The Crying of Lot 49

Upon the completion of this book (The Crying of Lot 49, by Thomas Pynchon), my original declaration that this book was eccentric and confusing, stands confirmed. Before I really delved deep into the book, I was aware that the novel would have hallucinations and a sense of paranoia (as vividly displayed by the music band “The Paranoids” that were constantly present). From the onset of the book there was this general consensus from literary elements as well as the cultural elements of the time, that this book was unusual and was a depiction of the times. At the very beginning of the story, Oedipa’s doctor is randomly calling her in the wee hours of the morning attempting to convince her to take LSD: “When can you let us fit you into our schedule.”(8). This random and abrupt incident serves to set the absurdity of the tone for the story. Occurrences such as these are common happenings in the novel and they add to the confusion as well as ridiculous nature. The next major act presented in the story that hinted to me that this would be a strange tale of everyone being “paranoid” was the continuous presence of “The Paranoids”. Each time The Paranoids were around, naturally, I assumed (as the characters felt) an eerie feeling was around. The band seemed to appear in the most random, awkward, and strange moments, like when the minor character, Manny Di Presso suddenly runs up on Oedipa and Metzer claiming to be a lawyer bringing a case against the estate of Pierce Inverarity: “Metzer looked around. The Paranoids and their chicks may have been out of earshot…. ‘They’ve been listening’, screamed Di Presso, ‘thosde kids. All the time, somebody listens in, snoops; they bug your apartment, they tap your phone-‘” (48). The Paranoids seem to add even more absurdity to bizarre situations. Everyone is on the edge of their seat. Everyone believes that there is some great conspiracy out there and the presence of the Paranoids adds to the mood of their anxiety. This was another indicator to me that this book would be full of delusions. The last and one of the most important indicators of the certain in congruency of the story was the use of drugs/the attempt to get others to take drugs. Drugs such as LSD and mushrooms were highly popular drugs during the 1960s and the topic of drugs surrounds this entire story. Each chapter has some mention of drugs and has representations of the side affects of drugs: “They had all been smoking, snuffing, or injecting something, and perhaps did not see her at all.” (98).. Even though Oedipa refuses to take them, she herself is constantly surrounded by people who are taking them and the atmosphere is mostly convoluted with these drugs, that even though she does not directly take these drugs, she still suffers the side affects such as hallucinations and confusion. These hallucinations interfered with her every day functioning as she was willing to admit to herself that: “Later, possibly, she would have trouble sorting the night into real and dreamed.” (95). With such conflict and confusion amongst the main character, I knew that I myself was doomed to be confused, because if she herself did not know whether or not the events she believed to be happening were real or not, then how was I suppose to know. I think Pynchon did this (wrote the story this way) to heighten the story so it would not only fit in the time period by its topic and allusions, but also in the mood of the times.

The Brooch

It is quite possible that Howard suffers from the Oedipus complex in which he unconsciously dreamed of killing his father to marry his mother, however since his father went away after six months after his birth it is quite possible that his eccentric attachment to his mother is “the marriage”. With his competition gone (his father), Howard has claimed his mother as his woman and he has a weird and twisted relationship to his mother and toward other girls. It seemed as if Howard was not even really interested in women, by the angelic look he had on his face as he passed by these women without looking at them. “…hurried with averted head, even when his mother was not with him, past young girls in the streets…” (648). If he had already formed a solid “relationship” with his mother, there was no need for him to betray her messing with other women. Their strange relationship continued even when he went to college she moved with him. They had grown so dependent on each other with the absence of strong male figures in both of their lives (she being husbandless and fatherless) gravitate towards each other. They are filling that missing void with each other, esp. Howard’s mother. She reminds me of Narcissa in “There Was a Queen”, because Narcissa did the same thing after the death of her husband and all she had left was her little son. Getting stuck in the Oedipus complex is very unhealthy and will inevitably lead to unhealthy relationships with women in the future, thus with Howard, he went from one extreme to the next: He married a “loose” woman (who was doomed to have unhealthy relationships as well, because she was an orphan and had no one around to teach her how to build healthy relationships with men). The first signs that their relationship was doomed to be dysfunctional was when he was so eager to marry her so quickly and then his physical aggression towards her. “She fell back a little as he gripped her shoulder…he dragged her, screaming and struggling…across the dance floor…took her across his lap and spanked her.” (651). Howard is assuming a father role in spanking her. This is obviously not a typical husband-wife relationship. Being in a relationship with someone other than his mother was definitely hard for him that is why his relationship with his wife, Amy, was so messed up, because he really did not know how to balance his emotions and feelings in a relationship with a woman. Eventually the battle between his weird relationship with his mother and with his wife (with neither of them working out successfully) leads to his suicide.

