Sorting Out His Thoughts

When I first started to read the book Waiting for the Barbarians, I was instantly entranced by its unique style. The book is told from the Magistrate’s point of view, and therefore the literary style is a reflection of the way that the Magistrate’s mind works. The book is distinguished by a very descriptive style, and the descriptions are not always positive. What I most noticed was the fact that the Magistrate described his experiences in what could sometimes be considered a brutally honest manner. He did not sugarcoat his impressions, even when they were about himself or his actions. When talking about the girl that he has taken into his household, he is particularly blunt with his descriptions. He mentions that, “I undress her, I bathe her, I stroke her, I sleep beside her- but I might equally well tie her to a chair and beat her, it would be no less intimate.”(42) This bluntness is indicative of his trying to figure things out for himself. He is confused about many things in his life, and he seeks to understand these things fully. The Magistrate’s uninfluenced descriptions are as much for his sake as they are for the reader’s sake. He describes things in as accurate a manner as he can, because his descriptions allow him to lay out his thoughts in a sensible manner. In his quest for understanding, he lays out all of the facts and then tries to make sense of them.

In the second section, the Magistrate seeks to understand more about the blind girl. Why is she blind, how was she tortured, why is he so entranced by her, what did she look like before the disfigurations- it seems like he wishes to know everything about this girl in order to achieve a deeper understanding of her essence. He mentions that he does not know why or even if he is attracted to her, saying that “she is ugly, ugly.” (46) Yet he still does not know why he is fascinated by her. His brusque descriptions show the reader of his deep confusion, and of his desire to know for certain the workings of the inner mind.

Changing Definitions

- The book Heart of Darkness is often a controversial text because of its alleged endorsement of racism
- However, one cannot call the book “racist” or “imperialist” without clearly defining what these terms mean and what they meant at the time of the book
- At the time that Conrad was writing the novel, the word “racism” did not exist, and although the phenomena of what we would call racism was definitely present, there was not a consciousness of racism as there is today
- People thought about the subject of race in very different terms than we do today
- One reason the word “racist” was not in existence was because, at the time, thinking in terms of race was so widespread that it was not considered to be irregular or negative. Therefore, a new word to define it was not needed
- However, words describing negative attitudes towards race were eventually created
- Early definitions of racism pertained to prejudices against different western countries instead of against African Americans
- This type of racism is very different from the “racist” attitudes today
- Conrad also did not consider his novel to be talking about what we would consider to be “imperialism”
- He never uses the word “imperialism” in the book, and the closest he comes is his usage of the word “colonist”
- Basically, meanings of the words “racism” and “imperialism” changed between Conrad’s time and our time
- Therefore, one needs to analyze Heart of Darkness in terms of the significance in its time, as opposed to analyzing it as compared to modern times

Jason is Always Right

Right before Quentin is discovered to be missing, the remaining members of the Compson family are sitting in the kitchen, eating breakfast. Although many may think that the following scene of Quentin’s escape is the most important event of the fourth section, I believe that the preceding scene tells us just as much about their character. Benjy, Dilsey, Mother, and Jason are the only remaining major family members, and their interactions over breakfast present a very detailed picture of how things work in the Compson household. Jason is, or course, the domineering “head of the household,” and everything that he says, goes. After all, who is going to stop him? Benjy is still not developed enough to feed himself, Luster is still a relatively young boy, and Mother, although she is older and could have authority over Jason, thinks that “it is neither [Dilsey’s] place or mine to tell Jason what to do. Sometimes I think he is wrong, but I try to obey his wishes for you all’s sakes” (278). This sentence really bothered me when I read it. If Mother thinks that something Jason does is “wrong”, why does she not try and help him do the right thing instead? And I somehow can’t see Mother doing anything that is truly for someone else’s “sake.” I just cannot understand how Mother can just completely submit her will to Jason’s. Jason even outright insults her, saying that if she cleaned the house, it would look like a “pigsty.” The fact that Mother does not even try to defend herself, and in fact seems to welcome the criticism makes her an even more infuriating character. What do you think is the true reason Mother so willingly submits to Jason? Is it for the sake of keeping the family together, or is it for her personal gain? Is she too feeble-minded to even realize what Jason is doing?

