Self-discovery in Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal Dreams Essay

Self-discovery in Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal Dreams 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 readers 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 Alzheimers disease. Codi comes back to†¦show more content†¦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 ne eds 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 cant lose your nerve. Youre 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