In chapter nine of "Ivan Ilych", Ivan finally realizes that all hope for recovery is lost. After dismissing his aid Gerasim, Ivan weeps in self-pity and begins his unusual "prayer". It appears that he is looking to God for answers for his suffering, but in reality, Ivan is trying to find peace with his tormented soul.
Ivan begins his prayer not by asking for help, but by demanding why he has been plagued by pain. He questions God, "Why hast Thou done all this? Why hast Thou brought me here? Why, why dost Thou torment me so terribly?" Ivan believes he has entered a stage in which he believes that he is being punished for his sins. He believes his pains are no longer from natural causes. His illness is no longer just a physical one, but also an emotional and mental ailment that constantly runs him down.
As Ivan continues with his prayer he shifts away from accusing God and begins to search for an answer within himself. His soul searching begins when he asks, "What is it you want?" All Ivan can answer is that he wishes his life was simple and pleasant, as it was in the old days. Ivan thinks back on his childhood and school days as his happiest memories. Now that he has absorbed himself so deeply in his job and in keeping up with society’s demands, he has lost touch with his family and his old, happy life. He beings to realize his present life is worthless and trivial, and that he has forgotten about all the joys in his life. Ivan can no longer find any lightheartedness, friendship, or hope in his life. Ever since he became consumed in his work, he has lost touch with what used to matter most to him. As his career progressed, he notices that he no longer had time for any happy memories. Ivan realizes that, "It is as if I had been going downhill while I imagined I was going up. I was going up in public opinion, but to the same extent life was ebbing away from me." Ivan comes to the terrible conclusion that his whole life had been a waste. The thought that "maybe I did not live as I ought to have done" suddenly occurs to him. However, Ivan dismisses his bizarre idea, since he is sure that the purpose of life is too succeed and that he had done everything properly. He had done everything according to what society deemed was right. Again, Ivan’s mind has trumped his soul. Although Ivan tries to convince himself that he has lived a good life, his soul is trying to tell him otherwise. (450)
Monday, January 14, 2008
Monday, December 3, 2007
Love in the Time of Cholera: Blog 2
In the novel, I find Florentino’s character to be quite peculiar. Although every character in the book seems to be a little eccentric or quirky in some way, everything about Florentino’s disposition strikes me as very odd. From the manner in which he is physically described to the actions he is involved in make him out to be the strangest character in the book. Yet, without Florentino, there would be no "Love in the Time of Cholera" at all. Like it or not, Florentino is the central character for the driving force of the plot even though he appears to be a character that no one could relate to.
The strangest aspect of Florentino’s abnormal lifestyle is his pursuit of vulnerable women. After Fermina rejects him early in his life, he vows that he will spend his whole life trying to win her back. He is sick from depression for many days over her loss and marriage. So much so that it drive him away from the only home he knows in the hopes that he will forget about her in his long journey. Despite his efforts, all he can continue to think about is Fermina Daza. Yet on his riverboat voyage, a woman essentially rapes him and his first experience seems to be life changing for him. When he returns home, he again experiences sexual relations with a widow, his first true lover. As their relationship continues, Florentino observes that widowed women seem to be the most free spirited females he has ever know. Yet he feels that they too have experienced a love lost with the passing of their husbands. As his thirst for women develops, Florentino learns that his sexual experiences serve as an elixir to heal his wounds from Fermina. Throughout the next decades, Florentino’s major pastime is the pursuit of what he calls "lost birds". In all of his loose relationships, Florentino ensures that the connection they have is purely physical, and that he is not emotionally attached to another women. For one, he does not want Fermina to ever know that he has "cheated" on her. Secondly, I believe that Florentino does not want to get hurt in another deep relationship. The only way that he can have relations with women is in a physical sense, because once they get to close he always likes to have the power to step away. Florentino is very cautious with his emotions ever since his crushing rejection.
As the years continue to pass, Florentino still has not lost hope in his quest for Fermina’s hand every though he has had so many other opportunities to live a happy life. Even after fifty years, Fermina continues to occupy his life day in and day out. Yet, he is still able to keep her a secret from everyone around him, along with his sex life. What is strange to me is that he says he has all his sexual encounters to get "experience" for when he finally receives his chance to get back with Fermina. He also uses his love exposure to help young lovers write letters to their sweethearts. Everything he does is part of his master plan to win her back. Florentino is such an obsessive-compulsive character that he cannot simply let go of his past-lost love. If only he would learn to move on, he would have so many opportunities to live a happy life with one of the many women that he has had encounters with. What also strikes me as strange is that if he is willing to go the trouble to start relationships with married women, why does he not try to steal Fermina from Urbino? If he cares so much about her that his life is devoted to her, he might as well try to have an affair with her. Florentino has the ability to woo almost any women he desires; yet he will not even talk to Fermina while she is married to the Doctor. If it was anyone else but the eccentric Florentino, he would not have wasted his time with the other women, and would have just gone for what he wanted the most, or just plain forget about her and move on. (701)
The strangest aspect of Florentino’s abnormal lifestyle is his pursuit of vulnerable women. After Fermina rejects him early in his life, he vows that he will spend his whole life trying to win her back. He is sick from depression for many days over her loss and marriage. So much so that it drive him away from the only home he knows in the hopes that he will forget about her in his long journey. Despite his efforts, all he can continue to think about is Fermina Daza. Yet on his riverboat voyage, a woman essentially rapes him and his first experience seems to be life changing for him. When he returns home, he again experiences sexual relations with a widow, his first true lover. As their relationship continues, Florentino observes that widowed women seem to be the most free spirited females he has ever know. Yet he feels that they too have experienced a love lost with the passing of their husbands. As his thirst for women develops, Florentino learns that his sexual experiences serve as an elixir to heal his wounds from Fermina. Throughout the next decades, Florentino’s major pastime is the pursuit of what he calls "lost birds". In all of his loose relationships, Florentino ensures that the connection they have is purely physical, and that he is not emotionally attached to another women. For one, he does not want Fermina to ever know that he has "cheated" on her. Secondly, I believe that Florentino does not want to get hurt in another deep relationship. The only way that he can have relations with women is in a physical sense, because once they get to close he always likes to have the power to step away. Florentino is very cautious with his emotions ever since his crushing rejection.