Taking a Different Approach

While researching for my article, I came upon an article called “Meaningful Images in the Sound and the Fury.” I vaguely scanned it, and was not hopeful at first. It seemed to be just another descriptive article about the motifs in the book. However, one sentence caught my eye; the article mentioned how after the three confusing and biased narratives, the fourth section is written in an unbiased manner. The article mentions then how the other three narratives serve to almost cancel each other out in a sense, so the reader can finally grasp what really happened. This struck a chord with me, because I had noticed that the first two narratives seemed to be approaching the same idea, but from opposite angles

• Meaningful Images in The Sound and the Fury

• Eben Bass
• Modern Language Notes, Vol. 76, No. 8 (Dec., 1961), pp. 728-731
• Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press

A Mother's Love

So our class has been talking about how Quentin’s suicide may have been caused by Caddy, his father, his brother, and even Herbert Head. But what about his mother? A mother usually has a close bond with her children, and is almost always instrumental in shaping their child as a person, whether this is in a positive or negative manner. In Quentin’s case, Caroline’s mothering decidedly falls into the latter category. We do not even have to search for proof that Caroline was a bad mother to Quentin, as he often outright laments about how “if I’d just had a mother so I could say mother mother” (pg 172). Caroline was plainly never there to support Quentin, and his numerous references to his mother can lead us to conclude that Quentin was greatly affected by his mother’s lack of caring. However, there is a big difference between adversely affecting a child’s personality and driving them to commit suicide. How much of a part do you think Quentin’s mother played in developing his clearly dysfunctional personality? How do you think Caroline affected the rest of the family dynamics? Do you think she is ultimately to blame for Quentin’s death?

Short Story

While browsing the short story section in the library, I came upon a booklet titled “Interrupted Serenade” by James Hannaham. It was a random choice, but as I sat down at a nearby cubicle and started reading it, I knew that it was a fortuitous one. The story plotline focuses around the life of Lopey, a “almost ten year old” boy who lives with his father and stepmother in a middle class home. The story begins in a Police Station, where Lopey has been arrested for selling drugs. The first thing that struck me about the short story was the fact that, at nine years old, Lopey was regularly selling drugs on the street. This heavy involvement in drugs at such a young age concerns me as the reader and luckily, concerns his parents. On a side note, it is interesting that as far as I can see, Lopey himself is not a big drug user. He seems to only sell drugs and rarely, if ever, uses them. From what I have heard about drug dealers, this seems to be highly irregular behavior. Anyway, either way, this is not productive, positive behavior, so his father and stepmother send Lopey to live with his birth mother and her wealthy husband. One of the most striking pieces in the large house is a grand piano. Lopey begins to try to play by mimicking the sounds of a classical record that was playing. The family discovers that Lopey has a talent for playing piano, and they start to try and cultivate his talent.

The piano and the drug dealing represent opposing forces in Lopey’s personality, and their coexisting and clashing make up the majority of the story. I think that for my paper, I am going to talk about these opposing forces, and how this is a developmental story as well as a story about choices.

Mistakes and Consequences

Ariel Gordon

AP English

Mr. Coon

(795)

Tillie Olsen’s “I stand here Ironing” starts off by describing a telephone conversation between the narrator and what is apparently a school counselor. The counselor tells the narrator that her daughter, Emily, is “a youngster who needs help” (637). Olsen, therefore, lets the reader know early on that this will be a short story that focuses on child development. Olsen also “gives the game away”, so to speak, by telling us at the beginning that the story does not end well. Thought the plot line is generally centered around the development of Emily, it is the narrator who is telling the story, and through her eyes, we see all of the work, decisions, and doubts involved in mothering.

