First Impressions of "Waiting for the Barbarians"

After finishing the first assignment of reading of Waiting for the Barbarians, I still can’t decide whether or not I like the novel. While reading, I found myself enjoying Coetzee’s style of writing; I appreciated the fact that he uses adjectives to describe characters and settings sufficiently but never overloads a subject with meaningless descriptions. Every now and then Coetzee throws in a word beyond my vocabulary, such as “obdurately” and “maieutic,” however, generally his diction is clear and understandable for me.

I am extremely fond of the speaker of this novel. I basically liked him the second he started talking about the peculiar pieces of glass in front of Colonel Joll’s eyes called “sunglasses.” I definitely was influenced by the speaker’s biased voice when he described Colonel Joll because I too disliked him from the minute he was introduced. As it turns out my feelings were justified from hearing about how he tortured innocent prisoners. Although I was influenced by the speaker’s opinions of the Colonel, he did not convince me to have disgust towards the barbarian woman as he initially did. Throughout the time while she slept in his bed with him I kept hoping that he would realize his true love for her. At times I was teased into thinking that he was falling in love with her. However, he admits, “Nor…does the pleasure I take in her, the pleasure whose distant afterglow my palm still feels, go deep,” (63).

In regards to the content of Waiting for the Barbarians, I initially thought I understood where the plot was going but then as I continued to read on the plot seems to jump around and now I have no idea what this novel is leading to. At first it focused more on the Empire and its dealings with the barbarians, including Colonel Joll’s adventure to capture prisoners and question them; after, the plot transitioned to the speaker’s personal life with women and his “relationship” with the barbarian woman and how his life has changed becoming an old man. Then it continues on to somewhat of an adventure story while they take the journey to take the barbarian woman back to the barbarians. At this point I am not sure about the overall identity of this novel but I am curious to see how it ends up. (389)

Main Points of "Social Progress and the Rivalry of the Races" by Benjamin Kidd

• · Progress is a necessity, and within progress there is constant rivalry/competition between living things in the world

• · Because of the stress of nature, there is a constant improvement that continuously leads to higher and better forms of life

• · The “features of Western civilization which are most distinctive and characteristic, and of which we are most proud, are almost as disastrous in their effects as the evils of which complaint is so often made.”

• · With the individuals who have all of the better qualities than those who died out, but also the “conflict [is] sternest, the nervous friction [is] greatest, and the stress [is] severest.”

• · We need to look back honestly on the vices of our civilization in order to truly understand the current social problems

The Ending...

In my opinion, The Sound and the Fury is left with hardly any resolution. Mrs. Compson, as usual, treats Dilsey disrespectfully and dramatically assumes that Quentin, cursed like everyone else in the family, committed suicide; Jason goes chasing after Quentin with a vengeance relating to the job he never got; and Dilsey remains to be the only mother figure for Benjy and Luster. Faulkner places the setting of the last part of the novel to be on Easter Sunday. I personally believe that the suggested theme of rebirth from the church scene is used to contrast the state of the Compson family (if you can still even call it a family”. At this point, rebirth or a new beginning is unrealistic; the Compsons are set in their screwed up ways and there is no chance of any of them changing for the better. Therefore Faulkner uses the theme of rebirth to emphasize the pathetic state of the Compsons rather than to exude the promise for their future. To further support this theory, The Sound and the Fury ends with Dilsey realizing that she is near death. As a result, the single constant in the novel, Dilsey, that attempted to hold the Compsons together is now close to death and therefore ensures the complete deterioration of the family.

(217)

Symbolic Themes in The Sound and The Fury

As I read through the articles, I came upon “Meaningful Images in The Sound and The Fury.” While other articles were overtly complex, this one, written by Eben Bass, made perfect sense to me and shed a new light on the symbolic aspects of this novel as a whole. Bass acknowledged images including the white slipper, the pear tree, the mirror and the fire. Many of these I had not even come near to realizing were significant. Yet, his arguments convinced me that these symbols actually play major parts in recurring themes throughout The Sound and The Fury.

While Eben Bass mentioned multiple “meaningful images” in The Sound and the Fury, his discussion of the pear tree made the greatest impact upon me and made the most sense. He makes the connection between the habits of Caddy and the habits of Quentin, Caddy’s daughter, through their mutual use of the pear tree. According to Bass, either symbolically (Caddy) or physically (Quentin), both Caddy and Quentin reveal their promiscuity through climbing or descending the tree. Quentin’s situation is much more obvious; she literally descends this tree repeatedly “to meet her many lovers.” On the other hand, Caddy’s relation to the tree and her sexuality has a much more obscure connection. Bass refers to the event in which Caddy climbs the tree, after getting muddy, in order to see what the “party” was like in the house. While climbing the tree, Caddy reveals her dirty drawers. From this, Bass makes an observation that I would never have noticed on my own. He said, “It is Caddy’s dirty drawers that offend Quentin [her brother] in the childhood scene; these anticipate her many ensuing love affairs.” I thought this statement was extremely interesting and fits perfectly into the rest of the story. In conclusion, I look forward to finishing The Sound and The Fury with these new revelations about the various symbols in this novel. (341)

“Meaningful Images in The Sound and the Fury”, by Eben Bass

Modern Language Notes ©1961 The Johns Hopkins University Press.

