WTF

I say, wtf

as "why the funk"?

Funk, as in different, odd, wierd writing style.

I have only read about 1/2 the story, and found it difficult to say the least. Admitedly, it is an engaging storyline. Woman has lover, woman disengages with lover, gains new lover (husband), hears from past lover (ok he is dead but he speaks from the grave in his will and legacy), gains new lover. Shrug, it seems that she is a slut. But that in itself, should lead to a whole series of predicaments and social commentaries. (Hence the engaging aspect.) The concept is similar to much of contemporary rock and roll actually.

The funk part of my critisism, comes in the form of the style of writing.

Long, disjoined lines strung togather, with plenty of run on sentences, commas, commas, commas, (many parentheses); colons, semi-colons, , , , , , , , , , , , , with every type of ? < > ** & % and/or $ (not sweraing here.) Attempting to convey that the writer is giving us a discombubulated continuation. Almost as if this was a surrealistic paiting by Salvador Dali. Strange, and almost dreamlike.

To further confuse the reader, the story is rif with grammer that is intellectual and fewly utilized wording. One must have a dictionary at hand just to read the story.

Both aspects of the style, grammer as well as punctuation; if used by any one of us students in any English class here at CWI, would result in that paper being returned with a failing grade and a request by the instructor to rewrite the paper.

So, the big question here becomes....

WTF ?

Why does the author do this?

Some possible answers include.

The author is attempting to appeal to a select readership. A sort of high brow intelectual set that is the minority that "get it." If this is the case, I suggest that if when taking an English class and a paper comes back that is red marked up, simply return it to the instructor with an added note telling him/her to change your grade to an A, because "they just don not get it"

The author is trying to place us inside a dream world.

The author is placing the readership in an off balance position to more readily connect with the message and the characters.

other ideas? I am all ears

Decker
Decker

The South, True Blood indeed

I should look harder, because I am not finding a moment where a character made a successful “moment of grace”. There were opportunities galore. Such as when the son was poised to rush the Misfit, but didn’t. When the Grandmother could have pleaded for the lives of her grandchildren, she didn’t. Instead, she choose to play the “you would never shoot a woman” card, a fat lot that did for her. Reading back, I do find a surprising character of that of the cat, making a graceful decision, albeit a selfish one, at the end of the story by snuggling up to the Misfit. Does the cat care that it’s family had just been horrifically murdered? No, perhaps the family would have been better served if they had a pitbull.

Q: 6, idea of “good”. If a definition of “good” could be described sans religion, then that definition would include selflessness. Evil, as it’s opposite, would be the epitome of selfishness. I felt that the story and title were slightly at odds, since the story was more about what people do for themselves, at any cost or suffering for those around them.

Misfit killing group of people to avoid detection.

Grandmother bringing her cat along.

Grandmother complaining of Florida, but first in the car.

Grandmother failing to even attempt to save the lives of her son or grandchildren, instead pleading for her own life.

Grandmother freaking out when she realized she made a mistake, causing the accident which lead to the deaths of the car load at the hands of some rough men.

Buddies of the Misfit killing for the power and “fun” of it.

When the Misfit makes his quote at the end, referring to the grandmother, he is really saying that the grandmother would never make a free conscious choice to be good unless there was an external inducement to do so.

Gothic literature always focuses upon setting a mood. (Regular “Gothic” setting a dark, mysterious, magic, slightly erotic world. Southern Gothic follows a similar idea, highlighting odd occurrences, weird characters and localized flavor setting the stage for the reader to be immersed in “The South”. Ok, I have a theory that everyone in life is a few puzzle pieces short. The story simply takes this to new levels, depicting a “normal” dysfunctional family on it’s way to a disaster as a direct result of that dis-functionality arising from choices made along the way. The very realness of the characters and their actions, conjure up that southern mood. Everything from their dialect to the scenery, (such as driving by a “pickaniny” on a dilapidated porch) leads the viewer on a merry journey into the seeder parts of the “Gothic South”.

Decker

          Clay @ play

Eenie meanie minie moe

I’ll bet you thought I was to say

To catch a nigger by the toe

Innocent boys with much to grow           

In games we friends so liked to play

Reaping soon what we have sown    

  

Faggot, slut-spic and nasty ho

Mom paid no mind; it was the way

To catch a nigger by the toe

Youthful slang, just words to blow

Unless of course it was; Lord’s day

Reaping soon what we have sown

Sticks and stones, may break my bones

Hateful small words DO hurt, they say

To catch a nigger by the toe

Eenie meanie minie moe

Echoes my own child’s voice; my clay

To catch a nigger by the toe

Reaping soon what we have sown

                              - Decker     

The Waking by Roethke is a complete paradox in terms.

sleep/waking

cannot fear

think by feeling

dance from ear to ear

(At first.)

Oh, how I enjoy stating the obvious, but then refuting my own statement. (which i hate)

The simple yet convoluted idea of "wake to sleep" immediately conjures up a type of puzzle in my mind as i read this poem. I have often slowly risen to wakefullness, and i thought that this was where Roethke was taking this. The the second line of "fate"  creeps into the poem. Coupled with fear, well both fear and fate go hand in hand with death. As does the last line of "going", go. The concept of, I am here, but sleeping will take me somewhere else, somewhere i am supposed to  go.

Perhaps, it is the passing of my father that has me so sensitive to the ideas of death, fate, travel. The notion that there is somewhere we are all going. Is it my hopes? My own fears? This poem conjures up things that, strangely enough I also cannot fear. Or rather, the idea that i have things to learn, and fear only keeps a person from action "going" which keeps them from learning.

The third stanza is particularly enlightening and right to the point. By being a clear statement, rather than a confusing paradoxical one, the author slaps the reader in the face with the concept that

"learn by going where i have to go."

