Waiting for Darkness

Although there are many differences between Heart of Darkness and Waiting for the Barbarians, such as their styles of narration, amount of overall description (especially of the narrator's surroundings), and overall plot, many parallels can be drawn between the two novels. 

The main similarity I noticed when comparing Heart of Darkness and Waiting for the Barbarians was between the two main characters: the magistrate and Marlow. As Douglas Kerr points out in his article, both men are "explorers and collectors," and ultimately, their "desires to protect and collect" are what gets them into trouble as well. Marlow is on the prolonged journey not only to do what he was sent out to do, but more importantly to him, to find and try to understand the man that is Kurtz. Likewise, the magistrate admits that his main reason for taking in and taking care of the Barbarian woman is to find deeper meaning about her background, her people, and simply who she is and where she comes from. Both characters have the ulterior motive of searching for a deeper understanding of people unlike themselves throughout their journeys. 

In addition, both the magistrate and Marlow are at some point in each of their journeys under the power of another and have power of their own. Marlow experiences the great power of Kurtz; a power so intense that it is often not directly seen. The magistrate and Marlow both also experience the power of words have over people and the lesson that power can be passed down from generation to generation. When the magistrate sees the little girl of the town timidly beating a Barbarian with a cane given to hear by a person of higher power, he comments on the reaction of power people get when they feel as though they are in a position of authority. 

The magistrate and Marlow each have extreme fascinations. The magistrate is fascinated with the background of the Barbarians and what they have been through and Marlow is fascinated with places, maps, exploration, and Kurtz; a man he meets long after his fascination with him begins. These fascinations are what begins each of the characters on their journeys and what eventually ends them too. When Kurtz dies, Marlow basically excepts defeat when he lies to Kurtz's former lover in order to lessen the pain of his death and of reality. The magistrate accepts defeat when he comes to the realization that he is in fact, alone in  his search for justice and what he thinks is right. 

word count: 417

Further Insight on "Waiting for the Barbarians"

The thing I have found to be most interesting thus far in reading Waiting for the Barbarians is the relationship between the narrator and the Barbarian woman that stays with him in his room and accompanies him on the road. This relationship seems to be the center of the novel, which means that it serves many purposes. Although one would think that it would be the woman prisoner who would want the most out of the relationship, it is in fact, the other way around. The magistrate always seems as though he is going out of his way to please his guest by healing her wounds, massaging her body, and keeping her well fed. At one point, in order to simply make conversation it seems, the magistrate declares to the woman, "People will say I keep two wild animals in my room, a fox and a girl." Then, realizing his mistake by her facial expressions, he is quick to correct himself: "'I am sorry.' 'Of course it is not the same.'" The magistrate seems to get himself into trouble by being the only one who feels the need to continually talk. It is as though the woman places some sort of spell over the narrator, without even having to speak. He is also willing to trudge for weeks through snow and storms in order to bring her back to her people. In addition, when they finally do reach their destination, he pleads with her not to go: "Only, now that I have brought you back, as far as I can, I wish to ask you very clearly to return to the town with me." Although the woman decides to leave the magistrate, she has left with him not only the memories of the times they had shared but also the knowledge of how unfairly the Barbarians are being treated. Although the narrator has clearly changed the woman's life by treating her so well, it is apparent that she is the one who has really made an impact on him. 

To read or not to read?

My section focuses on the benefits and drawbacks of reading Heart of Darkness. Its major points include:

• The only way we, or any reader ever, can or should determined whether or not this novel should be read is by reading it, which then contradicts the argument that it should not be read. 
• One reason that Heart of Darkness should be read is the fact that it is a literary work, rather than a historical piece or other type of writing. It is clear that the novel is literary because of Conrad's use of rhetorical devices, irony, and personifications of Darkness. Conrad also uses similes regularly in the text, which Miller refers to as "a powerful under-text beneath the first-level descriptive language."
• One reason that Heart of Darkness should not be read, according to some, is if the reader understands the text to be sexist or racist. Two type of views of women are evident in the novel: "the European male's tendency to personify the earth as a great mother..." and the view of women as being inferior to men.  In addition, Marlow sees the Africans as "others" or "savages," although this should not be confused with Conrad's view of other cultures. 
• If Heart of Darkness is read in the "right way," or the way in which Conrad intended it to be read, then it should be read and it is our duty to read it.  

