Discussion Questions for Group 12: LB, JV, LW
1. “There were pictures of her everywhere. Black-and-whites, close-ups, colored ones. She was all ages, from infancy through childhood and into her teens. In college. One was very recent, having been taken white she was leaving the Caldwell Courier Journal’s office. She remembered that day. It had been the first snowfall of the winter, and she’d been laughing as she’s looked up at the sky. Eight months ago” (Ward 213).
Stepping foot inside her father’s room is an important moment in the novel for Beth. There are also strict differences betweem the style of Darius’ room and those of the other vampires. Why is this so? What important aspects of the room are useful to Beth, and why is it important for her to see her father’s room as it applies to her transition into the life of a vampire?
2. The characters in the novel all have to go through an evolution of sorts to fully understand their paths in life. What important transition is prominent in this section concerning Wrath and the Brotherhood, and how does this transition shape the novel as it continues to progress (*hint, think along the idea of going through a hardship to reach a point of ultimate satisfaction and order).
ENGH 202: Why Women Read Romance 
In response to the first question, it is important that Beth grasp a better understanding of her father and his personality as a vampire as she nears her transition. Through his home and his bedroom Beth is able to grasp how much her father cared for her. With the compassion and love she experienced from the photos which covered the walls of his bedroom, the void which had filled her past was now complete. When she views the picture of her mother she knows they have the same eyes. As Beth gains these connections with her parents she is gaining trust in the vampire world and finding a true home, where she has never had one before. She is now willing and able to accept her life as a vampire and be willing to detach herself from the life she once lived.
Question 1: By stepping foot into Darius’s room, she is shocked in a positive way to see all her photos everywhere. These photos put truth to everything Wrath was telling her. She begins to genuinely trust him because she sees the pictures of her mother as well. All these stories of her father being a vampire didn’t seem completely true when Wrath first told her. However, now she is confident that he was telling her the truth. This was important for her to see because she had always wondered why her father left her and who he was, as well as her mother. By seeing her pictures in his room, she gets a sense of his character and that he did care about her, but circumstances didn’t let him be a part of her life. Everything is starting to make sense to her now, and she is finding her true identity.
In response to Question 1, Beth needed to see her father’s room in order to fully accept what was happening in her life. Wrath had told her all of these things about her father but she didn’t fully believe him. When she sees her father’s room and all of the pictures there she is able to fully believe what Wrath has been telling her. That also allows her to trust Wrath more which allows their relationship to grow. I think that if she hadn’t have fully trusted Wrath then her transition to a vampire might not have been successful. In order to fully transform she had to believe in everything that she was being told. The room also becomes almost a comfort zone to Beth. Whenever Wrath needs to go out he usually tells her to go sleep in Darius’ room.