A famous quote tells that “Noble children can come from wicked families, and wicked children can come from noble families.” This quote is meant to alleviate the helpless feeling of parents who wonder what went wrong in their wayward child’s childhood. However, a quote more fitting for the story “I Stand Here Ironing” would be something like “Well-adjusted children come from well-adjusted families, and irresponsible children come from irresponsible families.” We, as the readers, would like to give the narrator the benefit of the doubt, but as the story goes on, it becomes clearer and clearer that Emily’s development as a child has greatly affected her personality as an adult. Her irresponsible upbringing has turned Emily into an irresponsible 19-year old who may seem to be doing well on the surface, but has hidden, barely-visible issues underneath it all.

Her mother, for her part, has truly tried her hardest to do what is best for Emily, and has truly had almost insurmountable odds placed against her. The narrator’s first roadblock was that she herself was only 19 when she gave birth to Emily, an age which is far too young to handle a child at all, let alone without any help or guidance. Emily’s father had already left her, so this young, still-teenage girl had to take care of Emily all by her lonesome. With no husband and no mother to guide her, the narrator is forced to turn to books to find a proper way to raise a child. Even though her baby’s cries to nurse have “battered [her] to trembling,” she sticks with the book’s feeding guideline. Without a father or any additional support, the narrator is forced to work long hours to support herself and the baby. She knows instinctively that she should be spending as much time as possible with the baby, but she is unable to. A part time night job just does not provide enough of an income to live on, and she is forced to abandon her to first her family, then a nursery center, then a “convalescent home.” Each time the narrator comes to retrieve her daughter, she recognizes her less and less, but the narrator has no other path to turn to.

“And even without knowing, I knew.” This simple sentence says so much about the narrator’s feelings of guilt and shame about what she put her child through. She knew that the nursery school teacher was “evil,” she knew that the people who “persuaded her at the clinic” to send Emily to an institution were wrong, and she knew that her rejection and dismissal of Emily’s cries closed a door that could never again be opened. The narrator understands these things, and does not make the same mistakes again with her second child, Susan. However, her learning from these mistakes cannot repair the damage and constant upheaval that has been present throughout Emily’s life. The one “benefit” that Emily’s childhood has given her is the ability to act. Her talent for acting is no coincidence; she has been practicing her entire life. Emily has had to act happy, to act normal, all of the time. She has acted throughout her entire life in order to assure her mother that everything is ok. Her mother wants so much to believe Emily’s act, and at some moments she truly has hope that Emily will be ok. However, at other moments, it is apparent that Emily has been too greatly affected by her upbringing, and that no amount of acting can ultimately cover that up.

As a mother, with so many forces against her, all the narrator can do is try and hope. She can only hope that her mistakes as a mother will be overcome by her daughter’s spirit and ability to adapt. She can only try to iron out the wrinkles that she created in the fabric of Emily’s life, and hope that “[Emily] is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless in the face of the iron” (642).

Switching Places

The confusion of traditional gender roles in Bobbie Ann Mason’s “Shiloh” are critical to the outcome of the story.

The marriage worked at first because Leroy Moffit clearly held the role of the male in the relationship. He acted as the husband in the physical and emotional sense. As a truck driver, he was the only one in the family with a job, and the money he earned was subsequently used to support the family. Leroy bought Norma Jean gifts, like an “electric organ” to keep her happy and to treat her well. The story does not go into much detail, but we assume that he was in at least moderately good shape. As a typical male, he was also distant emotionally, as well as being distant physically.

Norma Jean also fulfills the typical female role in the family. She “would cook fried chicken… all his favorites” and would stay at home with the baby. She is docile and meek, illustrated by her mother’s catching her smoking. When her mother caught her smoking, she was highly embarrassed and is panicked and crying.