All Good Things Must Come to an End

As I pondered the significance of the ending of The Sound and the Fury, the thought crossed my mind that the significance of the ending might in fact be that there was no true and obvious ending. By saying that the book does not have a true ending I am not implying that Faulkner simply decided against concluding the novel in the standard way- with a solution to an ongoing problem or insight into each character's future. Instead I am suggesting that because events in the Compson household seem to continue as normal, and in addition a different story line (that of Jason's chase after Quentin) is introduced, Faulkner is concluding the novel by not logically concluding it. The fact that Jason is on the search for Quentin because he is positive she robbed him of his money shows the essence of Jason's character; always the first to blame, seek revenge, and never take the fault. Faulkner chose this part of the ending for a reason; like Jason, each other character is in his or her own element. There are no huge surprises or even much in the way of final remarks because the story finishes itself. 

The Confusion that is "The Sound and the Fury"

As I began to read Lawrence Bowling's Article about Faulkner's writing technique in "The Sound and the Fury," I found myself excitingly anticipating receiving answers to my many questions concerning Faulkner's novel. Unfortunately, when reading Bowling's article, I found not answers but even more questions. Although Bowling does start his article by admitting the complexity of the novel, he goes on to explain that, "there is certainly nothing about the first two pages of this novel to entangle or frighten away the average reader." After stopping to re-read this sentence a few times, I came to the conclusion that Bowling was being utterly serious and in no way sarcastic like I had immediately concluded. Bowling goes on to explain his reasoning, "It is composed of simple words and much repetition; the basic structural unit is the simple sentence; the question mark and the exclamation point are reduced to the period."

While I agree that Benjy's narration style is incredibly simplistic, I cannot be in concordance with the fact that this type of narration makes the first few pages of the novel in any way easy to read. Bowling argues that the third page of the novel, when flashbacks and flash-forwards come into play, is the start of the difficult-to-understand essence of the book. Although I also agree that this part is rather confusing, I think that the fact that the reader is not conventionally introduced to the characters as well as the lack of conventional punctuation makes "The Sound and the Fury" confusing from the start. Benjy's simplistic language does not subtract from the overall confusing nature of the plot as a whole in my opinion. 

 

Bowling does make a valid point when he describes the reasons for the reader's difficulty in understanding Benjy's narration, "since Benjy is not aware that we are eavesdropping his thoughts, it does not occur to him to explain things for our benefit" and "he could not explain anything if he tried, for he is incapable of the simplest abstraction." It had never before really occurred to me that I was in fact "eavesdropping" on Benjy's thoughts. It is apparent when reading the novel that what Benjy is thinking is making sense to himself, and after reading Bowling's article I now realize that Benjy is not in the least bit concerned with whether his thoughts make sense to others because as far as he is concerned, the reader does not exist. 

"Faulker: Technique of 'The Sound and the Fury'" has placed different aspects of "The Sound and the Fury" in a new light for me. Although I agree with some of those aspects and disagree with others, I realize now that many of the questions I had while reading the novel itself simply do not have obvious answers. 

"Faulker: Technique of 'The Sound and the Fury'"

Lawrence Edward Bowling

The Kenyon Review, Vol. 10, No. 4 (Autumn, 1948), pp. 552-566

Building a House; Destroying a Marriage.

In "Shiloh," there seems to be no theme that occurs more throughout the story than that of Leroy's dream to build a log cabin for his family to live in. While reading, just as I would forget about the house and focus my attention on what I thought to be the greater meanings of the story, such as Leroy's failing marriage or the role of his deceased baby in Norma Jean's distant attitude, I would find myself reading yet another line about how everything would be solved under the roof of a log cabin. What true role does the construction (or lack there of) of the log house play in "Shiloh?" I will try my best to answer this question in the next few paragraphs. 

While reading "Shiloh," the similarities between Leroy's dream house and Leroy and Norma Jean's marriage struck me as uncanny. As the story begins, both aspects of Leroy's life are being built up, although the "construction" of the marriage and the house are forming more in his head that in reality. In addition, Leroy is always telling Norma Jean that he is going to "build you a real house," (50) and when she says she wants out of the relationship he tells her that he refuses to let her leave him. Both of these situations are examples of Leroy trying to convince Norma Jean of what he thinks she wants, when really he is the only one who desires a log cabin and to continue the relationship. Right after reality sinks in that his wife is really gone for good, Leroy decides that "building a log house was the dumbest idea he could have had." (155) Just like the crumbling of the marriage, the idea of the cabin is also in ruins. He comes to realize that maybe no amount of renovation could have fixed either one. 

