A Complicated Man, Macon.

Angry black white boy has a lot to unpack. A lot. To be completely honest I’m having a lot of trouble biting into a coherent blog post about this book because my thoughts are less thoughtful and more “what the hell”. I thought I might start off somewhere familiar; with a man we have been talking about all year. Odysseus.

Oddly enough this story reminded me more of The Odyssey than any other book we’ve read all year. I’ll attribute this to our main characters of each story. They are both very complicated men in different ways, both leaders of their “ship” who go down in certain ways.

 I think I liked both of them about the same as well; they’re undeniably clever and charismatic in a certain way and yet so completely idiotic in others I can’t stand them. Macon is arguably more self-critical than Odysseus but they both have masculine confidence that makes them incredibly self-centered. They both think that they are very wise- Odysseus thinks he is a talented trickster and captain and Macon thinks that he is enlightened to black culture. They both use these talents in order to gain a “crew”, Odysseus’ being literal and Macons being “The Franchise.” Eventually, both groups turn against Odysseus and Macon and things unintentionally result in death and destruction. Odysseus is part of the death of his whole crew and things get out of hand and violent at Macon’s Day of Apology. As well if we wanted to draw parallels between the slaughter in the hall and the day of apology that would be very interesting. Both seemingly “revenge” story’s with questionable moral politics and lots of bloodshed.

Odysseus and Macon even seem to both have a problem with women. Odysseus is unfaithful to his wife and shows the gender ideals at the time while Macon fails to acknowledge intersectional ideas or treat women with equal respect and attention in how he treats Logan, for example. They both have ideologies and worldviews that may seem a bit extreme. For example, Macon doesn’t see a moral issue with robbing people at gunpoint where Odysseus brags about being a “sacker of cities”. They center their identities about taking in a violent way.

I think both are such complicated men that watching them go on a “hero's journey” made me feel similar ways, sometimes incredibly uncomfortable and sometimes just in awe. They both center around pretty epic and ridiculous stories and center around two men trying to make a change and prove something--whether it’s getting home or righting racial injustice.

Are there any other ways you can think of that Macon and Odysseus are similar or different? How do you see them? Did you get the same feeling from both of them or do you see them as incomparable?

D-D-D-D-D-Dora

I’m sure everyone in my class has heard me talk about this like 15 times already but the relationship that Jack has with Dora and the way that it helps him cope has been one of my favorite parts of this book from the beginning. It’s probably because I really liked Dora when I was a kid, but I think that his relationship with Dora is really really important.

 Arguably, the relationship that Jack has with Dora is the closest relationship that he has to another child. He cares for and misses Dora the way that a child might miss their friend from preschool. When Ma and Jack are in the clinic he wants to see if he can find Dora and Spongebob on the TV because he hasn’t been able to see them for a while and he misses them and he’s disappointed when all that’s on is golf. Even before they escape part of the reason I think Jack is so excited about meeting other children on the “outside” is that Jack wants to meet other people like Dora who he knows that he likes and this is one of the only things that Jack is really excited to experience on the outside. 

Not only is Dora a reason for Jack to get to want to get to the outside Dora is also a way for Jack to be able to get there. When Jack doesn’t understand the plan Ma tells him to remember that the steps in the plan are like when Dora goes from one place to another. This helps him remember the plan and conceptualize how to do it. Additionally, he feels motivated by imagining her singing the “we did it” song and is inspired by her bravery. When he wriggles free from the rug, he wishes Dora was there because he knows that she would congratulate him for accomplishing his goals and being brave like her.

Jack’s relationship with Dora is very personal and he draws from her in many ways. In so many trials of his life, he calls on Dora for strength and guidance and she helps him understand the outside world. He understands the world through the context of Dora and her life and he understands what a grandma is because of Dora’s Abuela. When ma is telling him her stories about her mother he doesn’t understand at first but when he thinks about Dora and her Abuela he gains context and understanding that helps him process and be okay with this large change in his life. Just having this small jumping off place for understanding is very important in his adjustment to the world he will soon face head-on. As well Jack understands how nobody knows where they are in Room when he conceptualizes that they aren’t on a map or on Dora’s map. Jack also has a context for morals and knows that stealing is wrong because of Swiper from Dora. Though ma has taught him morals as well, having “swiper no swiping” as a mantra to remind himself is clearly helpful for Jack.