There Was a Queen

“There Was a Queen” by William Faulkner depicts the triumph of the New South and the fading away of the “Old South”. This depiction is paralleled to the young Bayard wife, Narcissa, and the last “true” Bayard woman, Miss Jenny. Miss Jenny is the last blood true full blooded member of the Satoris family and she herself is close to death. In direct opposition to Miss Jenny is Narcissa the young wife of the last dead Bayard. Miss Jenny represents the fading South, while Narcissa represents the new age of the South, which is full of change.
Miss Jenny is the Queen referred to in the title. She has been reigning over the family land and slaves ever since the death of the rest of her relatives. As she continues to age, times are drastically changing during this post Civil War period; however she, like most Southerners deeply rooted in their own mindsets, is stubborn to change. Even the house servant Elnora notices this change with the coming of Narcissa and she does not like it either. With much disdain and disgust, Elnora declares that Narcissa is unlike the Sartoris family and has no business attempting to fit in. “I ain’t got nothing against her. I just say let quality consort with quality, and unquality do the same thing.” (734). Elnora (and Miss Jenny) recognizes and feels that Narcissa is unlike the Sartoris family in many ways and she does not have a good feeling about the future changes that may come along with her presence.
Despite her resilience to the changes, she and Elnora must endure them through Narcissa. Narcissa is disrupting Southern traditions as she changes the food they eat. No longer is cornbread or biscuits a normality at the dinner table, but rather they eat sliced bread. Most true old Southerners are willing to shout their love for biscuits and cornbread at the top of their lungs, however with Narcissa representing the “New South”, she is already breaking with once firmly traditions. Narcissa persists in doing things atypical of a normal Southern woman as she brings a Jew home for dinner. Miss Jenny had done well with holding her tongue up until that point. “…she knew at once he was a Jew, and when he spoke to her her outrage became fury and she jerked back in the chair like a striking snake, the motion strong enough to thrust the chair back from the table.” (736). She just could not under any circumstance tolerate a Jew at her dinner table, which is completely understandable, because those were the beliefs steadfastly lodged in her brain. Northerners were the enemy and a Jew was even worse.
As all of these changes continue, Miss Jenny is slowly dying and fading away to the background. The final straw that sealed the fate of the New South completely overtaking the Old South was when the new of Narcissa’s sexual encounter to retrieve old love letters was revealed. Receiving love letters from a man that was not your husband, was in itself bad enough, however to sleep with a man to obtain some sort of “treasure” in return, for whatever reason, was completely unacceptable and uncommon in the Old South. Miss Jenny could not take it. This news was too much for her and she herself realized that this battle was lost. Narcissa was too much for her to combat alone in her old age and fragile state, thus she faded away into death. She placed her bonnet on her head in despair and denied access to the light: “…a slender, erect figure indicated only beside the window framed by the sparse and defunctive Carolina glass.” (742).

Gertrude Stein's Work

Upon my first reading of Gertrude Stein’s writings, I was highly confused. The words seemed randomly placed on the paper in a meaningless fashion as if it was painting canvas just splashed with paint and called art, yet in this situation it would be called “literature”. After taking a step back and reading the biographical note by Linda Wagner Martin, I realized that Stein’s writing was a unique form of literature misunderstood by many. Linda Wagner Martin explicitly explains the inimitable nature if Gertrude Stein’s work: “Diligent in her efforts to create a meaningful language, one that would reach the reader's consciousness in ways that most writing did not, Stein plumbed areas of communication that are as often non-verbal as linguistic.” In her writings, Stein used the random and sporadic, yet continuous placement of words to add to the meaning and rhythm of her writings. For example in “Susie Asado”, Stein uses repetition to form a sort of rhythm to go along with her subject. Susie Asado was believed to have been an actual dancer (either flamenco or salsa), thus the recurrence of, “sweet sweet sweet sweet sweet tea” (1149) can seen to be a sort of beat for the reader to catch as they imagine Susie Asado. Another example of Stein’s attempt to use her erratic repetitive words to form pictures is in “Preciosilla”. Stein is depicting a sex scene in and the rhythm of these two lovers can be caught and imagined as Stein says, “….go go go go go go, go. Go go. Not guessed. Go go.”(1150). Stein has created fragment sentences that on the surface seem to make no sense, however as one listens to the words, one gets a sense of the scene that is taking place. So like that piece of art work we might view which we might see as merely paint splashed on a canvas, Stein’s literature is really complex and picturesque, however one must view her uninhibited use of words as literature that draws upon more of our senses beyond sight. We must attempt to hear the piece or we will not get an accurate reading of the literature.