As the years continue to pass, Florentino still has not lost hope in his quest for Fermina’s hand every though he has had so many other opportunities to live a happy life. Even after fifty years, Fermina continues to occupy his life day in and day out. Yet, he is still able to keep her a secret from everyone around him, along with his sex life. What is strange to me is that he says he has all his sexual encounters to get "experience" for when he finally receives his chance to get back with Fermina. He also uses his love exposure to help young lovers write letters to their sweethearts. Everything he does is part of his master plan to win her back. Florentino is such an obsessive-compulsive character that he cannot simply let go of his past-lost love. If only he would learn to move on, he would have so many opportunities to live a happy life with one of the many women that he has had encounters with. What also strikes me as strange is that if he is willing to go the trouble to start relationships with married women, why does he not try to steal Fermina from Urbino? If he cares so much about her that his life is devoted to her, he might as well try to have an affair with her. Florentino has the ability to woo almost any women he desires; yet he will not even talk to Fermina while she is married to the Doctor. If it was anyone else but the eccentric Florentino, he would not have wasted his time with the other women, and would have just gone for what he wanted the most, or just plain forget about her and move on. (701)
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Love in the Time of Cholera: Blog 1
One of the novel’s most prominent and powerful themes is, not surprisingly, love. However, love is not portrayed as a wonderful, simplistic, union of two people who share each other’s passions without question. In "Love in the Time of Cholera", love is portrayed as a plague comparable to cholera that can devastate your life. We can see from Florentino Ariza that love is sometimes single sided and agonizing. He becomes so lovesick that he must endure not only emotional hardships, but also physical pains similar to those of cholera as he woos over his beloved Fermina Daza. Marquez’s novel suggests that lovesickness is not only a state of mind, but is a literal illness that can consume your entire life.
As chapter two progresses, we can see that Florentino is literally plagued by love. Every second of his life he can only think of Fermina. Although he only catches glimpses of her walking to and from school, for two weeks straight he thinks of nothing else but her. He even spends his time alone writing pages and pages of letters to her in hopes that one day he will find the courage to give them to her. Florentino goes to the extent of memorizing entire books of love poems only to find better ways of expressing his unconditional devotion to his secret love. His obsession with Fermina becomes so unbearable that he must unleash the weight of his secret to his mother. Since it is Florentino’s first experience with what he believes is true love, he turns to the only person that can guide him in the right direction.
When Florentino finally gives Fermina the letter confessing his love, he is instantly sick with worry. As soon as Florentino, "began to wait for the answer to his first letter, his anguish was complicated by diarrhea and green vomit, he became disoriented and suffered from sudden fainting spells and his mother was terrified because his condition did not resemble the turmoil of love so much as the devastation of cholera." (61) His lovesickness was so much like cholera that his godfather, a homeopath, mistakes that Florentino was infected with the illness. Yet, they finally conclude, "the symptoms of love were the same as those of cholera." (62) Florentino again complicates his emotional pain with physical agony when he vomits after eating roses and drinking perfume hoping to "taste" Fermina’s forbidden scent. He is so delirious over her letters that he, "spent the rest of the afternoon eating roses and reading the note letter by letter, over and over again (68)." Florentino even compromises his job as he works absent mindedly at the telegraph office and makes costly errors for the company. Florentino goes so far as to risk his life only so he can play love songs on his violin to Fermina during the Civil War. He is eventually captured by government troops, is accused of being a spy, and barley escapes execution after serving jail time for his senseless acts of love. As their relationship, solely through letters, progresses Florentino proposes to his love. Of course, Fermina’s father is enraged that a lower class boy would ruin all that he has provided for his daughter. He can only hope that if he takes her away for many years, she will forget about Florentino completely. Although they keep in contact secretly and she maintains her fidelity for years, Fermina knows she never truly loved him as soon as they are reunited in the market. All she can think to say to Florentino is "No, please, forget it (102)." After all of those years of devotion and non-stop love sickness, Florentino is finally faced with the fact that his love is one-sided. Fermina tell him in a simple letter that, "Today when I saw you, I realized that what is between us is nothing more than an illusion (102)."