However, as time goes on, Norma Jean and Leroy start to switch their roles in the family. Leroy’s injury weakens him physically, and takes away his livelihood. The loss of his job is the catalyst that sets off the whole switching of roles. With Leroy out of a job, Norma Jean feels compelled to pick up the slack. She then finds herself a job to support the family. Once Norma Jean gets a job at the “Rexall Drugstore”, she feels compelled to better herself, physically and mentally. Mentally, she starts going to night school in order to learn and get a better education. She also starts to play the organ that Leroy got her. She patiently and painstakingly teaches herself more and more complicated pieces, until she is finally a decent player. She also starts to work out, specifically on her pectoral muscles. Her working out in general seems to be out of character, but specifically working on her pectoral muscles is a strange action. She also starts to become the dominant personality in the household. She becomes more critical and abrasive, and sheds her quiet, meek persona for an outspoken and opinionated one.

While Norma Jean is drifting further and further towards the masculine end of the spectrum, Leroy is drifting towards the feminine side. His injury seems to demotivate him, and he spends his time at home lazing around. Instead of trying to find a job, he does needlepoint, something that Norma Jean points out “that’s what a woman would do.”

Who is to Blame?

Ann Tyler’s story Teenage Wasteland was an interesting and thought-provoking text. It dealt with the issue of a troubled adolescence, and through the main character Donny, showed how confusing a time adolescence can be. One of the most recurring themes that I noticed was the issue of blame. Blame was present throughout the whole story, and all of the characters were guilty of assigning blame at one point or another. Of course, for blame to be directed, there must first be a problem of which we are unsure of the answer. In Teenage Wasteland, in broadest terms, the problem was Donny. Donny’s slipping into bad behavior at the beginning of the text turned into a downright freefall at the conclusion. Throughout his adolescence, the question that everyone had in his or her mind is “Who or what is to blame?”

Most of the characters in Teenage Wasteland easily shrug off the blame onto the shoulders of others. The “blame game” starts out in the beginning of the text, when Donny’s grades start to slip. Donny’s teachers, who are not happy, with his performance, call in his parents for a conference. In this conference, the principal inherently accuses Daisy and Matt of poor parenting skills. Daisy, in particular, is befuddled. She has spent her whole life raising Donny, and everything has seemed to be fine up until now. Daisy rationally knows that Donny’s recent behavior is truly not all her fault, but her insecurities overpower any rationale that she might have. Cal is another character that likes to place blame on anyone other than himself. Cal, in fact, blames just about everyone; the school, the teachers, the parents, society; everyone except himself and Donny, that is. His immature eschewing of all responsibility has a negative effect on everyone in the book. Not only does it make Daisy and Matt feel even more worthless than they are, it angers the school and the administration. The worst effect, however, was on Donny. Donny clearly looks to Cal as a role model of sorts, but Cal does not live up to that role. Instead of encouraging Donny to be motivated and educated, Cal teaches Donny to place all blame on others and to make excuses for everything. In Teenage Wasteland, Cal almost encourages Donny’s excuses instead of questioning their legitimacy or why they even need to be made in the first place.

Ironically, the only person that should be internalizing the blame is the only one who is not. It is, ultimately, Donny’s fault that he has landed in such a bad situation. By shifting the blame onto other characters, he has shirked all responsibility and not grown as a person. He has not taken responsibility for his actions, and he therefore has not taken control of his own life. He has refused to truly “grow up” in the most meaningful sense. He seems to expect that life will be handed to him without any effort on his part. When he realizes that this is not true, his principles are shattered and he does not know how to react. By not taking responsibility, Donny loses his way. His obviously confused and irrational decision to run away at the end of the book is a sad ending to a sad story. Watching a teenage boy slip farther and farther down into the well of despair was a hard experience for all involved, especially his parents, and it is natural to try and find out the cause of this tragedy. However, in the end, it was Donny’s emotional immaturity that was to blame for the conclusion of the story.