Desiree's Baby

Armand Aubigny seemed to be the typical male during the times when Kate Chopin wrote, “Desiree’s Baby”. Armand was a white man of affluence and wealth as well as a prideful and demanding man. He liked to be in control of the things around him (such as exerting his control over his Negro slaves and his household), so one day when he looked at his baby and realized that there was something off about this beautiful, white, and pure child, he was expectedly perturbed. As the child grows older, Armand realizes that this child that he has cherished and adored is not a purebred white baby. This notion disgusts and hurts him. His pride does not allow him to accept this love child of him and wife instead he turns away from her. “He thought that Almighty God had dealt cruelly and unjustly with him; and he felt somehow, he was paying Him back in kind when he stabbed thus into his wife’s soul.” (362). Being a man who likes to be in the forefront and have a considerable amount of influence in all situations, Armand is despaired by this “unjust act” of God, so he decides to repay this injustice done to him, but punishing his wife. He is unwilling to hear any sort of argument posed by his wife (admittance or refute), he feels as if he must come out on top at the end of this as if he is equivalent to God and can stand toe to toe with him in affecting people’s lives.
Not for one second does Armand stop to think that maybe this trace of blackness in their child could have somehow come from him. He immediately assumes it was his wife and does not waver in this proclamation. Being a man during those times in which most men were chauvinistic and domineering, he had to protect his reputation and good name. He didn’t want people to know that his wife was breeding black babies and he found it acceptable and would continue to love her. “Moreover he no longer loved her, because of the unconscious injury she had brought upon his home and his name.” (362). Armand was a prideful man, who had a reputation to protect, thus it was only plausible that he expel his wife from their household and from his life. It was such a frightening thought as to what the country people might say if they found out that Desiree had produced a mulatto baby: maybe she was part black or maybe she cheated on her husband with a black man. He would be mocked and looked down upon if this ever occurred. The possibilities were horrible and Armand had to protect his good name.
Also within this piece I found the notion of blackness being evil presented through the baby. When it was discovered that the baby had vestiges of black into it, suddenly the house, Armand’s mood, their marriage, as well as the tone of the book, became dark and gloomy. Happiness was gone with the birthing of this blackness. Even though Armand loved this baby initially as soon as he saw blackness presenting itself in his child, his demeanor toward the child quickly changed. Armand allowed this notion of blackness being evil to ruin his marriage as well as his life (because possibly he would have not found out about his own black heritage if he did not start that fire to burn all lasting memories of Desiree and their child, until later on in his life). It was such a sin back then to be the parents of a mulatto child. Those parents were shunned and seen as evil and impure themselves, because blacks were still seen and treated as dirt, so to procreate with one of them was an unpleasing thought and one that people believed would turn the whole world upside down if it was warmly accepted.