Contrary to many other novels focused on love, "Love in the Time of Cholera" shows us that love is not always the wonderful experience that everyone should look forward to experiencing. More often that not, love can be one-sided and can consume your entire life as you brood over lost love. As we learned from the first chapter, even after fifty years of rejection, Florentino is still convinced of his everlasting love for her. Florentino’s lovesickness is not only an emotional and physical pain, but also a psychological illness that leads him to compulsively obsess over Fermina. (744)
As chapter two progresses, we can see that Florentino is literally plagued by love. Every second of his life he can only think of Fermina. Although he only catches glimpses of her walking to and from school, for two weeks straight he thinks of nothing else but her. He even spends his time alone writing pages and pages of letters to her in hopes that one day he will find the courage to give them to her. Florentino goes to the extent of memorizing entire books of love poems only to find better ways of expressing his unconditional devotion to his secret love. His obsession with Fermina becomes so unbearable that he must unleash the weight of his secret to his mother. Since it is Florentino’s first experience with what he believes is true love, he turns to the only person that can guide him in the right direction.
When Florentino finally gives Fermina the letter confessing his love, he is instantly sick with worry. As soon as Florentino, "began to wait for the answer to his first letter, his anguish was complicated by diarrhea and green vomit, he became disoriented and suffered from sudden fainting spells and his mother was terrified because his condition did not resemble the turmoil of love so much as the devastation of cholera." (61) His lovesickness was so much like cholera that his godfather, a homeopath, mistakes that Florentino was infected with the illness. Yet, they finally conclude, "the symptoms of love were the same as those of cholera." (62) Florentino again complicates his emotional pain with physical agony when he vomits after eating roses and drinking perfume hoping to "taste" Fermina’s forbidden scent. He is so delirious over her letters that he, "spent the rest of the afternoon eating roses and reading the note letter by letter, over and over again (68)." Florentino even compromises his job as he works absent mindedly at the telegraph office and makes costly errors for the company. Florentino goes so far as to risk his life only so he can play love songs on his violin to Fermina during the Civil War. He is eventually captured by government troops, is accused of being a spy, and barley escapes execution after serving jail time for his senseless acts of love. As their relationship, solely through letters, progresses Florentino proposes to his love. Of course, Fermina’s father is enraged that a lower class boy would ruin all that he has provided for his daughter. He can only hope that if he takes her away for many years, she will forget about Florentino completely. Although they keep in contact secretly and she maintains her fidelity for years, Fermina knows she never truly loved him as soon as they are reunited in the market. All she can think to say to Florentino is "No, please, forget it (102)." After all of those years of devotion and non-stop love sickness, Florentino is finally faced with the fact that his love is one-sided. Fermina tell him in a simple letter that, "Today when I saw you, I realized that what is between us is nothing more than an illusion (102)."
Contrary to many other novels focused on love, "Love in the Time of Cholera" shows us that love is not always the wonderful experience that everyone should look forward to experiencing. More often that not, love can be one-sided and can consume your entire life as you brood over lost love. As we learned from the first chapter, even after fifty years of rejection, Florentino is still convinced of his everlasting love for her. Florentino’s lovesickness is not only an emotional and physical pain, but also a psychological illness that leads him to compulsively obsess over Fermina. (744)
Sunday, November 4, 2007
The Sound and the Fury Blog 2
The Jason section in The Sound and the Fury is entirely different from any of the previous sections we have read. Unlike the Benjy and Quentin sections, Jason’s account is very structured and chronological. His recollection of past events is no where near as vivid and as emotional as the previous sections. Jason’s tone is quite harsh and cruel. He is much more vulgar, nasty, hurried, power-hungry, and consumed with his ego than his brothers are. While Benjy and Quentin both seem to reminisce in the past and their mistakes, Jason’s main interests lie in the present and controlling those around him. He is more concerned with external events than he is with his emotions and his inner world. Jason is a clear contrast to his brothers in which his motives are very black and white.
No matter what character Jason interacts with, he always attempts to gain control over them. He constantly tries to twist circumstances in his favor, usually at the expense of those around him. Jason believes that he is more clever than everyone else is and that he can control any one if he wants to by manipulating them. One of the main ways he tries to gain control over those around him is with money. Since he is the head of the family after his father and brother died, he believes that he is now financially responsible for the Compsons. He feels that since he brings in the money to support the family, he should be able to dictate how his family, in particular his niece, act. Jason tries to control the women in his life by relying on his finances. Although he swindles the money from his sister’s child support checks, Jason believes that he should be in control of Quentin’s actions since he pays for her things with his sister’s money. When Quentin does not have her books he asks her, "I know you haven’t got any books: I just want to ask you what you did with them, if it’s any of my business. I’m just the one that paid $11.65 for them last September." Although he tries to gain control over her with money, she does not listen to him nor respect him. She replies to his treats by saying, "I’d rather be in hell than anywhere where you are." Another woman Jason tries to control is his prostitute girlfriend Lorranine. The only way that he knows how to have a relationship with a woman is by controlling her with money. Jason knows that she is dependent on him and "misses" him because "last time I gave her forty dollars". Although it is a prostitute, he feels as if she is truly dependent on him. Yet without his money, Lorranine would not even pay attention to him. Jason also manipulates Caddy by requiring that Quentin’s child support checks go through him. For many years, he believes that he has tricked both his mother and sister by stealing the money, but eventually Caddy lets him know that he has not tricked her. She tells him that, "I’ve had no answer to the last two letters I wrote her, though the check in the second one was cashed with the other check. I know you are opening my letters to her. I know that as well as if I were looking at you." Once again, Jason fails at controlling the women in his life or even tricking them. The only woman that he has been able to control is his mother, only because she believes that he is her perfect son. When Jason tries to sell a ticket to Luster, Jason shows how cruel he truly is. Jason knows that his servant cannot afford the five cent ticket, yet he would rather burn it in front of him than give it too him. Jason claims that he "Needs the cash" although he has a safe box full of bills in his room. Jason again wants to flaunt his self-perceived power over everyone else because of his money. In the end, no one cares about his small amount of cash and his perception that he has any power over people is false.