English Presentation

The Impact of Society in “I Stand Here Ironing”
“I Stand Here Ironing” is the interior monologue of a mother struggling to identify where the responsibility resides for the troubled upbringing of her daughter, Emily. While the unknown character who asks to meet with the mother appears to believe that the mother plays a major role in understanding her daughter’s troubles, the reality is—and as the mother discovers through her inner conversation—that society and its pressures had a great impact on Emily. The mother clearly feels guilt for her daughter’s unhappiness in childhood; yet at the same time she recognizes her limited ability to raise Emily any other way because of the society’s restrictions. Olson implements her own frustrations towards society through exploiting the mother’s struggles while raising a baby on her own. Olson, as a result, criticizes numerous flaws in the society at that time. These imperfections include the unequal treatment of women, the lack of good childcare, the low pay for basic jobs, and the societal pressures to act, dress, and look a certain way.

Upon being asked to meet with an unknown person and give advice about her daughter, the mother reacts defensively and inwardly responds that even though she is her mother she does not “have a key” to the locked-away reasons for her troubled daughter (3). The mother notes that some of the sources which contributed to the development of Emily were beyond her ability to control when she comments, “There is all that life that has happened outside of me, beyond me” (2). Additionally, the mother mourns over the fact that financial difficulty while Emily was a little girl inhibited the mother from being able to provide her with the best childhood. She said, “We were poor and could not afford for her the soil of easy growth” (55). Because of the extreme difficulty in finding a job during this time period in addition to the low pay that was offered, the mother was forced to leave Emily with her father’s family. Emily’s experience at her father’s house, according to the mother, stripped her of some of her happiness and the mother noticed that “all the baby loveliness was gone” (11). Instead, Emily was “walking quick and nervous like her father” (11).

Olson expresses her criticism towards the poor childcare of this time by calling nursery schools “only parking places for children” (12). The mother realizes the negative impact of putting Emily in the nursery school when she knew it was not adequately meeting Emily’s needs at the age of two. The mother recounts how Emily would often come up with fake reasons to stay at home, away from the evil teachers. However, Emily never made an outright refusal to go. As the mother is remembering these events, she suddenly feels a pang of guilt and responsibility and asks herself, “What in me demanded that goodness in her? And what was the cost, the cost to her of such goodness?” (16).

From the very beginning of Emily’s youth, the mother noticed that society did not appreciate Emily’s unique physical appearance. When Emily was a baby, her mother told her she was beautiful; however, the mother recalled that those who noticed her beauty were “few or nonexistent” (5). Even as a child in school, society’s pressure wore Emily down; she worried about her thin, dark, foreign-looking appearance because according to society “every little girl was supposed to look…a chubby blond replica of Shirley Temple” (35). In a society where looking different was unappreciated, unique-looking Emily fell into the shadows. She never had best friends and at the convalescent home she stayed in, the community did not want her to get close with anyone there. As a result, Emily became removed from society because she did not fulfill the requirements to “fit in”.

In conclusion, because of the pressures in society, the young Emily struggled throughout her childhood. Olson exploits society’s flaws through making these imperfections be responsible for the insecurities and troubled feelings a child developed while growing up. Additionally, Olson shows that in spite of the pressures Emily experienced, to her mother, Emily is “more than [the] dress hanging on the ironing board” but rather she is a unique woman with an individual talent and a look of her own (56). (719 words)

What type of tone do you think the mother is talking in? Whiny, regretful, defensive?
Why do you think Olson chose to write the story through the mother’s thoughts?
Do you think the ending was positive or negative?
Do you think the mother could have done anything better? Or do you think she did the best she could do with what she had?

Distractions in "Shiloh"

Distractions in “Shiloh”

Norma Jean’s constant working out and night-school classes are her ways of distracting herself from the sudden changes in her life that cause her to dislike the life she has. Leroy Moffitt’s truck accident, resulting in a leg injury, leads to his perpetual presence in his house with his wife. This is a major shift in their marriage because in years past Leroy was hardly ever home because of his job, and Norma Jean had enjoyed her independence and solitude while he was gone. While Leroy was optimistic about strengthening his relationship with his wife through spending more time with her when she was at home, Norma Jean only grew more annoyed with his constant presence and realized that she wanted to leave him. As a result of her annoyance with Leroy, Norma Jean uses exercise and other activities as a means of distraction to the growing distance between her and her husband.