Jack also learns how to answer questions from Dora which is a very helpful skill for him in the future. When Ajeet asks Jack what his name is Jack recalls how the only one from TV (what he perceives everything outside of room as and therefore thinks that Ajeet is from TV) that asks him questions is Dora, and she already knows what his name is, so he doesn’t know how to answer that question because he hasn’t practiced it with Dora. He has learned from Dora that it is normal for him to answer questions from people from TV, a skill he struggles to use over and over again but has ultimately been prepared for by Dora asking him questions. 

 He used Dora to familiarize himself in the new environment of the clinic as Dora quite literally helps to heal his wounds in the form of his Dora bandaid. His bandaid is only a small part of his medical experience which is overwhelming and for Jack but this small familiarity “makes his day”.  Dora also makes him happy in the clinic in another potentially very confusing situation. Understandably Jack could have a hard time figuring out a computer and while he does struggle a bit he seems to be pretty comfortable playing the Dora video game. He even says it is “better than TV”.  As well, the interaction he has experienced with Dora from TV while answering her questions helps him understand how interacting with a computer works.

Overall its really impactful how much Dora means to Jack and I’m curious if people can think of other examples or different ways that she helps him!

Food and Drink

I think we can all agree that food plays a very important role in A Lesson Before Dying. Jefferson’s arch from refusing food to requesting exactly what he wants, both the ice cream and his godmother's food, is a sure sign of “accomplishment”. Food is one of the first ways that Jefferson connects to his community. He shares his food with the other inmates and later the children share pecans with Jefferson and Jefferson gives his first message to his wider community. I absolutely love this. In my family, we cook to show each other we care without words. Like Ms. Emma, sometimes the only thing we know that we can do for each other is to make someone’s favorite food, which is why it is so compelling and heart-breaking when this attempt at comfort turns out to be futile.

Though I love the interlinked relationships between food, love, and responsibility in A Lesson Before Dying I was struck by the role that drink plays in the novel. We see a few instances of drinking, but most of them are pretty negative, though some are obviously more benign.

The two major instances that come to my mind are Jefferson being caught at the scene of the murder with his bottle of whiskey and when Grant gets into a fight at the bar. The Rainbow Bar is a common gathering place in A Lesson Before Dying and cannot be categorized as a “good” place or a “bad” place in the book but it is certain that bad things happen there. It is the physical building of The Rainbow Bar that brings Grant close enough to the men in the bar talking about Jackie Robinson and Grant feels animosity towards those men and looks down on them for their idolization of sports heroes. After Grant has had a particularly fruitful conversation with Jefferson he comes to the Rainbow Bar to wait for Vivian. When he gets to The Rainbow Bar Grant is very happy but this happiness quickly turns to animosity after, again, he overhears a conversation that angers him and he gets into a physical fight.

Two very destructive and negative scenes in the book center around alcohol, so while food is a positive force in A Lesson Before Dying, drink is not.

Letting Go

What is the Bundrens journey even about?? To me, Faulkner makes it pretty clear that this trip isn’t about
honoring Addie. Though Anse says that the trip is Addie’s dying wish and while we learn that this wasn’t
a completely unfounded statement since it was something Addie requested while she was alive (albeit a
long time ago), the “end goal” of this trip hardly gets any attention at all as the story comes to a close.
There is a kerfuffle about needing a trowel to dig her grave but the actual deed is designated only a few
measly words. As well, we get one chapter from Addie that hardly paints her in a good light. Perhaps she
can be seen as a victim of her circumstance and therefore she is somewhat empathetic or sympathetic
but her passage is filled with violent ideation, misery, infidelity, and spite. This portrait is hardly a
motivator for the reader to want Addie to reach her desired final resting place at all costs. If we need the
justification to honor Addie to hold up as a motivator against the detriment and trouble it causes other
members of the family then we are much more likely to root for Vardaman or Cash to get their “happy
ending” than we are Addie Bundren.

If we discount the motivator of Addie getting to her final resting place and her own wish fulfillment then
the reader can turn to some other obvious journeys to root for. Every character has their own personal
mission and motivation for going to town, some more pressing and some more mundane. Several of
these characters get their wishes, though some we never find out and some just don’t. Vardaman gets
bananas, though he doesn’t get his train. Dewy-Dells future is never revealed to us. Anse gets his teeth
plus a little more.

