Question

Why do people say that bertha lummox runs like lightning?

Answer 1

The expression 'runs like lightning' conveys exceptional speed, used here figuratively to describe quick movement in high-stakes situations, paralleled in the textual excerpts where horses like Wrangle are praised for their swiftness.

Step-by-step explanation:

The phrase 'Bertha Lummox runs like lightning' typically suggests that the character is extremely fast. The comparison to lightning implies a high level of speed and quickness, perhaps unexpectedly so given any preconceived notions about 'Bertha Lummox.' This expression is not literal but is used figuratively to describe her rapid movement, potentially in a situation that calls for quick action or escaping danger. This idea is present in the provided passages where various horses and riders demonstrate exceptional speed, often in intense and high-stakes situations, capturing themes of strenuous flight and the dire need for swift travel.

The provided texts discuss different instances where the speed of horses is paramount. Bells, Black Star, and Night are notable examples illustrating the importance and admiration of speed in the narrative. In particular, characters like Jane Withersteen and Lassiter rely on the swift paces of their horses in critical moments, with multiple references stressing the exceptional speed of the horses, such as Wrangle being able to outpace Black Star and Night. With urgency in each scenario, whether it be due to escaping peril or winning a race, the ability to move like 'lightning' is celebrated and vital.

Answer 2

This comes from the book Lummox by Fannie Hurst which narrates the life of Bertha, an immigrant woman who works as a maid, and struggles with the family she lives with, except for a young poet who is in love with her. this novel explain the dificulties of being someone fighting for a better life. Injustices such as humiliation, sexual assault, and a miserable wage.

She starts going from a rich house to another working as a maid and not lasting in any of them because of different reasons, each time she goes back to the original home she always finds shaming and hate towards her.

So, because of this constant moving, being very unstable, always looking for a place, peace, kindness, is why it is said that she runs like lightning; unpredictable and not lasting when running away.

Let me share a passage from the book which I love and expresses with intensity what the book is about. A very powerful fragment

"The mystery of the will to live. Not a morning but what Bertha knew the terrible reluctance of awakening to reality. She came up out of sleep with a struggle, fighting off another day; turning her back to it and lying there sick with its imminence as the muslin portieres began to lighten. To come out of sleep so enamored of it that to feel the lids lift back from the eyes was torture. To die a little every night and yet fear the beauty of death more than the starkness of life. Sometimes when Bertha came out of sleep, fighting and sobbing against the awakening and grimacing face of Willy hung over her terrible with reality, the impulse to throttle herself back to sleep seemed too strong to withstand. And yet that wink of dawn against the muslin. The tiny vibratory messages of life that were waiting to run across the floor when her bare feet would swing down to it. Ah, that will to live."