Although Jason is a crafty and clever character, he never uses his talents to swindle people rather than to gain their respect honestly. Faulkner’s different use of style and tone in each characters section of the novel is based upon each characters different personality in the novel. If Jason learned to not manipulate and trick those around him, people might start to truly listen to him and he would finally have some real control over his peers. By concentrating on his small sum of money and believing that it is everything in his life, Jason never develops any higher goals or aspirations for himself. Jason appears to be a motivated character with clever ideas, driven by his strong ego. Jason could be a strong leader if he could put his traits to good use instead of wasting them on petty tricks; he could finally win some real control over those around him.(824)
No matter what character Jason interacts with, he always attempts to gain control over them. He constantly tries to twist circumstances in his favor, usually at the expense of those around him. Jason believes that he is more clever than everyone else is and that he can control any one if he wants to by manipulating them. One of the main ways he tries to gain control over those around him is with money. Since he is the head of the family after his father and brother died, he believes that he is now financially responsible for the Compsons. He feels that since he brings in the money to support the family, he should be able to dictate how his family, in particular his niece, act. Jason tries to control the women in his life by relying on his finances. Although he swindles the money from his sister’s child support checks, Jason believes that he should be in control of Quentin’s actions since he pays for her things with his sister’s money. When Quentin does not have her books he asks her, "I know you haven’t got any books: I just want to ask you what you did with them, if it’s any of my business. I’m just the one that paid $11.65 for them last September." Although he tries to gain control over her with money, she does not listen to him nor respect him. She replies to his treats by saying, "I’d rather be in hell than anywhere where you are." Another woman Jason tries to control is his prostitute girlfriend Lorranine. The only way that he knows how to have a relationship with a woman is by controlling her with money. Jason knows that she is dependent on him and "misses" him because "last time I gave her forty dollars". Although it is a prostitute, he feels as if she is truly dependent on him. Yet without his money, Lorranine would not even pay attention to him. Jason also manipulates Caddy by requiring that Quentin’s child support checks go through him. For many years, he believes that he has tricked both his mother and sister by stealing the money, but eventually Caddy lets him know that he has not tricked her. She tells him that, "I’ve had no answer to the last two letters I wrote her, though the check in the second one was cashed with the other check. I know you are opening my letters to her. I know that as well as if I were looking at you." Once again, Jason fails at controlling the women in his life or even tricking them. The only woman that he has been able to control is his mother, only because she believes that he is her perfect son. When Jason tries to sell a ticket to Luster, Jason shows how cruel he truly is. Jason knows that his servant cannot afford the five cent ticket, yet he would rather burn it in front of him than give it too him. Jason claims that he "Needs the cash" although he has a safe box full of bills in his room. Jason again wants to flaunt his self-perceived power over everyone else because of his money. In the end, no one cares about his small amount of cash and his perception that he has any power over people is false.
Although Jason is a crafty and clever character, he never uses his talents to swindle people rather than to gain their respect honestly. Faulkner’s different use of style and tone in each characters section of the novel is based upon each characters different personality in the novel. If Jason learned to not manipulate and trick those around him, people might start to truly listen to him and he would finally have some real control over his peers. By concentrating on his small sum of money and believing that it is everything in his life, Jason never develops any higher goals or aspirations for himself. Jason appears to be a motivated character with clever ideas, driven by his strong ego. Jason could be a strong leader if he could put his traits to good use instead of wasting them on petty tricks; he could finally win some real control over those around him.(824)
Friday, October 26, 2007
The Sound and the Fury Blog 1
In first section of "The Sound and the Fury", Benjy acts as the moral reflector of the novel and helps the reader evaluate the other characters. Although Benjy is mentally handicapped, his primary attribute is that he is able to sense emotional changes in any of the character’s behavior. Benjy is unable to communicate his feelings to others around him, but he can feel the deviations in his companion’s emotions. Benjy has an acute sense of the situations that surround him although he cannot fully understand them. He simply knows when his companions are in trouble and can sense their uneasiness. Benjy knows when Caddy has been promiscuous, when his family members are sick, and is able to read peoples emotions and true feelings through their tone and body language. Because Benjy can only understand the characters on a very primitive standpoint, we are able to analyze the character’s actions at their most basic level. Through Benjy’s honest interpretation of the events that surround him, the reader is able to evaluate the other characters in a way that is unique to Faulkner’s novel.
