Heidi by Johanna Spyri: Read-Along: Final Discussion

It is hard to believe we are at the final discussion today! I absolutely loved re-reading this book since I had not read it since I was a child. It was absolutely beautiful! Check out Amber's final thoughts on her blog SEASONS OF HUMILITY. I so appreciate her organizing read-alongs. They are so fun!

Discussion Format: Quotes that touched me, General Impressions, Discussion Questions that Amber posts in order to promote discussion.

QUOTES:

"The truth was that Peter arranged to make his reading as little troublesome for himself as possible. When he came upon a word that he thought was too long or difficult in any other way, he left it out, for he decided that a word or two less in a verse, where there were so many of them, could make no difference to his grandmother. And so it came about that most of the principal words were missing in the hymns that Peter read aloud."Bwahahaha, if poor Peter spent as much time applying himself as he does at trying to get out of doing any work he might make something of himself yet! 

"And so the meal went on. Grandmamma and Alm-Uncle got on very well together, and their conversation became more and more lively. They were so thoroughly agreed in their opinions of men and things and the world in general that they might have been taken for old cronies."I had to laugh at the "old cronies" because that is what my mom calls all of my dad's buddies! haha! 

"Peter, cross as a bear, grumbled some reply, and lifted his stick to give Greenfinch a blow for no reason in particular, but Greenfinch saw the movement, and with a leap over Snowflake's back she got out of the way, and the stick only hit the air."Oh Peter, Peter, Peter(*shakes head*), the poor jealous little boy. I was hoping that by now he would have matured some, but it seems that he does not mature at all throughout the story. His jealously later gets him in trouble but he never seems to learn from his mistakes. He's impulsive and impetuous. 

"But Peter did not consider, or did not know, that when we do a wrong thing trouble is sure to follow."Truer words were never spoken! Peter, boy you have GOT to learn!

"You must not think it is like that, Clara," replied Heidi eagerly. "We must go on praying for everything, for everything, so that God may know we do not forget that it all comes from Him. If we forget God, then he lets us go our own way and we get into trouble." Again, I absolutely love that Heidi seems to be so mature in her faith. It has been tested and she knows that it is true and firm. I also love that she has such a grateful spirit and knows exactly where her blessings come from.

"We all behave foolishly when we are angry." I love the way grandmamma understands Peter and is able to correct him while still giving him dignity. I don't know if I agree with her giving him a gift, it seems that she is rewarding bad behavior, but maybe she sees that when someone is as poor as Peter they need to be shown love rather than harshness. I just wish that it changed Peter's heart more, but he seems to remain a very selfish boy.

"So you see, Peter, God is able to bring good out of evil for those whom you meant to injure, and you who did the evil were left to suffer the unhappy consequences of it." Grandmamma at least pointed out this sin in his heart to him, if only he would heed her words...

"I want to have the bed I slept in at Frankfurt with the high pillows and the thick coverlid, and then grandmother will not have to lie with her head down hill and hardly able to breathe, and she will be warm enough under the coverlid not to have to wear her shawl in bed to prevent her freezing to death." The contrast of the two children is pretty amazing to me. Peter seems like he is selfish throughout the story, he only thinks of himself and his own comfort throughout, but Heidi is always thinking outside of herself and to others comforts. And Heidi seems to be the more abused child. I mean, after all, she had to live with Dete for her first 5 years. She was stifled and not treated very well I imagine and then you have Peter who doesn't seem to be abused at all, but also seems to be scrabbling for every penny he can earn to keep food on the table(and not very much of it apparently), that it has made him selfish, and Heidi has such a tender heart. It is interesting...

"I did not think it possible that there were so many kind people, ready to trouble themselves about a poor old woman and to do so much for her. Nothing strengthens our belief in a kind heavenly Father who never forgets even the least of His creatures so much as to know that there are such people, full of goodness and pity for a poor useless creature such as I am."


"My good grandmother," said Frau Sesemann, interrupting her, "we are all equally poor and helpless in the eyes of God, and all have equal need that He should not forget us." I love that the grandmother sees that God cares for them, but also that the grandmamma also sees that even though she has so much she too needs God. 

"Then at last the grandmother spike, "Heidi, read me one of the hymns! I can feel I can do nothing for the remainder of my life but thank the Father in Heaven for all the mercies he has shown us!" Such a sweet ending to the story! I love all of the spiritual moments in the story!

GENERAL IMPRESSIONS:

What a sweet story of faith, friendship and family. As mentioned above, I love all of the spiritual moments in the story. I love Heidi's loving and unselfish heart. Peter makes me shake my head. He seems to not learn at all from his mistakes. But again I think it is because he has had to scrap and scrape for everything he's ever had in life that it has made him self-centered. There seems to be some gaps as far as timing of the story. When we first meet Heidi she is about 5 years old. It seems she was left with grandfather for about 3 years before she was hauled away by Dete to Frankfurt. I'm not sure how long she was there with the Sesemann's but probably awhile, then back with grandfather for awhile before Clara comes for a visit. When the story begins Peter is a boy of 11 or 12 so all of his antics later in the story could push him to be 16 or older but yet his behavior is that of an 11 or 12 year old child still...so the ages were a bit confusing. Other than that I thought it was a sweet story that I enjoyed very much.

QUESTIONS:

1. What did you think of Peter's reading lessons and Heidi's teaching methods?I had to laugh at them! I actually was more interested in the influence that the grandfather had on Peter. I cracked up when Peter came down the mountain on his sled and slid right past school and out of town! ha! But then the grandfather telling him if he did it again he could come there for his punishment! ha! I liked that Heidi wanted to better Peter and knew that by teaching him to read it would be so much easier in the world for him. 

2. Which scene did you find the most beautiful or memorable in these last chapters?Probably Peter being chased by his conscience. Always looking over his shoulder like someone was lurking there to pounce on him because he knew he had done wrong. 

3. If you could step into the pages of the book, what would you be most eager to experience? (A night gazing at the stars from the loft? Waking up to the sound of the wind through the fir trees? Sitting among the flowers and goats on the mountain? Or something else?)I would love to see the grandeur of the Alps. I wouldn't want to climb up to the grandfathers hut, but just to stand in the village and gaze up at the beauty of those high mountains and breathe the crisp clean air would be absolutely breathtaking I'm sure. 

Thanks to Amber once again for being our hostess for this read-along. I totally enjoyed reading the book and I enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts on what we read. If you've never read HEIDI check out Amazon, I believe they have a free copy available. Along with several other books by Johanna Spyri(which I nabbed!). Every now and then I enjoy a departure from my usual favorite genre of romantic/suspense!