Chapter 13: The Snake People

The time has come for Delphine, along with most people living through the great depression, to go job searching. Needless to say, she needs to give off something that other people don't have, since the competition is heavy. However, all of it goes to naught when she discovers that her father has been drinking, and even more frightening, has to chase him all over town naked one evening in her respectable clothing. I think this is a very significant event for Delphine, because she is realizing that no matter what she does, her father will never change, and if she bases her happiness around him being sober, that is not being fair to herself. Perhaps this was a good experience in the end, because it forced her to put things into perspective and to face the truth of what was happening to her father. She knows that people would help her because they are nice, but also that sometimes who she is will get in the way of that. But I think that the more she remembers that, the more likely she is to avoid negativity in her life, and she does just that and settles into a comfortable sleepy routine of work and taking care of her father.