Since Benjy thinks on such a simple level his interpretations of his companion’s actions are broken down to the most basic understanding. Although he cannot communicate and has a terrible mental handicap, Benjy can interpret the mood of the characters around him. When Mr. Patterson intercepts the letter intended for his wife, Benjy can sense the tension between the two characters by reading their body language, "Mrs. Patterson came across the garden, running. When I saw her eyes I began to cry. Mr. Patterson climbed the fence. He took the letter. Mrs. Patterson’s dress was caught on the fence. I saw her eyes again and I ran down the hill" (13-4). In another scene involving an argument between Caddy and Quentin, Benjy again is able to sense the tension between the two characters even though he cannot understand what they are fighting about, "I’ll run away. Caddy said. Yes you will. Quentin said. I’ll run away and never come back. Caddy said. I began to cry" (19). When Caddy comes home after losing her virginity Benjy again can sense the emotional turmoil, "We were in the hall. Caddy was still looking at me. Her hand was against her mouth and I saw her eyes and I cried. We went up the stairs. She stopped again, against the wall, looking at me and I cried and she went on and I came n, crying, and she shrank against the wall, looking at me" (69). Because Benjy cannot communicate through speech, the only way he can express himself if by crying. Whenever he senses a situation with any tension, as little as it may be, he begins to cry until the situation is corrected.
Aside from highlighting especially tense scenes in the novel, Benjy’s innocent interpretation of the characters helps the reader to see their true nature. When characters are alone with Benjy they know that he cannot fully understand what they are saying. During this time the reader is able to see what the characters true personality is like. Benjy is to an extent acting as an omnipresent observer. The only characters that seem to care for Benjy are Caddy and Dilsey. Most of the other characters in the novel abuse Benjy and mock his mental handicap. Jason is one of the coldest characters towards Benjy and blames the family troubles on Benjy. After Benjy is accused of raping the girl outside of the gate Jason says that, "Do you think I wanted anything like this to happen. This family is bad enough, God knows. I could have told you the entire time. I reckon you’ll send him to Jackson, now (52). Although Luster takes care of Benjy when he is older, Luster also treats Benjy with disrespect and always tries to make him cry. After Caddy has been gone, Luster knows that Benjy loves her more than anything and uses it against him, "Beller. You want something to beller about. All right, then. Caddy. Caddy. Beller now. Caddy" (55). By seeing how most of the characters treat Benjy the reader is able to see how compassionate the characters truly are. When they are with Benjy, they do not need to pretend to be anything they are not because they know that Benjy cannot understand the things around him. The uncaring characters treat Benjy with disrespect because they know he cannot protect himself. In contrast, we see the Caddy and Dilsey both constantly treat Benjy with the proper respect he deserves and protects him at every chance they get. Through Benjy’s eyes, the reader is able to see into how each character acts when they think no one else is watching them.
Without Benjy, "The Sound and the Fury" would not be able to analyze the characters on such a unique level. Since the other characters know that Benjy cannot fully understand the events that go on around him, they often let their guard down when interacting around him. We can then see the characters true personality traits and if they have any compassion for anyone but themselves. Benjy’s acute sense of emotional change helps us to determine when critical moments develop in the novel between the characters. Benjy’s innocence and simple perception of the characters and events in the novel help us to analyze the novel on its most basic levels. (904).
Since Benjy thinks on such a simple level his interpretations of his companion’s actions are broken down to the most basic understanding. Although he cannot communicate and has a terrible mental handicap, Benjy can interpret the mood of the characters around him. When Mr. Patterson intercepts the letter intended for his wife, Benjy can sense the tension between the two characters by reading their body language, "Mrs. Patterson came across the garden, running. When I saw her eyes I began to cry. Mr. Patterson climbed the fence. He took the letter. Mrs. Patterson’s dress was caught on the fence. I saw her eyes again and I ran down the hill" (13-4). In another scene involving an argument between Caddy and Quentin, Benjy again is able to sense the tension between the two characters even though he cannot understand what they are fighting about, "I’ll run away. Caddy said. Yes you will. Quentin said. I’ll run away and never come back. Caddy said. I began to cry" (19). When Caddy comes home after losing her virginity Benjy again can sense the emotional turmoil, "We were in the hall. Caddy was still looking at me. Her hand was against her mouth and I saw her eyes and I cried. We went up the stairs. She stopped again, against the wall, looking at me and I cried and she went on and I came n, crying, and she shrank against the wall, looking at me" (69). Because Benjy cannot communicate through speech, the only way he can express himself if by crying. Whenever he senses a situation with any tension, as little as it may be, he begins to cry until the situation is corrected.
Aside from highlighting especially tense scenes in the novel, Benjy’s innocent interpretation of the characters helps the reader to see their true nature. When characters are alone with Benjy they know that he cannot fully understand what they are saying. During this time the reader is able to see what the characters true personality is like. Benjy is to an extent acting as an omnipresent observer. The only characters that seem to care for Benjy are Caddy and Dilsey. Most of the other characters in the novel abuse Benjy and mock his mental handicap. Jason is one of the coldest characters towards Benjy and blames the family troubles on Benjy. After Benjy is accused of raping the girl outside of the gate Jason says that, "Do you think I wanted anything like this to happen. This family is bad enough, God knows. I could have told you the entire time. I reckon you’ll send him to Jackson, now (52). Although Luster takes care of Benjy when he is older, Luster also treats Benjy with disrespect and always tries to make him cry. After Caddy has been gone, Luster knows that Benjy loves her more than anything and uses it against him, "Beller. You want something to beller about. All right, then. Caddy. Caddy. Beller now. Caddy" (55). By seeing how most of the characters treat Benjy the reader is able to see how compassionate the characters truly are. When they are with Benjy, they do not need to pretend to be anything they are not because they know that Benjy cannot understand the things around him. The uncaring characters treat Benjy with disrespect because they know he cannot protect himself. In contrast, we see the Caddy and Dilsey both constantly treat Benjy with the proper respect he deserves and protects him at every chance they get. Through Benjy’s eyes, the reader is able to see into how each character acts when they think no one else is watching them.
