The Republic of Heaven

daemon - would you mind not indulging in necrology - reviving dead threads that have run their course.

Thank you.

Let me just say...

Didn't Will stomp on the hilt of the knife at some point? I thought his hand was underneath it and that's how his fingers got cut off?

*goes to find book*

This time he man fell more heavily, and his right hand with the knife in it came down on the lead at Will's feet. Will stamped on it at once, hard, crushing the man's fingers between the hilt and the lead, and then wrapped the rope more tightly around his hand and stamped a second time. The man yelled and let go of the knife...

The rope had come loose around his hand once more, and there seemed to be a surprising amount of blood from somewhere sprinkled on the lead and on his own shoes.

I thought when Will thought he was crushing the crazy guy's hand, he ws actually crushing his own. I don't know why the man yelled and let go of the knife. Maybe he saw Will's fingers come off...maybe Will did stomp on his hand as well. And that's why the rope keeps loosening, 'cause his fingers were sliding away.[/quote]

perhaps wills hand AND the guys hand was there, and he stamped both in a spur of the moment stamping

No, he's stamping on Tullio's <sp> hand... Why/how would he stamp on his own hand?

I don't know. Maybe we should ask Will. But that's always been what I thought happened.

But there's no textual evidence for him stamping on his own hand and it's completely counterintuitive..?

I see what you mean, but I don't have any common sense when it comes to books. Really I don't. When I was reading it for the first time, I felt the dreaminess of that whole section. Like both Tullio and Will were in a daze or something. The fact that Will didn't even know his fingers got cut off untill later confirmed that for me. So I just figured he must have been cutting his fingers off when he thought he was crushing Tullio's hand and didn't even realise it. And he didn't start bleeding untill after he had stomped on the knife. So that's how I figure.

I am in confusion...je ne comprends pas!

Please don't eat me...I'm new round here!

Could I just ask...I understand the 'not reviving old threads' thing, but I didnt realise this thread was dead when I posted. Then I got told off, yet there seems to have been a flurry of debate since. What's the protocol?

It's rather subjective. If you look at the date of the last post and it's a long time ago - say over two/three months - and you've got nothing substantial to add and the thread has run its course, don't post.

And wise sraffies keep an eye on the calendar and keep a wary eye on the head admin (moi) at certain times of the month

Ok, I understand...

As people have actually looked at this thread recently can I ask a related question to it:

If the bleeding on the stumps of Will's fingers only stopped when he was given bloodmoss, and all Paradisi could offer was antiseptic, how did all the other knife bearers stop the bleeding?

I'll post this as another thread, it confuses me when there are more than one in a topic.