shouting that he was her father but he remained seated because of his humiliation. He was only able to support his daughter when he felt her deeds were heroic and people were proud of her. As soon as he heard of her rape and how she shamed he changed how he thought and decided that they would be better off dead rather them living with the shame.
3.
Death is the one thing we are assured will happen to all of us. We may find love, we may lose love but in the end we all die. Senator Sanchez has a terminal illness and only finds love for a brief moment in time. He dies regretting that he does not have the woman he fell for next to him when he dies. Love should be enjoyed while we are alive and never be taken for granted.
The stolen beef sure did seem to bring a gloomy mood, while the jello brought an uplifting relief to the end of the story. I like how you used that last sentence to really sum up the meaning of the two variously odd foods. Nice job! 🙂
I completely agree with your interpretation on question three, indeed the story was slightly dark, it had some interesting undertones that kind of resonated with me. I also agree with your evaluation of question 2 her father is totally consumed by the dishonor and public view.