Without Benjy, "The Sound and the Fury" would not be able to analyze the characters on such a unique level. Since the other characters know that Benjy cannot fully understand the events that go on around him, they often let their guard down when interacting around him. We can then see the characters true personality traits and if they have any compassion for anyone but themselves. Benjy’s acute sense of emotional change helps us to determine when critical moments develop in the novel between the characters. Benjy’s innocence and simple perception of the characters and events in the novel help us to analyze the novel on its most basic levels. (904).
Thursday, October 11, 2007
"Greasy Lake"
"Greasy Lake", by Thomas C. Boyle, reveals a moment of enlightened transformation in three young men as they experience a series of mistakes, consequences, and reformation. The three friends, who have considered themselves "bad characters", discover that being "bad" is not anything like they thought. After experiencing a night full of terrible mishaps, the teenagers realize that living a truly rebellious and dangerous lifestyle is not for them. Boyle’s coming of age story explores a turning point of the young men’s road to maturity. For the characters of this story, one mistake follows another, revealing potential and actual consequences that lead up to a final moment of self-recognition.
Similar to the murky lake they frequent, the main characters are so obsessed with their fake personas that they lose sight of their true personalities. The young men see themselves as bad characters, "We wore torn-up leather jackets, slouched around with toothpicks in our mouths, sniffed glue…we drank gin and grape juice, Tango, Thunderbird, and Bali Hai. We were nineteen. We were bad"(1). Yet, they are not born in the slums, or even self-sustaining tough guys who live on their own rules. The main characters are suburban teenagers in rebellion against anything and everything in their path simply because it is cool. It was "a time when courtesy and winning ways went out of style, when it was good to be bad"(1). The narrator describes his friends as "two dangerous characters" although Digby attends Cornell by "allowing his father to pay his tuition", Jeff is thinking of quitting school to become a painter, and the narrator drives his mother’s station wagon. As the night progresses, the friends are horrified to experience what being "bad" is truly like.
Hoping to find some last minute excitement before returning home, the characters drive up to the local hangout known as Greasy Lake. After a series of unfortunate mistakes, the three boys find themselves in a fight with a real tough guy. In the midst of the climactic moment, the narrator loses his keys and their only way to escape the rough situation. The "bad greasy character" is able to manhandle all of the boys at once. The narrator explains that, "I was terrified. Blood was beating in my ears, my hands were shaking, my heart turning over like a dirtbike in the wrong gear"(11). Unsure of how to handle the situation, the narrator returns to the battle with a tire iron and takes the assailant down with a single blow. The immature boys are at a loss, "No one said anything. We just stared down at the guy…Rattled, I dropped it{tire iron} in the dirt, already envisioning the headlines, the pitted faces of the police inquisitors…"(14). Acting purely on adrenaline, the three friends move on to assault the man’s girlfriend. At this point, they have traveled far into the dark side and have truly become unscrupulous characters. The boys are finally living their dream of becoming "bad characters", but their dream has turned into a nightmare.
The series of mistakes the boys unknowingly commit set the stage for their eventual transformation and realization of their immaturity. The arrival of the second car stops them from crossing over into rape and scares them so badly that can only think to retreat deep into the woods. As the narrator encounters a dead body in the lake, the narrator reaches a point in which he loses all self-control. The narrator, "stumbled back, but the muck took hold of my feet—a sneaker snagged, balance lost—and suddenly I was pitching face forward into the buoyant black mass, throwing my hands out in desperation…"(21). The introduction of the dead body adds the extra push for the narrator to evaluate his current circumstances and realize that acting "bad" only gets him into trouble. After waiting hours in the reeds surrounding the scene of the crime, all three dazed boys emerge together. Physically and mentally exhausted, "They slouched across the lot, looking sheepish, and silently came up beside me to gape at the ravaged automobile. No one said a word" (33). When they think the night is over, two older girls approach their car as the boys are trying to collect themselves. The boys "looked at her like zombies, like war veterans, like deaf-and-dumb pencil peddlers"(40). The young men are given a second chance to fulfill the "real bad character" persona that they so desired before when the girls ask them if they want to party. Although Digby is the only character able to verbally denounce the temptation, the silence of the other two characters is enough to lead us to believe that the young men have undergone a serious transformation. The narrator "just looked at her. I thought I was going to cry"(44). All of the young men have changed from their experience and no longer desire the life of a "real bad character".