Yet, I can't shake the feeling that this isn’t the whole truth. I wanted to find another more subtle journey
for this trip beyond the mostly material gains they all want to make. So, here’s what I’ve come up with.
I think this trip is about letting go of Addie, though not in a positive way. To me, the biggest argument
for this is just the visceral reactions the family has to the decaying body. It’s Addie going bad, literally.
It forces them to take away any spiritual or mental associations with Addie and boil her down to a body
, a nasty one at that. Through this, they can let themselves see Addie as a nasty person and a flawed
mother and begin to sort through some of the issues this negative parentage may have caused them.

The physical replacement of Addie really sealed the deal for me. Let's hope this Mrs.Bundren is better
than the last one.

Sirens and Gender

I. love. sirens.

But what statement are they making in the context of Homer's narrative and gender dynamics? And how does our modern representation of sirens differ from the classic greek siren?

I was super excited when in Chapter 12 we got to the part of the Odyssey with the sirens in it. I've always thought that sirens were so creepy, the idea of a song so alluring and so desirable that you would do anything and forget all logic in order to seek it out and hear it. Sirens are so powerful, no physical strength can withstand them While I was actually reading the chapter, I was surprised by the fact that their song contained real words. It wasn't just a melody, they were singing directly to Odysseus and addressing him, not only using how beautiful their song was but using flattery and bribery to get him to come to them. I was torn as to if or if not I liked this, hearing the words of the song got rid of some of the mystery of the siren, but it also made them seem even more creepy, that the siren could get into your head and know exactly how to tempt you.

Another thing that I knew before reading the chapter but I just think is so fantastic is that the sirens aren't mermaids like they are in our more contemporary representation of them, they're BIRDS! If you look at some of the classical sculptures of them, they're not just ladies with winds. They're full out birds, just their heads are the heads of women. Honestly, I love this because to me at least it makes the men even more stupid and vulnerable to want to go to them. You're being seduced by a bird?! Comic genius. Yet, the lack of objective physical appeal of the sirens is an even bigger testament to their power, and that's cool too. But I did read that apparently, it's a thing that if someone hears a sirens song and doesn't die the sirens throw themselves into the water and die. So that's a bummer. I kind of root for the sirens tbh.

Okay though back to discussing the gender dynamics in the Odyssey and how sirens fit in. Siren's are the ultimate representation of the magical seductress archetype we've seen in both Circe and Calypso. Both of these women are powerful and "seduce" Odysseus (though he didn't seem to need much convincing). Both of these women, though they're fairly kind of Odysseus, don't earn the love of Odysseus in the same way that Penelope does. Penelope is in many ways the opposite of these women. She's a little bit tricky in her weaving scheme but other than that she doesn't have any exceptional power, certainly not any magical power. As well, she's chaste and faithful in her wait for Odysseus. According to the rules of the book, Odysseus treats them all justly. Circe and Calypso and even the sirens are interesting distractions, but they won't ever be worthy of Odysseus' full devotion, and we are supposed to see this as correct. These women deserve less than Penelope because they are powerful sexy women and it doesn't really matter because Penelope is always the endgame.

loving labyrinth

When I was about 10 years old I first watched a movie that has become one of my very favorites.
It’s called Labyrinth and it’s a bizarrely wonderful 80’s kid's movie and if you’re unfamiliar with it,
it has everything you could ever want in a movie. Corny acting, David Bowie, a dog, muppets,
musical numbers, and a bratty protagonist. It’s an absolute masterpiece that has become a cult
classic and though I know some of it is objectively terrible, I will defend it to my last breath.

Maybe some of you have seen this movie, but in case you haven't, here’s a basic plot run down.
The movie opens with 15-year-old Sarah Williams (played by a young Jennifer Connelly) reciting to
herself a passage from her favorite book, Labyrinth (very dramatic). She soon realizes that she is
late to babysit her baby brother and runs home in the rain with her adorable sheepdog Merlin.
There she fails to communicate with her dad and stepmother, fighting with them both and overall being
a bratty teenager. Her parents leave and after about 45 seconds she gets fed up with her crying
brother and starts reciting things from her beloved Labyrinth book. In this, she recites a group of
words that make goblins come and steal her baby brother. Jareth the Goblin King (David Bowie)
shows up and is a real creepo but tries to tell her to forget her baby brother and live happily ever
after. She says no way Jose and he agrees to let her have her baby brother back if she solves his
Labyrinth in 13 hours.

