March 2009 Archives

"'You're hidden right out in the open--that is, you would be if you only realized it.  They wouldn't see you because they don't expect you to know anything, since they believe they've taken care of that...'"
Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (154).

I figure this is where the author defines for us what is meant by the title, and also provides a glimpse to what is in store for the young traveler in New York.  Over the next chapters the nameless young man is bent on his dream of becoming a more charming version of Dr. Bledsoe; until the unfairness of this reality begin to set in. This lesson--as well as others in-store, I'm sure--influences the reasoning behind the prologues statement, "I've illuminated the blackness of my invisibility" (13).

The names Dr. Bledsoe and Trueblood seem, to me, to insinuate something of a deeper meaning.  Both pertaining to blood, but why is that I wondered.  As we continue reading Dr. Bledsoe proves himself much less admirable a character than depicted in earlier chapters. If you break apart the name, there are two parts bled and soe: the first half being obvious, and the second reminding me of the saying "you reap what you sow"; perhaps, Dr. Bledsoe will later reap his wrong doings in bloodshed.  Trueblood is simpler, I think the name suggests he is true to his nature and doesn't hide behind falsities.  It makes the situation more profound in the sense that the boy is punished for engaging in activities that recovered truths, and this is voiced by Dr. Bledsoe himself in his dismissal speech: "'If they want to tell the world a lie, they can tell it so well it becomes the truth; and if I tell them that you're lying, they'll tell the world even if you prove you're telling the truth'" (143).

"'A fine bird, 'my grandfather said,
'and he's well brought up. See, he answeres
nicely when he's spoken to.
Man or beast, that's good manners.
Be sure that you both always do.'"
Manners by Elizabeth Bishop (49)

I was glad to see a lighter poem with a positive message. Alot of poetry, especially Sylvia Path's, expressed darker subjects. I didn't percieve and double meaning to the Granfathers direction to be polite and mind your manners, just a positive message to be kind to everyone even animals.

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"Turning wine into water: Water as privileged signifier in The Grapes of Wrath."    Papers on Language & Literature. 29:1 (1993) 67-95.

This was a rather dense essay and made for a challenging read. I liked the use of the garden myth and the frontier myth as conflicting forces for The Grapes of Wrath.  However, because of the historical references and discussing of Steinbeck's other works it was a little difficult to follow the 30 pages of prose. I'm not familar with formating such a lenghtly paper, but wouldn't subtitles have been helpful? With the advanced terms and educated suport it seems odd that the thesis statement began with, "I will argue that."  Also I was confused over arguing in the real world somthing that is fiction, or perhaps he was arguing that the real world issues influenced Steinbeck's fiction. But it does appear as though The Grapes of Wrath and reality become the same thing:

"Since Steinbeck failed to acknowledge the inherent oligarchic nature of irrigation-based societies, he creates the false impression that equitable land distribution and a classless society will return the region to ecological stability. Historically, there are no precedents for this vision being realizable. In fact, returning the family farm to the arid region without altering the national capitalist infrastructure will, given the Plains example, cause devastating ecological harm."

Cassuto is acting as if Steinbeck wrote a documentary on migrant workers and put in misleading information.

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"Upsetting me with their sudden tongues and their color, / A dozen red lead sinkers round my neck."
Tulips by Sylvia Plath (201)

To me, the presences of roses disturb Plath because before their arrival she was comfortable in her misery.  Now these beautiful flowers exude life and vitality something that at the moment appear to be far away from her. She can no longer be pleasantly numb because of this constant reminder in her room.  She says, " Nobody watched me before, now I am watched."