After the boys emerge from their hiding places around Greasy Lake, they return to society with a cleansed sense of maturity and understanding. The series of unfortunate events the young men encounter lead them to realize that being "bad" is not all that they hoped it would be. The night they experienced is their harsh initiation into the real world. The narrator understands that he could easily have been lying next to the dead biker on the lake. If he was not as lucky as he was that night, he would have been killed over his notion that being "bad" was the only way to be cool. The night’s events are permanently etched into their minds. For the rest of their lives, the defining moment at Greasy Lake helped the young men realize that acting "bad" did not fit their personality and was not worth the expense that it could cost them. (976)
Similar to the murky lake they frequent, the main characters are so obsessed with their fake personas that they lose sight of their true personalities. The young men see themselves as bad characters, "We wore torn-up leather jackets, slouched around with toothpicks in our mouths, sniffed glue…we drank gin and grape juice, Tango, Thunderbird, and Bali Hai. We were nineteen. We were bad"(1). Yet, they are not born in the slums, or even self-sustaining tough guys who live on their own rules. The main characters are suburban teenagers in rebellion against anything and everything in their path simply because it is cool. It was "a time when courtesy and winning ways went out of style, when it was good to be bad"(1). The narrator describes his friends as "two dangerous characters" although Digby attends Cornell by "allowing his father to pay his tuition", Jeff is thinking of quitting school to become a painter, and the narrator drives his mother’s station wagon. As the night progresses, the friends are horrified to experience what being "bad" is truly like.
Hoping to find some last minute excitement before returning home, the characters drive up to the local hangout known as Greasy Lake. After a series of unfortunate mistakes, the three boys find themselves in a fight with a real tough guy. In the midst of the climactic moment, the narrator loses his keys and their only way to escape the rough situation. The "bad greasy character" is able to manhandle all of the boys at once. The narrator explains that, "I was terrified. Blood was beating in my ears, my hands were shaking, my heart turning over like a dirtbike in the wrong gear"(11). Unsure of how to handle the situation, the narrator returns to the battle with a tire iron and takes the assailant down with a single blow. The immature boys are at a loss, "No one said anything. We just stared down at the guy…Rattled, I dropped it{tire iron} in the dirt, already envisioning the headlines, the pitted faces of the police inquisitors…"(14). Acting purely on adrenaline, the three friends move on to assault the man’s girlfriend. At this point, they have traveled far into the dark side and have truly become unscrupulous characters. The boys are finally living their dream of becoming "bad characters", but their dream has turned into a nightmare.
The series of mistakes the boys unknowingly commit set the stage for their eventual transformation and realization of their immaturity. The arrival of the second car stops them from crossing over into rape and scares them so badly that can only think to retreat deep into the woods. As the narrator encounters a dead body in the lake, the narrator reaches a point in which he loses all self-control. The narrator, "stumbled back, but the muck took hold of my feet—a sneaker snagged, balance lost—and suddenly I was pitching face forward into the buoyant black mass, throwing my hands out in desperation…"(21). The introduction of the dead body adds the extra push for the narrator to evaluate his current circumstances and realize that acting "bad" only gets him into trouble. After waiting hours in the reeds surrounding the scene of the crime, all three dazed boys emerge together. Physically and mentally exhausted, "They slouched across the lot, looking sheepish, and silently came up beside me to gape at the ravaged automobile. No one said a word" (33). When they think the night is over, two older girls approach their car as the boys are trying to collect themselves. The boys "looked at her like zombies, like war veterans, like deaf-and-dumb pencil peddlers"(40). The young men are given a second chance to fulfill the "real bad character" persona that they so desired before when the girls ask them if they want to party. Although Digby is the only character able to verbally denounce the temptation, the silence of the other two characters is enough to lead us to believe that the young men have undergone a serious transformation. The narrator "just looked at her. I thought I was going to cry"(44). All of the young men have changed from their experience and no longer desire the life of a "real bad character".
After the boys emerge from their hiding places around Greasy Lake, they return to society with a cleansed sense of maturity and understanding. The series of unfortunate events the young men encounter lead them to realize that being "bad" is not all that they hoped it would be. The night they experienced is their harsh initiation into the real world. The narrator understands that he could easily have been lying next to the dead biker on the lake. If he was not as lucky as he was that night, he would have been killed over his notion that being "bad" was the only way to be cool. The night’s events are permanently etched into their minds. For the rest of their lives, the defining moment at Greasy Lake helped the young men realize that acting "bad" did not fit their personality and was not worth the expense that it could cost them. (976)
Friday, October 5, 2007
"The Things They Carried"
In "The Things They Carried", Tim O’ Brien explores the physical and emotional burdens that weighed on soldiers during the Vietnam War. The "things" the troops carry are both literal and figurative. Their physical load of weapons, ammunition, rations, and other supplies underscore their emotional load of terror, love, grief, and their desire to return home. Each character in O’Brien’s short story carries a different load specific to their role in the unit. Similar to their physical items, each character carries a different emotional burden specific to their outlook on the terrible events that surround their lives.
