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The head was put on a spike, carried through the streets of Plymouth, then displayed at Plymouth Fort for the next twenty-five years” (Orange 4). First, it establishes the cruel treatment of the colonists towards Native Americans, including Metacomet, a leader of the Wampanoag: “Metacomet’s head was sold to Plymouth Colony for thirty shillings - the going rate for an Indian head at the time. The prologue sets a grim tone for the novel by connecting the history of violence against Native communities to various images of the Native American head and face. With this in mind, the spider motif will likely continue to develop at the powwow as the foreshadowing of a life-changing but dangerous event.
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While we have not read far enough to know what happens at the powwow, it is likely that a robbery will occur - yet again a violation of a safe space even though the powwow is significant for Orvil as it will be his first time dancing publicly. I’m pretty sure they’re spider legs’” (125). A similar third appearance of the spider motif is the spider legs in Orvil’s leg (just like his grandaunt) that he pulls out prior to the powwow: “‘So I pulled, like, I just pulled one out, put it on some folded-up toilet paper, then went back in and got another one. After Ronald entered their bedroom and approached Jacquie one night (an invasion of privacy), Opal used the baseball bat next to her bed to knock him out before she and Jacquie ran off, successfully escaping his home and trap. In her instance, she removed spider legs out of her leg less than a week prior to her confrontation with him: “Opal pulled three spider legs out of her leg the Sunday afternoon before she and Jacquie left the home” (165). However, her sister Opal had a different experience with spider legs - it happened while she and Jacquie lived with Ronald, an “uncle” who is likely a predator. After her conversation with him, she decides that she will return to Oakland and see her grandchildren for the first time.
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The meeting intends to be a safe space, but Harvey’s presence violates this space due to his past with Jacquie. (Orange 77) Although she interpreted this event as a sign to stop drinking, this mention of the spider motif also precedes Harvey’s reintroduction to her life at the AA meeting - an instance of home and trap. In this case Jacquie was the spider, and the minifridge was the web. The mention of spiders reminds her of the saying her mother told her as a child, so she repeats it to herself to avoid succumbing to her alcoholism: “The spider’s web is a home and a trap. Furthermore, the first mention of spiders occurs during Jacquie’s first chapter: she is trying not to drink in the hotel when she hears from Opal about the spider legs in Orvil’s leg. Throughout their childhood, Jacquie and Opal’s mother would tell them that “the spider’s home is also a trap”, which their experiences later prove however, this quote also suggests the dangers of “home” since violations of privacy or safety can still occur.
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The recurring spider motif serves as a warning for significant events in Opal, Jacquie, and Orvil’s lives through its use as a reminder that almost anyone can violate safe spaces throughout the novel.