Because Leroy never actually got around to building the log cabin, the idea never really went further than his imagination. In his marriage, Leroy also never really got around to asking what was wrong and different than before, or why the tension existed. He answered the question of the failure of his marriage over and over in his head, but just like when it came time to take the plans of the house from blueprints onto land, he was never able to formulate what his thoughts to Norma Jean. One cannot help but wonder how much of Leroy's marriage was part of his imagination as well. In this story, the house is used as a parallel to the marriage; both of which end up in pieces. 

(427 words)

Learning to See

It is an immediate instinct to assume that, in a story in which the main characters consist of a blind, widowed man and a younger, inexperienced and somewhat know-it-all, a timeless lesson will be passed down from the first character to the second. Although this is what does end up happening, the lesson is rather subtle and the young man ends up teaching Robert something in return. Right from the start, the narrator's character is made out to be extremely flawed. Between commenting that Robert's deceased wife "... could, if she wanted, wear green eye-shadow around one eye" (15) because he could not see her anyway, and telling the reader that "A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to," (1) it is apparent that the narrator is not concerned with political correctness or, so it seems, the feelings of others. He does not take into consideration his wife's reaction or feelings when he makes this statement. The story goes on; however, to teach a lesson of the value of patience, open-mindedness, and willingness to learn.

The lessons that the husband learns in "The Cathedral" are easily apparent; yet it is not so obvious what he teaches Robert. Juxtaposed with his wife, a do-gooder, the narrator takes on a negative persona at first. There is even a sense of the wife's embarrassment at her husband's actions while Robert is visiting, as apparent by her many apologetic remarks made toward Robert and her many non-approving glances toward her husband. However, during the narrator's discussion with Robert about the cathedral, Carver portrays the husband in a different light. After his wife falls asleep, there is an understanding that he is learning from Robert what she had known about him all along. At the same time there is a sense that although she has spent so much more time with the blind man, her husband is getting more out of what Robert has to teach. The feeling that she does not understand as well as her husband does the true meaning of Robert's actions and words is portrayed as well. As if she is being left out of a really big joke or important conversation, after she wakes up and asks, "What's going on? Robert, what are you doing? What's going on?" Robert simply replies, "It's all right" before telling the narrator to "close your eyes now" (125). For the first time it seems as though Robert cares more about the narrator than about his wife. 

At the end of "The Cathedral" there is a moment of reflection and deep thought. The narrator finally realizes that what he takes for granted, the blind man treasures. There is a point of revelation for the narrator right after he is trying to describe the cathedral on the television to Robert, but keeps fumbling. "The truth is, cathedrals don't mean anything special to me. Nothing. Cathedrals. They're something to look at on late night TV" (106). Later into the conversation, Carver's conveys to the reader that the narrator finally understands that it is not sight that matters but truly "seeing" when he voluntarily closes his eyes while drawing the picture. The last lines of the story reveal a powerful image and show the transformation the narrator has undergone when they demonstrate that his interpretation of the meaning of true sight has evolved. The narrator's response, "It's really something" to Robert's question "Are you looking?" while his eyes are still closed conveys the message of the narrator's growth. 

The narrator's wife immediately assumes that her husband does not have anything of value to offer Robert, with his words or in actuality. It is apparent that she thinks he is actually providing him with the opposite, by saying and doing things she finds to be offensive. Although at first the narrator's attitude towards Robert's arrival only validates her point, as the story progresses he is able to give something back to the blind man. When the narrator's wife arrives in the living room to see that the two men are "smoking some dope," (60) she "gave [him] a savage look" before telling Robert she "didn't know you smoked" (65). Robert responds by saying "I do now, my dear. There's a first time for everything" (65). In this passage Carver demonstrates the narrator's wife's disapproval of her husband and shows Robert's carefree philosophy toward life. In addition, by describing the cathedral to Robert in detail, the narrator is giving him the gift of knowledge; a gift that he is able to return by teaching the narrator that first perceptions can be deceiving. Although is comes in different forms and serves different purposes, this story shows that the gift of knowledge is universal. 

Behind the Scenes of Teenage Wasteland

The short story "Teenage Wasteland" portrays many different and conflicting characters from Daisy's viewpoint. In class we discussed and looked further into the true intentions of Daisy and Calvin, the characters whom the readers get the clearest picture of in the short story. While both Daisy and Calvin have very overpowering personalities- or in Daisy's case, a personality that is not overpowering enough, but one that the reader can easily understand because of her narration- the other characters of the story, while as equally important in the overall message, are no where near as detailed or transparent.

Although the plot of the story revolves around Donny, it is never fully made clear his true feelings about his family or current situation; all the reader can conclude about his personality is gathered from Daisy, who might not be the best source of information when it comes to what her son is feeling and thinking. It is obvious that Donny feels typical teenage angst, yet it is also apparent through his words and actions that what he feels goes way beyond that. It is as if there is a piece of his character that the reader is missing, either because Daisy is not conveying it through her thoughts or because she is so oblivious to her son's emotions that she herself does not know what it is. It is obvious that Donny does not care enough about his future or his reputation to claim responsibility for his own actions, yet the anger and hatred he has towards his mother especially and whole family in general is unusually great. 

In addition to lack of description about the character whom the story is focused around, very little is ever mentioned about Daisy's husband or daughter. The fact that Donny's father is only brought up in the story a few times shows that perhaps all the blame for the way Donny turned out should not be placed solely on Daisy. Daisy mentions that to focus more fully on correcting her son's ways, she virtually ignores her daughter. Never is the thought that while; yes, she should be paying both children equal amounts of attention, she is not the only parent and Matt should be making up for what attention she is not able to give Donny's sister brought up. 

It is apparent that in this short story all member's of Daisy's family, including herself, have large phycological issues they each must face and come to terms with in their own way. 

books I read over the summer:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time by Mark Haddon 

Now This by Nancy Star

About a Boy by Nick Hornby

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin 

I am not exaggerating when I say that The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time was one of the best novels I have ever read. The language Haddon uses is brilliance in its simplest form. When first reading the novel, I was skeptical as to whether or not I would find the plot interesting because it consists of planning to solve the murder mystery of a dog. Not owning a dog myself, I wondered how I could relate to such a plot, especially narrated by a fifteen year old autistic boy named Christopher. But the exact opposite proved to be true. 

Haddon succeeded in opening my mind through the narrative of the main character, Christopher. By using such mundane details of everyday life to explain the inter workings of his mind, Haddon brings Christopher's character to life. Christopher describes in the novel, while on his search for the murderer of his neighbor's poodle, what he is thinking. This type of narration puts into perspective a type of behavior and thought that I had never considered before or had been previously exposed to. For example, to Christopher, certain colors are associated with "good days" and "bad days," varying in the degree depending on the type of day. By the end of the novel I found myself hoping that Christopher would pass by five red cars in a row on his way to school so the day would bring him luck. 

My favorite part of the novel is after Christopher runs away from his father's house to go live with his mother whom he recently discovers was still alive. Without being aware that he has in fact solved the most important mystery in his life, and no longer trusting the man who cared for and raised him, Christopher braves the train station alone to escape from his past. HE describes trying to overcome the feeling of being incredibly overwhelmed by his senses due to symptoms of his autism. He hears voices over load speakers and sees blinking signs with unfamiliar words on them. The diction is so powerful in this part of the novel that my head was spinning too, the sign of, in my opinion, a great book. 

The passion for life that the novel portrays through Christopher's curiosity, amazing ability at mathematics, and attitude towards what and whom he is close to is narrated with such ease. At one point in the book, Christopher casually mentions that he has been trying to set a personal record in order to beat the expert level of Minesweeper in under ninety-nine seconds. Being a huge fan of the computer puzzle myself, this piece of information gave me an inside glimpse into just how much of a mathematical genius Christopher is, in an extremely clever form. 

Throughout reading the novel, I found myself transforming from a reader with skepticism to one with fascination to one with complete appreciation and a better understanding of the human condition. Haddon's writing style contributed completely in my opinion to the success of the book.