The Birth of a Friendship

One of the most crucial developments to follow in Mark Twain’s novel, Huckleberry Finn, is the blossoming of Huck and Jim’s relationship. Initially their relationship is one of mere associates and on in which Huck takes precedence over Jim, however as they spend more time together Huck’s view of Jim begins to change.
Initially, Huck does not view them as equals, thus the element of respect is missing from their relationship (in terms of Huck respecting Jim). When we are first introduced to Jim in the novel, it is through Huck and Tom’s childish pranks and teasing. Jim is viewed by the boys as a sort of a game, just something humorous to pass time with. They completely disregard Jim’s feelings and well-being. On the occasion in which Tom wants to tie Jim to a tree and commence to tease him, Huck rejects this idea, for his own sake not for Jim’s. “But I said no; he might wake and make a disturbance, and then they’d find out I warn’t in.” (74). Huck’s fear of getting caught and being punished guides his actions more so than morality and kindness. Jim is not even viewed as a human being. He is seen as property and thus Jim feels as if he can treat him however, unless it will cause some sort of unwarranted backlash on himself.
This treatment continues even as Jim becomes a sort of protector over Huck as their paths cross on Jackson Island after they both flee the mainland. Even though Huck expresses some joy in stumbling upon Jim, his emotions are all one sided and centered around himself. His joy over Jim is that now he does not have to be alone; now he has a form of entertainment and even someone to assist him in whatever dangers he might encounter. Huck and Jim do not have a friendship yet. Steps toward a friendship begin as Huck nervously and dubiously agrees not to turn Jim in for running away from his masters. This is a momentous step in their relationship and even though much doubt crossed Huck’s mind while he was agreeing to this promise, this shows that Huck cares for Jim some, because this promise not only continues Jim’s loyalty to Huck, but it initiates Huck’s loyalty to Jim. They are now bound together, however the relationship is still not quite 50-50 in equality, because Huck still encounters many experiences in their journey in which his childish and immature nature cause him to revert back to viewing Jim as a sort of concrete and emotionless joke/game in which he can toy with, for example, when Huck gets lost in the fog temporarily, Jim is worried about him and makes a big fuss, yet Huck tells him he dreamed it all up. “Well. This is too many for me, Jim. I hain’t seen no fog, not no islands, nor no troubles, nor nothing. I been setting here talking with you all night till you went to sleep about ten minutes ago, and I reckon I done the same.” (141). Jim knows this to be a joke and he views it as a cruel act from Huck, because Jim views Huck as his friend (esp. since Huck promised not to turn him in for being a run away).
I viewed this scene as the most crucial turning point in Huck and Jim’s relationship. I feel it was this occurrence that really bound Huck and Jim together, despite some of the doubt hat crept into Huck’s head from time to time. Here Huck began to view Jim as a human being, a person, a friend, whom he really did care for, because only when we care for someone do we allow for ourselves to be moved by their emotions. This only happens with people we hold dear; their sorrows become our own and we are able to empathize with them. Huck begins to realize how he has hurt Jim and he does not like the way that makes him feel, so he apologizes. “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger-but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards neither. I didn’t do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn’t have done that one if I had a knowed it would make him feel that way.” (142). Huck has accepted Jim as a person and as a friend. They now have a special bond that moves beyond loyalty and sense of duty. There is feeling and emotion involved.

"I like the look of Agony" by Emily Dickinson

Too many times in history when the country, continent, or world is undergoing great difficulty or conflict, there is always that person (or group of people) who attempt to “sugarcoat” the situation. For different reasons people attempt to downplay the seriousness of momentous occasions. I like this Emily Dickinson poem, “I like the look of Agony”, because I feel as if she is speaking out against those phony facades and saying how precious the truth looks to those of us who desire it. “Because I know it’s true” (2). Dickinson did not write this poem for sadistic or gloomy pleasure derived from depression rather in advocating purpose of promoting the truth and realness. Dickinson does not concentrate on how delighted she is by the look of agony, but she is focusing on the look of agony itself and the emotions shown in the face. “Men do not sham Convulsion, nor stimulate a throe…” (3-4). No one walks around with the look of agony for no reason. There is always a reason behind this look of anguish and the best way for the issues behind these emotions it to express them, so a person could assist in relieving these cares and stresses. In relation to the Civil War, if the generals and leaders were lying or keeping the truth from the civilians, the civilians were walking around with a false sense of self and security, however even though disturbing news will cause their faces to become distorted and their attitudes changed, it is most beneficial in the long run. “The Beads upon the forehead by homely anguish strung” (7-8). This is quite a vivid picture of the beads of sweat that collect themselves upon the forehead of those in distressed. These beads of sweat look quite disgusting and can make a person nervous, however Dickinson loves the look of this because the this is an indication of the truth speaking, no matter how disturbing the news. All of the ducks are in a row now. Dickinson chooses to use such violent and frantic words to describe this look of anguish, because admittingly it is not a pretty site, but as they say, the truth isn’t pretty. Dickinson isn’t glorifying depression, but merely calling for honesty in the midst of hard times. If Dickinson was writing this poem in relation to the dishonesty and information held back from the public, she is declaring that she would rather be sweating in a panic, while informed of every major occurrence, rather than blissfully ignorant.