The very first fact that we learn about Norma Jean is that she “is working on her pectorals” (1). While Leroy claims that his physical therapy inspired his wife to start working out, I believe that instead, his physical therapy was the start of his being at home all the time and this, in turn, prompted Norma Jean to divert her attention to working out and becoming a new woman. In a way to get out of the house and a break from her husband, Norman Jean begins to attend a body-building class. Throughout the entire short story she is working out, consistently lifting her dumbbells or swinging her barbell a few times. This theme continues throughout, all the way up until the very last scene. Even after Norma Jean says she wants to leave Leroy and she walks away, Leroy sees her waving her arms; “she seems to be doing an exercise for her chest muscles” (156).

In addition to exercising, Norma Jean starts taking a class at Paducah Community College as another diversion and reason to get out of the house and away from her husband. When her husband asks why she was taking night school, her response was, “It’s something to do” (91). It is obvious that Norma Jean is just desperate to find something to do to distract herself from the annoyances her husband brings. Norma Jean does not even want to talk to him because she always responds with short, abrupt answers, such as the example above. When Leroy brings up the suggestion of building a log cabin for her, Norma Jean quickly rejects him and tells him that it is a stupid idea.

It is apparent that Norma Jean is not happy with her husband staying at the house. Even Leroy notices it; he perplexedly observes, “Norma Jean is often startled to find Leroy at home, and he thinks she seems a little disappointed about it” (9). In the end, Leroy’s staying at home, although initially with the intention of improving their relationship, only pushes Norma Jean further away from her husband and leads to the end of their marriage. (512 words)

"A Good Man Is Hard to Find"

Devin Ingersoll
AP English-3
Analysis on “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
At first glance of “A Good man Is Hard to Find,” it appears to be that the grandmother is ignored and unappreciated by her family; as a result, the reader feels pity for her. However, in actuality, the grandmother acts in her own interest and disregards her family. Up until the arrival of the Misfit at the car accident, the grandmother’s selfish nature is masked by the initial impression that she is mistreated and disrespected by her own family.

From the very start, it appears to be that the grandmother’s family is extremely disrespectful to her; her son and daughter-in-law completely ignore her and refuse to respond to anything she says while the children are rude and talk back to her. When the grandmother was trying to show her son the newspaper article about the Misfit heading to Florida, her son acts as if she hadn’t said anything at all and continues to read what is in front of him. However, the grandmother’s sole intentions for showing her son the article were to persuade him of not going to Florida, but rather Tennessee, for their family vacation. The grandmother wanted to go to Tennessee to visit her “connections” (1). As the narrator says, “she was seizing at every chance to change Bailey’s [her son’s] mind” (1). To no avail, the grandmother attempts to manipulate her son and her daughter-in-law by planting the idea of guilt over losing their children to the Misfit. Even after she gives up on going to Tennessee for the vacation, the grandmother defies her son again by sneaking in her cat despite the fact that her son does not like to have the cat come along. To justify her disregard for her son she comes up with an absurd and unlikely hypothetical situation; she was worried the cat “might brush against one of the gas burners and accidentally asphyxiate himself” (10). This obscure thought of the grandmother’s is O’Connor’s way of mocking the grandmother’s selfishness. O’Connor adds a tinge of sarcasm to yet another statement when she describes the grandmother’s perfectly put together outfit for the road trip; “In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead in the highway will know at once that she was a lady” (12). Not only does this quote further mock the grandmother’s self-serving and superficial nature, but it also foreshadows the ending of the story.

When the Misfit came and the grandmother recognized who he was, she only cared about him not killing her; not once does she try to save her family—in fact, she even offers the Misfit one of her son’s shirts. Instead, the grandmother just repeatedly says, “You wouldn’t hurt a lady, would you?” (87). Although the grandmother had assumed herself to be a lady, she and the reader come to the realization at the end that she has not been a lady; rather, the grandmother had acted in selfish ways throughout the entire story. O’Connor uses the grandmother’s interaction with the Misfit to make both the grandmother and the reader recognize the grandmother’s true nature. At the point in which the grandmother is threatened with death by the Misfit’s gun, the grandmother begins to portray “good” qualities; she continuously encourages the Misfit to pray and finds herself repeating “Jesus” with the meaning that “Jesus will help you” (129). In spite of the grandmother’s pleads to not kill her, the Misfit still kills her and says exactly what O’Connor is trying to convey, “She would have been a good woman, if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life” (141). With this statement, O’Connor conveys the idea that human beings may have the tendency to act as good people only in times of desperate measures. (639)

How does the scene at Red Sammy's Barbecue advance the story toward its conclusion?

Why do you think the grandmother is never referred to as “their” grandmother or some other term that shows a sense of belonging to the family?

How would you respond to a reader who complained, "The title of this story is just an obvious platitude"?