Nine Books

1. 1984 by George Orwell- I love the part discussing "The Book," which everyone else finds to be the most boring part of the novel.

2. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri- An engaging and fresh take on a coming of age novel.

3. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden- An intimate look at the life of a geisha. Fun to read while still being informative.

4. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling- Ridiculously addictive- I can never stop reading them until I finally finish.

5. The Seventh Scroll by Wilbur Smith- A fun action novel that is based in history.

6. The Nancy Drew Series by Caroline Keene- I read every single Nancy Drew novel in the second grade- they inspired my love of reading.

7. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown- I love action books that are historically based.

8. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert- A beach read that actually has substance.

9. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini- a touching story of love and sacrifice within chaos.

Escape from a Mental Cage

One of the highlights my summer was when I went to Martha’s Vineyard. My family rents the same house there every year, and although I look forward to the beach and relaxing with the rest of my family, I also look forward to the books. The house we rent belongs to Evan Thomas, editor of Newsweek magazine, and he has the greatest collection of books in one home I have ever seen. My family stays there for around two weeks, and the time always seems to run out before I can read everything I want to. This year, I did manage to complete quite a number of good books there.  The first book I read was Infidel, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. For some reason, all books about Middle Eastern culture fascinate me. I have read A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Namesake more times than I can count, but Infidel in particular interested me. The book was a kind of autobiography of Ayaan’s life, and while a book of this type could easily have gone stale and boring, Hirsi Ali’s earnestness and conviction make it a captivating read. In the book, she begins her story as a typical Muslim girl: she prays only sporadically but still believes in Allah. However, throughout the novel, she drifts away from her faith and eventually starts to challenge it. The major inconsistency that Ayaan sees in Islam is in the treatment of women. At one point in the novel, she attends a religious discussion, where an imam is talking about first how “Allah is just,” but then discussing how “women must be subservient to their husbands.” When Ayaan angrily points out this inconsistency and asks “must our husbands obey us as well?” the whole room falls apart in laughter. In the book, she lives in three different countries, and they have different protocols for the treatment of women. Interestingly, it is in Saudi Arabia, the epicenter of Islam, that women have the lowest social status. Many Saudis beat their wives regularly, and women are not allowed to go out on to the street without the company of a man. Ayaan recalls how her mother was humiliated by having to drag her nine year old son with her to the grocery store, and how when her mother got to the grocery store, the salespeople would not even acknowledge her presence. Of all of the countries she lived in, it was Kenya, technically a Christian country, that had the most equal treatment of women in its social system. However, Ayaan was told by her mother that the Christians were gaalo, or unbelievers, and were therefore filthy. Ayaan’s mother and grandmother saw the Christians as little better than pigs. When in Kenya, Ayaan has a teacher named Sister Aziza who greatly affects Ayaan. Sister Aziza taught Islam in a different way than Ayaan was used to, and it was inspiring for Ayaan. When Sister Aziza told the class that they needed to try and convert their Christian classmates in order to save them from eternal hell, Ayaan quickly tries her best. However, her classmates tell her that they don’t believe in her hell, that their God has saved them. Ayaan, panicked, replies, “But you will burn!” which her Christian classmates find amusing. Through all of this her Muslim beliefs have remained strong. It is only after she runs away to Holland that she discovers the failures of her system and ends up becoming an atheist. Being an Infidel is the worst possible crime in the Muslim world, and for the rest of her life, Ayaan is hunted by militant extremists. However, she decides to sacrifice her own safety for that of her cause. She is, even today, working hard at trying to help Muslim women escape from what she calls the “mental cage of Islam.” Her views are radical, to be sure. However, her eloquence and her dedication win over the reader in the end. The story of how Ayaan went from a typical Muslim girl to an outspoken Dutch politician is a good one, and was an inspiring and fun read for summer.

 

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

The Rule of Four by Dustin Thomas and Ian Caldwell

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Caravans by James A. Michener

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri