Post 8: The Struggle Against "Fate"

All the women in Song of Solomon are exposed to some isolation in their lives that effects how they approach the world around them. Both Ruth and Pilate are isolated similarly in their childhood, but the effects of this isolation manifests itself differently in the two characters.

Ruth yearns for love and tries to maintain the people or things that remind her of times when she was loved, especially the men in her life. This is why she keeps her father from death, even when he wants to die, and why she goes after Hagar when she finds out about Hagar's attempted murdering of Milkman. She clings to the things that she loves so tightly that she forces them away from her, just like how Macon cannot stand her because of how she was close to her father. By keeping Milkman close to her by breastfeeding him for so long, Ruth drives him away when he finds out exactly how he got his nickname in the first place. Ruth striving for control over her husband actually gives her less control in her own life because she pushes not only her husband, but her son and father from her as well. Ruth is connected to love and life but at the same time has a strange connection to death. She shows that she is willing to kill to save the life of her son, just like how Hagar is willing to kill Milkman so that he is unable to leave her side.

Pilate, on the other hand, learns to live without the love of men and survive on the love of her daughter and granddaughter. When she is pushed away from the pickers whom she travels with for three years because of her lack of navel, she decides that she doesn't need the love of a man to keep her alive. Pilate's fear of being pushed away by Reba's father is what makes her step back from society again and strengthen her resolve not to get involved with men or conform to other people's standards. By not requiring love, she actually draws it to her. Her values of consideratiton and respect of privacy make people comfortable around her, like how Milkman finds that he is first truly happy in her winehouse because he is surrounded by people who care for what he has to say and don't have ridiculous expectations of him. She does not expect anything from the men around her because of being deserted by both her father and her brothere. At the same time, while she learns not to require the love of men, she is willing to help women who are in similar situations to herself. When she comes to see her brother, Pilate doesn't come with any connections to men, and she doesn't intend to have that change. She stays near her brother so that she can help Ruth in her plight, not because she expects some change of heart from her brother.

The plights of Ruth and Pilate parallel the struggle that all women go through in Song of Solomon. Both women struggle to live their lives a certain way but end up managing the opposite. Ruth wants love, but she pushes all those who should love her away from her. Pilate expects nothing from the people around her, but she manages to bring together a family, both literally and figuratively, that is very loving, if not also passionate and violent. The women in this novel are like tragic heros in that whatever they try to accomplish, they manage the opposite. Ruth's struggle to make a home filled with love creates a home where both men are uncomfortable and her daughters seem empty and blank. Pilate doesn't try to surround herself by men who love, but she manages to create a sanctuary where many people feel comfortable, including Ruth herself. The women struggle to attain a certain way of life, but their struggles seem pointless because everything they do negated by the fate that seems to control them. The women in the Song of Solomon are bound by a fate stronger than that of Milkman Dead.

Post 7: Caddy, Nameless and Fated

While the novel The Sound and the Fury is about the life and impact of Caddy, she rarely appears in the story. Each of her three brothers has a chapter which they narrate, and there is a third chapter told from an omniscient point of view, but Caddy herself is never graced with a chapter of her own. Adding to her namelessness is the fact that her mother, Mrs. Compson, forbids the rest of the family to mention Caddy's name once Caddy has gotten married and then had her daughter, Miss Quentin.

The lack of a chapter narrated by Caddy shows her powerlessness and inability to change her fate, so to speak. Faulkner called her "beautiful and tragic" because her strengths are what are turned into vices and weaknesses that cause her downfall. Her inability to speak for herself, or control her own life, is shown in the lack of chapter narrated by her. The chapters of her brothers show how they shaped her life. While the chapters directly show how she affects her brothers' lives, the actions of her brothers' lives shape hers too. Even though she has such a strong connection, although different, with all three brothers, she is unable to stop her own demise and that of her family.

Caddy hurries her own demise by attempting to slow it. She feels the breakdown of her own family when she is young and so she tries to get away from her family by gaining independence. However, in the time period, women had very few ways to become independent of their families. Caddy chooses to become promiscuous so that she can gain some freedom from her family. However, by doing this, she loses her virginity which is the downfall of Quentin, her marriage disentrigrates which loses Jason his job, and she is forced to leave the family which leaves Benjy alone and without a truly caring figure in his life. In trying to do good and attain some freedom for herself, she brings destruction closer to both herself and her family.

Caddy's lack of voice in The Sound and the Fury shows her inability to control her own life. She is a truly tragic figure because nothing she does changes how her life will end. All of her actions are for nothing, and no matter how hard she tries to break free of the chains of her society and her family, she is bound more tightly and brings destruction upon herself.

"It is a tale/Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,/Signifying nothing."
-Macbeth

Post 6: Faulkner

The part about this novel that strikes me the most is the differing connections between the brothers and Caddy. All three are tied to her with no turning back, but she doesn't even appear in a majority of the storyline. While each brother is similarly tied to her, they feel a connection with her for very different reasons.

Benjy is connected to Caddy because she takes care of him while her mother cannot do the job. He associates her with the sounds and feelings of innocence. The happiest times in his life are contained in memories of Caddy where she cared for him, unlike memories of other family members after she has left. He continuously remembers the smell of trees on her throughout his life, even after she has left and the Compson family has disintegrated almost completely. His memory works so that each memory is tied together by viceral things, so that his present and his past are one in the same. This is how, even though Caddy has left to live her own life, she is still a major part of Benjy's. The loss of innocence in the novel is shown especially through Benjy's point of view. His childlike mental state keeps him in the same condition that he was when Caddy left to get married, have her daughter, and then get banned from returning to the Compson family.

Quentin is connected to Caddy, because although he has a more complex thought process than Benjy, he still lives halfway in the past. His fixation is on the moment when Caddy lost her virginity and he was unable to "save" her. Quentin's strong belief in upholding family and personal honor leads him to romanticize what he could have done for Caddy. Even though Mr. Compson does not believe that Quentin slept with Caddy, Quentin still believes that telling his father this is the best possible option for retaining the family honor. Quentin's fixation over time shows how he cannot disconnect himself from that one situation in the past. Like Benjy, his inability to live predominantly in the present keeps him connected to Caddy and the past more than is healthy for him. Quentin commits suicide before the prime of his life because he cannot reconcile in his own mind the actions of Caddy and the decomposition of his own family.

Jason is connected to Caddy for a much more selfish reason. While he manages to live mostly in the present, his actions are made because he believes that he has been wronged by his sister. His anger stems from what he feels was injustice done to him when he lost the job at the bank that he was to get when Caddy originally got married. Because Jason feels that he has been wronged, he believes that it is morally alright for him to be terrible to the people around him, always trying to attain that justice he lost. The injustice he feels that he has suffered causes his actions. Also though, he believes that the redemption of his family will be found through money, which is what he lost when he lost the job at the bank. He shapes his life around bitterness and attempts to attain money which only make him more cruel and unhappy.

Post 5: The Realization and Submission to Chaos

"It is his extremity that I seem to have lived through. True, he had made that last stride, he had stepped over the edge, while I had been permitted to draw back my hesitating foot. And perhaps in this is the whole difference; perhaps all the wisdom, and all the truth, and all the sincerity, are just compressed into that inappreciable moment of time in which we step over the threshold of the invisible." Heart of Darkness

"Everybody wanted me to do it, him most of all. I felt like he was up there, waiting for me to take the pain away... Even the jungle wanted him dead, and that's who he really took his orders from anyway." Apocalypse Now

Both works focus on the struggle between civilization and barbarianism. What usually would be two sides representing dark and light are meshed in Heart of Darkness into somthing darker and more ominous. The "light" of civilization is sullied by imperialism and war, while the "dark" of Africa or Vietnam is turned into an even greater uknown by its ability to twist civilization into itself. The chaos and dischord around Marlow/Willard's boat increases as he goes higher up the river. While in Heart of Darkness, it is Marlow's thoughts that become more and more convoluted, in Apocalypse Now it is the land around the river that becomes more and more chaotic and destroyed. The climax of reaching Kurtz's Inner Station brings clarity to the reasoning behind Kurtz's actions, because although he turns out to be insane, the darkness surrounding him is not longer so obscure. Kurtz has completely forsaken civilization and "sound method" in both the novella and movie, as seen through his being worshipped as an idol and his ability to murder people so heartlessly without any backlash from his followers. Marlow/Willard is better able to understand Kurtz now because not only can he talk directly to him, but Kurtz's actual actions are apparent and no longer just another unknown.

The connection between Marlow and Kurtz in Heart of Darkness and then Willard and Kurtz in Apocalypse Now is very strong. Marlow cannot help but admire Kurtz because of his greatness as a member of the Company and of his ability to make the other leaders in the Company fear him. The charisma that Kurtz has draws in Marlow. Captain Willard respects the Kurtz of Apocalypse Now because of the almost-civilization he has created through the trials and terrors of war. Both Marlow/Willard and Kurtz are able to sense the distinctions, or lack there of, between barbarianism and civilization, while the people surrounding them cannot. Marlow/Willard understands the power that the darkness has over a person out in the jungle and wants to know what changes have taken place in Kurtz's mind to function around this darkness. Marlow/Willard also understands that in killing Kurtz, he is becoming a part of the darkness and "unsound method" that the Company/the Army says they are trying to combat. Because Marlow survives his trip up the river while Kurtz does not, he does not know what clarity or light Kurtz has found in his death. Marlow cannot have the finality that Kurtz gets in his death because he does not "step over the treshold of the invisible." Even though Marlow does not get this tidy ending, Marlow never completely submits to chaos and only realizes the distinctions between sanity and chaos. Kurtz realizes the insanity in which he is living and therefore wishes for death in Apocalypse Now. This is his submission, or release, from the chaos that currently holds him. Kurtz's need to remain with "his" people in Heart of Darkness shows the slight lack of clarity in Kurtz's own mind that marks a difference between the stories.

Post 4: Feel like you missed something? Me too.

I felt that "Cathedral" was one of the most complex short stories we read in class. While I was left with what I assumed to be meaning, I know that there must be something much deeper than the main character having his eyes opened to another view on life: blindness. I believe that there is other spiritual motion, or increased awareness, besides what is obvious to the reader after a first read. For me, this was the only story that I was satisfied with after reading, but "Cathedral" did leave me with a sense that I had somehow missed something crucial. Even after talking in class about the specturm between realistic and absurd writing, I couldn't breach the gap from the reality of the events to the absurdity of the actual meaning.

I see how the lack of resolution in the other short stories we read caused me to go back and look deeper for meaning and resolution. However, even after reading back through "Cathedral" while looking for similar clues to meaning, I came up blank again. The spritual motion that is so obvious makes the more obscure meaning hidden to me still. The main character saying "It's really something" right at the end, seemingly in reference to the cathedral itself pretty much baffles me. He is obviously seeing deeper than the picture because his eyes are closed, but it doesn't seem that his is understanding the blind man's world or blindness itself any more completely. He is now aware of something else, somthing that I cannot find.

The title could have several meanings for the story, from the simple to the obscure. Most obviously is how the title refers strictly to the catherdral that was drawn or talked about in the short story. Next, the title could be about the spiritual motion of the awareness of blindness that the story seems to represent, because cathedrals are singularly spiritual or religious places. Finally, the cathedral could be the place, metaphorically speaking, that the main character has reached because of his realization, but as to that place, I do not know what its meaning or name is.

Post 3: The Game of War

"Iago, as Harold Goddard finely remarked, is always at war; he is a moral pyromaniac setting fire to all of reality.......In Iago, what was the religion of war, when he worshiped Othello as its god, has now become the game of war, to be played everywhere except upon the battlefield."--Harold Bloom

Iago begins the play Othello believing in the religion of war. He is a warrior on the battlefield under his commander, Othello. He says himself to Roderigo that he has showed Othello that he can handle himself well in war while Cassio is untried in actual battle and knows only what is in the books. He says that he worked hard under Othello and it is obvious from his outrage that he thought very highly of Othello before Othello "betrayed" him by choosing Cassio as lieutenant. It seems that while he had thought before of causing some trouble because of his previous questioning of Emilia for Desdemona's handkerchief, he was too wrapped up in actual war and battle to cause any real trouble.

Iago begins to turn from war as a religion to war as a game when he is turned down as Othello's lieutenant. While he already harbored what could have been jealousy for Othello with his beautiful wife and high status even for his race, when Iago is turned down that jealousy is turned to anger and hatred, as he shows when he talks to Roderigo. He states that the only reason he stays to work for Othello is to undo Othello. Another fire for his anger could be his love of Desdemona vs. his seeming apathy for his wife Emilia. He says that he loves Desdemona but he never says anything like that about Emilia, only calling her "wench" and speaking thinly veiled jibes at her honor and intelligence. Once this fire is lit, Iago goes after the other characters one by one on his way to Othello.

He does not care any longer about the "honor" that he used before on the battlefield and begins to use underhanded measures to achieve his means like placing the doubt that Desdemona is faithful in Othello's mind and pushing Cassio to press his suit with Desdemona. He even asks Othello how far he will have to go, how much he will have to say, until Othello believes what Iago says about Desdemona and her love for Cassio. This questioning shows that war or dischord has been turned into a game for Iago, and that he is willing to do anything besides show himself to continue the game.

When Iago becomes angry is the moment where he throws away all reservations that had kept him seemingly honorable and trustworthy before and although he still seems good to those around him, he no longer tries to be. He will do anything, say anything to anyone, to twist the truth and tell white lies so that Othello is brought down. Here is where the idea or the "moral pyromaniac" sets in as Iago isn't afraid to say outrageous things against the other characters simply to sway one person's mind. He doesn't care that he kills his wife or causes Othello to kill Desdemona. It matters not to him that once Roderigo has outlasted his usefullness, Iago basically kills him in cold blood. Iago's use of Desdemona as the trap that brings all the others down also points to Iago believing that war is now a game. He knows how pure she is and uses that irony to enslave everyone is something more tragic than simply killing them would be. Iago knows how to turn people's strengths into their weaknesses, and that his ability will make the fall even more terrible an awakening than anything they could have managed by themselves. He creates theses complex webs between the characters so that each is working against another, be it knowingly or not.

Through all of this though, he manages to still be trusted by everyone else. A true warrior would not care how he appeared only that the ends were met, but a player in a game does anything and everthing to achieve ends without being uncovered or understood.

Post 2: Don't Sleep with Your Mother OR Your Father

Besides the obvious anti-incest feelings that Oedipus brought me, my brain was simply boiling as I walked away from class...



I have always struggled with the fate v. free will idea. I want to believe that I have the choice in my life to do what I want: that I am the one who chooses to eat the cake, that I am the one who decides to go to college and study said subject. I want to be the one that is taking my life in the direction that it is going, and not some higher power. At the same time, I can't help but believe that there has to be some preset line of events that every person must follow without realizing it. If not, how are there situations like the terrible things that happen to good people? Some might say that those people deserved the pain or suffering that they were forced to live with, but I do not agree. While some problems we may bring upon ourselves like a decision with terrible side effects like drunk driving for example, what about the people who get effected because of your drunk driving? Is that their fault? Did they bring that on themselves? Obviously not, so it must have been meant to happen in the larger scheme of things.

I managed to more or less ignore that problem in my head before now, but after reading Oedipus Rex, I am confronted with it more. However, I can't come to a single conclusion in my head. There is another alternative though: that while a person has a certain road to travel, that road can be branched off of or detoured from, but the person always comes back to that road. I guess this could sort of be like saying that Oedipus's original fate was to kill his father the King of Corinth because that is what he thought the prophecy meant. But when he tried to run from that fate, it changed so that he killed his father by leaving Corinth. It just gets confusing from there, which is another reason why I think this subject is so hard to debate. It's difficult to argue something if each person uses different words interchangably....

These are very unpolished thoughts, but pretty much what my mind debating with itself.