11-year-old Despite the fact that her parents are both preoccupied with their jobs and her brother is absorbed in his own adolescent life, Eliza is the unseen factor in her family unit. While competing in and winning a spelling bee, Eliza ignites not only a spark that makes her visible, but also one that puts into motion a change in her family's dynamic. Eliza's father finds an emotional outlet in the power of words and in the spiritual mysticism that he perceives at work in his daughter's unmatched talent, and he devotes all of his efforts to assisting his daughter in becoming the spelling bee champion. He is a religious studies professor, and he sees the opportunity not just as a way to get away from his everyday life, but also as a way to find an answer to his own crisis of faith. It is his vicarious road to God, real or imagined, that leads him to become obsessed with Eliza's accomplishments, and he begins to teach her the secrets of Kabbalah. Eliza is currently preparing for the National Spelling Bee, and she watches as a new secret of her family's buried strife appears to be disclosed with each new word she spells while she watches the competition.
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11-year-old Despite the fact that her parents are both preoccupied with their jobs and her brother is absorbed in his own adolescent life, Eliza is the unseen factor in her family unit. While competing in and winning a spelling bee, Eliza ignites not only a spark that makes her visible, but also one that puts into motion a change in her family's dynamic. Eliza's father finds an emotional outlet in the power of words and in the spiritual mysticism that he perceives at work in his daughter's unmatched talent, and he devotes all of his efforts to assisting his daughter in becoming the spelling bee champion. He is a religious studies professor, and he sees the opportunity not just as a way to get away from his everyday life, but also as a way to find an answer to his own crisis of faith. It is his vicarious road to God, real or imagined, that leads him to become obsessed with Eliza's accomplishments, and he begins to teach her the secrets of Kabbalah. Eliza is currently preparing for the National Spelling Bee, and she watches as a new secret of her family's buried strife appears to be disclosed with each new word she spells while she watches the competition.
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