Obviously, the subject of the story has not learned or gone where they need to so far in life, perhaps a trip through the afterlife (sleep) will aid him.

"Who can tell us how?"

Who can tell me wtf the worm is doing? are we the worm? is the worm part of the decaying process? is the stairs the worm is climbing the stairway to heaven?

Why introduce a character the second from the last line?

Decker

P.S. I may figure it out by the time Tuesday's follow up comes along, but feel free to enlighten the dim.

....................................... (I n v i s i b l e t i t l e )

                                       
                                                                   What color am I?

The drama spelled out in "The Invisible Man" all centers around race.

Blacks vs. Whites

Interestingly, since so much of the story line concerns one group of people subjegating another group based upon a difference of color, that the subject (and author) lables himself "Invisible".

Obviously, there is more to the eye.

Speaking of eyes, Scott brought to my attention the aspect of seeing or eyes in the story.

Going back to admire the sleek design of the cover, (very graphic atrs oriented) rife with subliminal messages all concerning "seeing"

Eyebrow misdrawn and misplaced.

Eye drawn counter to the style of the rest of the piece.

Even the words "a novel" are placed in such a way as to draw the viewers eye to the lack of an eye on the other side of the face.

Going back to the novel, looking for the part where the black youths were shown a naked dancer.

re-reading, watching for catch phrases in this one section. (second paragraph of page 1139)

"sea of faces" "price of looking been blindness", "eyes hollow", "would have looked", "looked in spite of myself", "eyes brushed slowly over her body", "see the fine texture", "cover her from my eyes", "eyes of the others", "hide from her", "she saw only me with her impersonal eyes"

how many is that? (counting)

11

Eleven references to seeing or being seen in one paragraph. Obviously, Ellison is wanting us to "see" something indeed.

Apparently, there is an invisible women along with the invisible man. one may scratch their heads at this, since the sexy blond woman was there to be looked at. (By both whites and blacks) How so, "invisible"?
To further counter the invisibility notion proposed is the notion that her whole purpose in being there was to be shown off and lusted after, dancing for the men, showing them things that their wives would never do for them. soooooo... invisible?

I would propose that the men, of both colors, saw her as a thing. Much as the whites saw the blacks as a thing. Something to be used. However, the text alludes that the woman hides her true self showing only what she wishes. there is a detachment there from the room and situation.

"impersonal eyes" - she is not about to connect
"fixed smiling lips" she wants paid as well right?
"terror and discust in her eyes" - need i say more?

The boy relates to her terror, not realizing that he soon, will be center stage.

Decker

Invisible Man (message)

Why is it that cats and dogs just can not get along?

Ok, more to the subject.... The Invisible Man

Just because one can not readily see something, does not make it non-existent.

We have all heard similar thoughts before. Perhaps that is why it was an easy leap to couple this thinking with The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. The whole notion of something/someone being invisible, yet tangible is a fascinating concept. I exist, therefore I am, however, if no one notices, if no one is affected by my actions or simply my existence, then what good am I?

As much as I admire the "invisible" concept, I have to admit that when I read it, it seemed disingenuous. That is to say, it was difficult story to believe. Not from the view point that a bunch of folk would persecute another group of folks because of their differences. (I was going to say "color" but people have been destroying each other over many differences, including race, for, well as long as history has been recorded. The unbelievability of the narrative is more a reaction to how it was written. I apologize for not being able to be citation specific, it was more of a feeling that I was reading (or hearing) a tall tall by a young person that has anger issues.

My failure to "believe" made me search inside. Is it cultural bias? (We all have them, get used to it.) Was I reacting to the story as a "white" person. Saying,,, ahhhh, those nice white fellas would never do such a thing. Balderdash. White people can have a cruel streak, just as anyone of any other ethnicity is capable of atrocities. Then, if I was not taking sides, what was it?

It really bothered me.

There are sections that if really occurred, would have been even more dramatized than they were. For instance, when someone is truly beat up, one hears in detail every bump, scrap, blood smear. now yes, there was some of that, but not nearly as much as if they really were so denigrated. As well, there would be an extreme (if private thoughts only) anger directed at the humiliation and injustice being perpetuated. Yes, there was some of that, but not nearly so much as would happen if the story was an actual accounting. (Just turn on the news about any racial crime, naturally, this type of act pisses people right the hell off) I would believe that even if a black man felt that he could not speak up, at least he would have more internal musing about it all.

Then it occurred to me. perhaps, just perhaps, the story is not meant to be taken literally. Perhaps, it is a series of metaphors for how racial tensions were affecting the lives of both whites as well as blacks. Could one go back and tie certain events occurring in the story and tie them to cultural feelings perpetuated by events happening at the time?

For instance, the showing of the white dancing female to the blacks. Is this whole scene about interracial marriage?

The giving of the scholarship a hidden message that we want some of you to be able to communicate with us at our levels, but certainly not all of you.

Perhaps, the message is invisible. Tangible, present, influencing, yet not seen easily.

Decker

with a little help from my friends

Friends, not to become confused with the entourage.

MY friends, or peers rather, of which a couple this week joined in my bewilderment of Picasso by Stein.

Outside of my normal discussion group, I am breakin the rules and am including a couple comments from others in the class pertinent to Picasso. Good to broaden the circle,

Meagain's blog begins to break down the details of what is going on in the poem. What IS going on?

Follows, something to gain by following, leaders getting something, or working towards something else entirely,

all notions that speak to my initial friends vs. entourage theme. Obviously, Stein observed much the same pandering and ass kissing we see in our own Art(rock) Stars of today. It is comforting to know, that as much changes, some things do remain the same. Huh, interesting notion, Historical personages are people too.

Decker

Oh, and I gather, that Hanna Is just as confused as I