So here we get into her real quest through the labyrinth. She meets several allies on the way.
She meets Hoggle who is a dwarf, Ludo who is a very sweet bigfoot style monster who is friends
with rocks, and Sir Didymus who is an anthropomorphic fox/knight who rides on the back of
aforementioned adorable sheepdog. Sarah passes many tests of the labyrinth.
She makes friends with her allies and together they storm Jareth’s castle until she goes to
face the goblin king alone, declaring that he has no power over her and beating him. She returns
home and realizes that she really does care about her brother and all is well. Though,
Sarah’s friends from the Labyrinth appear in her mirror and are sad to say goodbye to her,
reminding her that they’ll be there should she need them. She reassures them that she does
need them and will need them every once in a while. They proceed to have a dance party.

Pretty classic Hero’s Journey. She stumbles from her ordinary world into an extraordinary one and
ends up mastering both.

Okay, so maybe not so brief. I really love this movie and there are a million things I wish I could
explain better and in more detail to make you understand what a cinematic marvel it is.

But if you wanted to know all about the movie, you could just watch it (and you definitely should).
Watching this movie again made me really think about why I love it and why I connected with it so
deeply when I first watched it. Thinking back to who I was, this movie helped articulate the identity
crisis of growing up that most kids feel. While Sarah has a very physical hero’s journey, she also has
a mental journey as she seeks to balance “kid” stuff and “teenager” stuff. The ending of the movie
is that most obvious example of this metaphor where Sarah articulates that she is done with this
adventure, but she will still need her fantasy friends throughout her life. She strikes a balance
between growing up and keeping her love of fantasy and childhood. Another scene is from the
“trials” part of her adventure. A junkyard gremlin muppet tries to trick her by luring her into a copy
of her bedroom so she will be distracted from her goal of getting her baby brother back. The junkyard
muppet lady reminds her of how much she loves her toys but Sarah declares that “it’s all junk” and
breaks free to get back on her path. The scene is scary as hell, but it’s not subtle at all. This movie
so clearly shows a struggle to see responsibility and break free of childhood, but the message of
the movie isn’t that you should grow up it’s that you should use your childhood to assist you
but not to control you.

I loved this. I saw this insolent but still likable girl who was struggling to grow up and it let me justify
taking that transition as slow as I wanted, it showed me the value in childhood even as you age out
of being a “kid”  I could use “kids stuff” to my advantage and in fact this movie told me how special I
was for the childhood wonder I had (and boy did I like to be special at that age).

Also, on a more meta level, my love of this movie was an act of defiance against growing old. It’s for
kids, it’s silly and childish and I loved it. I allowed myself to love a silly childish thing. It wasn’t a “good”
movie and it wasn’t in “good” taste of me to like it, but I did because I wanted to and nobody could
stop me. I felt my power through Sarah, taking back the agency I had in my own growing up.

Also, it’s just a work of art. Go watch it.

Milkman as Birdman

As I read the ending of Song of Solomon, I couldn’t help but compare the ending of the Song of Solomon to the ending of the movie Birdman. Now, this blog post will contain very serious spoilers for the movie Birdman so if you haven’t seen Birdman and don’t want it to be spoiled for you STOP READING NOW and so see Birdman!!

There. Now I have hopefully weeded out all the people who want to avoid spoilers and now the only people left are the ones who have either seen Birdman or don’t really care.

In the ending of Birdman, the main character of the movie jumps out of a window. There is no shot of him after he leaves the window ledge and one character is seen looking out of the same window wistfully moments after he jumps, leaving ambiguity as to if the main character has flown or fallen.

This reminded me a lot of the ending of Song of Solomon. They both have main characters who are fascinated with flight and both stories have supernatural elements. At the ending of both, if you have believed the supernatural and mystical elements the whole time you would have little trouble believing the more optimistic of successful flight, but if you do not buy into these it is also easy to see how both characters could be committing suicide and falling to their deaths. In Birdman he is a superhero type character, yet it is ambiguous if this character is only in his mind.

In Song of Solomon Milkman discovers he is from a legendary tribe of flying men, yet this is only a story and is not concrete evidence that Milkman can fly. In both stories, the ending is left open to the interpretation of the reader. Both have evidence for a more optimistic interpretation where they fly. In Song of Solomon, there is the line about being able to ride the air makes it appear as though Milkman has achieved his dreams of flight and in Birdman the other character’s calm at seeing what has happened out of the window achieves the same.

I think that both endings are very beautiful and fascinating. I think that the ambiguity of the ending adds a lot to the story, but I can see how these endings could be frustrating to the reader/viewer. With no complete ending, the reader is left to wonder about both endings. What do you think?