*SPOILER ALERT*SPOILER ALERT*SPOILER ALERT*SPOILER ALERT*SPOILER ALERT*SPOILER ALERT*
This is part 10 of my review and summary of Intensely Alice for those of you who have not been able to read the book yet and are dying to know what happens.
WARNING: Please do not continue reading if you do not want to know what happens.
Chapter Twelve – Shelley’s Sermon
At the soup kitchen, Alice and the other volunteers try their best to please the diners because this meal and the service may be the only positive thing in their day. They are polite and courteous and try to accommodate the diners as best as they can. During their break, Mavis shares with Shelley, Liz, and Alice that she went to Ohio this past spring to help out a city after it had been devastated by a tornado. Shelley takes Mavis’s action as an act of God and tries to convince Mavis that by helping the tornado victims she is serving God. Mavis, however, tells Shelley she was there because she wanted to be there, not because of God. Mavis then declares that she is an atheist. This takes Shelley, and even Elizabeth, by surprise, but before Shelley can argue, Mrs. Gladys (the woman in charge) calls them back for clean up.
The following day, Shelley tells Mavis that she is praying for her. Mavis does not understand why Shelley is so concerned that she is an atheist, but Shelley tells her that she would feel horrible if she were in heaven and Mavis wasn’t because she didn’t do anything to save Mavis. The others immediately question Shelley and her beliefs, but Shelley is prepared for the discussion. The argument gets a bit heated before they have to leave.
In the car ride home, Alice, Liz, Gwen, and Pamela discuss the question of who is right about God. Although they do not answer the question, they do tell Gwen about a twelve-year-old Elizabeth who wanted Pamela to get her breast blessed by a priest after Pamela’s encounter with an older man on the their train ride to Chicago.
The next day, Mark and Keeno come by the soup kitchen an hour before closing and report that their outings are becoming less successful. Mavis recognizes them from TV and Mrs. Gladys invites them to perform the next night for the diners. Liz encourages Keeno to do it so Mark and Keeno agree.
MY TAKE: Personally, this is an uneventful chapter in the book. I get that Mrs. Naylor is trying to introduce a topic of controversy, religion, into the book, but I could care less for it. To be quite honest, I do not read Alice for controversy. I read it because it is funny and I feel as though I have grown up with Alice for a majority of my life so I enjoy reading about Alice and her life. I understand that Alice is growing up so the topics in the book will be more mature, but this is a chapter I could live without. Am I right or am I right?
Be sure to check out other Intensely Alice updates including chapter summaries and reviews (spoiler alert!), surveys, polls, and more!
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