"We all have our blind spots, and that's normal." - How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster (228)

For one of my other classes we had the option of choosing a section from James A. Michener's The Source to present a paper on.  As luck would have it, I picked one based on themes I found utterly unappealing and offensive to my own personal sense of ethics.  It pertained to forms of adultery that were accepted as the norm, along with child sacrifice to religious deities.  I consider myself as somewhat traditional, even old-fashioned; and I find adulteration, especially the boastful and broadcasted type, despicable.  As for any tale that inflicts harm on children, I have no taste for it.  I'm not fond of hearing, seeing, or thinking of any situation that involves a child becoming hurt, sick, or abandoned--certainly not when those conditions are intentional.  I assume I'm not alone in accommodating contempt for such unsettling circumstances.  I'm also certain it is a trait pertaining to parenthood because before the birth of my son I hadn't been so profoundly effected by children's suffrage; I of course found it saddening, but now it is almost as though I experience it.  In every face I can see my sons, and that for me is unbearable.  I've probably spoken too much about my own opinions, but that is sort of this entry's point.  "Of Life and Death," the title of Michener's chapter, was a difficult read for me, and if I wouldn't have had to complete an assignment on it, I may have been so absorbed in the points I mentioned to have ever found any worth in it.  I think, and I know this is true at least for me, that as we read, we often insert ourselves into the storyline.  This is an important part of interacting with books or movies or music, and the author, director, or lyricist expects that relational level from us.  But sometimes, as was the case for me with The Source chapter, our viewpoints conflict with those of the author.  Like Foster said if your not someone dealing with the piece for the sake of analysis or field of study, "you can walk away whenever you want to" (234), but if you must deal with a "work [that] asks too much"(234) try to not read so deeply with "your eyes."

"My Papa's Waltz" gets very interesting responses on the cultural level. I first read it last semester in Rereading America, and assumed it was about a rugged father, who thought nothing of a few drinks, whisking his son off to bed. Fathers don't always demonstrate a gentleness that we expect from a mother, especially when the child is a boy; so, the dad's romping with his son before bedtime seemed somewhat heartfelt from a tough, whiskey drinking, hardworking father. We can see from lines 7 and 8 Mom is unhappy about this charade, and from line 14 ("a palm caked hard by dirt") guess that Dad has just gotten home from work.  However, as Rereading America discusses, that interpretation isn't always easily seen today.  Today we have different presumptions as to what a proper parent should be and this tuff dad isn't exactly exemplar of those. Negative conclusions come from line 3's mention of death, and probably line 12 and 13, which might be misread as intentional harm from the father.  I remember reading the poem to my sister, who is 4 years younger than me: she thought it was about a drunk and abusive dad.  I found that curious because we are not so vastly different in age and grew up in the same household, so shouldn't our cultural impressions be similar? But I think here is where some of Foster's reading is useful, because not only do we have cultural conventions suggesting what should and shouldn't be, but also individual viewpoints accumulated from life experiences.  Each of us have our own ideas about how things should be, which can sometimes deflect actual meaning and replace it with our own interpretations. If I am aware of myself while I am reading, I can anticipate when it becomes necessary for me to step back from the text and take a second look--something I am continuing to improve on as the class progresses. 

'"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.  For if they fall, the one will lif' up his fellow, but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, for he hath not another to help him up.'"

The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck (570)

For The Grapes of Wrath, that's the moral of the story, and where is it produced from?  The Bible, Ecclesiastes 3:9-10.  Steinbeck's depiction of religion is peculiar in this way; he harbors and esteems religion's core messages, yet simultaneously ridicules religiosity by distorting religious virtue within character roles. He bounces off extremes, intentionally no doubt.  For instance, chapter twenty-three, last paragraph, gives an account of a preacher "whipping the people with his voice," and the people "looking with frightened eyes at the master," and also Mrs. Sandry at the government camp, with her demented judgments, who is very menacing to Rose of Sharon and others.  Both characters demonstrate religion negatively.  Still the theme rests on more positive aspects such as the selection I chose for this blog: often released through character's Steinbeck has encouraged readers to favor, such as Casy or Tom. My assumption is that these double takes on religion reflect the duality of humankind--the desire to be an individual but be part of a whole and the clash of good and bad within us all. Religion can be used for betterment, or be taken entirely out of its intended context where it ceases to be good.  It becomes similar to the pattern seen with the machines; if the person uses it for good, it is good and vice versa.  It might be pushing it to say religion is the backbone of humanity in this novel, but that is the impression I have come away with. This is not the canonical version of holiness we are taught in church, but a righteousness nonetheless.