Jimmy Cross, the unit’s officer, is charged with the most responsibility and appears to suffer emotional burdens more than any of his other men. Although Cross may not carry as much physical load as the other enlisted men in his unit, he is responsible for his men’s lives. When Cross witnesses Lavender’s death, he bears the grief of the other members of the unit and feels as if he is responsible for his demise. The other enlisted men, too dumbfounded to mourn, do not experience the grief that Cross does. In response to losing one of his men, Cross feels as if he must become the best officer he can be and devote his life to his men. He then makes a symbolic personal sacrifice by burning the letters from his beloved Martha. By giving up Martha, he loses the escape he once had from the war around him. Since he believes her presence will no longer distract him, he can become closer to his men and protect them better. He is no longer absently obsessed with her trivial matters that he sees as a destructive force to his concentration to his unit. Lavender’s death, although un-preventable, leads Cross to become a different person for the rest of his time in Vietnam. He will no longer allow he and his men to take the war lightheartedly. The unit will no do everything by the book and according to military procedure. Cross no longer is devoted to focusing on matters at home, but rather on devoting all of his efforts on getting his men safely through the conflict.
Some of the things the men carry are universal, such as the two-pound poncho, magazines of ammunition, a primary weapon, and fear. All of the men carry the weight of fear, reputations, and death along with their standard gear. Although every member of the unit experiences fear at some point, every one of the soldiers knows that exhibiting fear will only reveal vulnerability. After a particularly bad firefight, "They would touch their bodies, feeling shame, then quickly hiding it. They would force themselves to stand. As if in slow motion, frame by frame…Scary stuff, one might say. But then someone else would grin…" (65) Although the men are all scared they try to hide their fear from each other. They all "carried the emotional baggage of men who might die. They carried shameful memories. They carried the common secret of cowardice barely restrained, the instinct to run or freeze or hide, and in many respects that was the heaviest burden of all, for it could never be put down, it required prefect balance and perfect posture" (76). All of the men have to find a way to dehumanize the whole situation in order to cope with the events that surround them. In the short story, the men encounter a VC corpse by the side of the road. One of the men, Sanders, reaches down, cuts a finger from the body, and puts in his pocket. Sanders then tries to tell the other men that there is some moral to the scene before them yet he is unable to explain it. The other troops curse Sanders and yet it does not seem to bother any of them what they had just seen. In order to continue on fighting and not lose your sanity, the soldiers must dehumanize the events around them.
Tim O’ Brien’s short story explores the hardships the troops endured during the war. Even more encumbering than their physical loads were the emotional wounds they suffered each day. All of the men over there could handle the physical demands the war required from them, but many of they could not handle the emotional drain that the war took from them. Even if the troops could hide their emotional pain while in battle and in Vietnam, once they returned home they were changed forever. The emotional wounds many of the troops faced in the war could not be repaired. Through Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and his men, we can see how the terrible events the men suffered though changed their lives forever. (787)
Jimmy Cross, the unit’s officer, is charged with the most responsibility and appears to suffer emotional burdens more than any of his other men. Although Cross may not carry as much physical load as the other enlisted men in his unit, he is responsible for his men’s lives. When Cross witnesses Lavender’s death, he bears the grief of the other members of the unit and feels as if he is responsible for his demise. The other enlisted men, too dumbfounded to mourn, do not experience the grief that Cross does. In response to losing one of his men, Cross feels as if he must become the best officer he can be and devote his life to his men. He then makes a symbolic personal sacrifice by burning the letters from his beloved Martha. By giving up Martha, he loses the escape he once had from the war around him. Since he believes her presence will no longer distract him, he can become closer to his men and protect them better. He is no longer absently obsessed with her trivial matters that he sees as a destructive force to his concentration to his unit. Lavender’s death, although un-preventable, leads Cross to become a different person for the rest of his time in Vietnam. He will no longer allow he and his men to take the war lightheartedly. The unit will no do everything by the book and according to military procedure. Cross no longer is devoted to focusing on matters at home, but rather on devoting all of his efforts on getting his men safely through the conflict.
Some of the things the men carry are universal, such as the two-pound poncho, magazines of ammunition, a primary weapon, and fear. All of the men carry the weight of fear, reputations, and death along with their standard gear. Although every member of the unit experiences fear at some point, every one of the soldiers knows that exhibiting fear will only reveal vulnerability. After a particularly bad firefight, "They would touch their bodies, feeling shame, then quickly hiding it. They would force themselves to stand. As if in slow motion, frame by frame…Scary stuff, one might say. But then someone else would grin…" (65) Although the men are all scared they try to hide their fear from each other. They all "carried the emotional baggage of men who might die. They carried shameful memories. They carried the common secret of cowardice barely restrained, the instinct to run or freeze or hide, and in many respects that was the heaviest burden of all, for it could never be put down, it required prefect balance and perfect posture" (76). All of the men have to find a way to dehumanize the whole situation in order to cope with the events that surround them. In the short story, the men encounter a VC corpse by the side of the road. One of the men, Sanders, reaches down, cuts a finger from the body, and puts in his pocket. Sanders then tries to tell the other men that there is some moral to the scene before them yet he is unable to explain it. The other troops curse Sanders and yet it does not seem to bother any of them what they had just seen. In order to continue on fighting and not lose your sanity, the soldiers must dehumanize the events around them.
Tim O’ Brien’s short story explores the hardships the troops endured during the war. Even more encumbering than their physical loads were the emotional wounds they suffered each day. All of the men over there could handle the physical demands the war required from them, but many of they could not handle the emotional drain that the war took from them. Even if the troops could hide their emotional pain while in battle and in Vietnam, once they returned home they were changed forever. The emotional wounds many of the troops faced in the war could not be repaired. Through Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and his men, we can see how the terrible events the men suffered though changed their lives forever. (787)
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