I think that Faulker has chosen to tell his story in the most convoluted way possible. He has a plethora of twists and obstacles that the reader must navigate his way through. We start the story being immediately introduced to an extremely unreliable narrator. Benjy’s life and clearly present disability is complicated, but as a narrator, he brings this baggage into his story. We are getting the “Benjy side” of the story, not the reality of the situation.
There are many idiosyncrasies intertwined into Benjy’s character. These idiosyncrasies that make up Benjy, are important to understand. If you are able to understand the way Benjy lives his life and the way Benjy’s extremely different and independent mind thinks, the understanding of time and place becomes much simpler. Benjy has an extremely strange relationship with time— he seems to have a strange relationship with all things set and stone and abstract. Benjy does not rely on time the way many narrators in books do, but instead, he seems to be very instinctual. Without time, the reader is left to put situations and places into the correct chronological order. The reader has to sift through this pandemonium— the pandemonium that is also consuming Benjy’s psychological mind. Instead of time, Benjy tends to rely on human traits such as his senses. Benjy is very keen and aware of sounds, smells, and most importantly human experience.
Benjy experiences human actions and progressions through his sister, Caddy. He is tied to her every move. He can sense her mood. He can sense when something is wrong or when something is different. But, he can most importantly sense when change has occurred. It seems that Benjy’s sense of time is circled around and based upon the pivotal moments in Caddy’s life. Benjy mentions particular incidents in which he is incapable to accept Caddy’s actions. Some of these incidents include: Caddy’s first kiss and Caddy losing her virginity. This shows me that Benjy is forever a child. He does not want to experience change. He does not want to change and he does not want the people and the places around him to change. This is an additional aspect that creates Benjy as an unreliable narrator. Benjy tends to look at the people around him and their actions. Benjy does not give the reader a glance solely into his perspective of a situation. Benjy’s perspective is often neither the realistic nor the rational perspective. (472)
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Worn But Not Torn
Upon first glance, “A Worn Path” is the story of elderly black woman’s bumpy path into town, but with a more thorough look, the story yields endless themes. Phoenix Jackson, the protagonist of the narrative, is going into town to buy her grandson medicine. This road that Phoenix is traveling on is all too familiar to her. She can close her eyes and navigate her way accurately. This road is so familiar to Phoenix because this path represents her life— her life of eternal determination and perseverance.
“A Worn Path” slyly shows issues of racism in mid-20th century society. While on the way into town, Phoenix Jackson runs into only one person. After falling into a hole, putting Jackson into a weak and vulnerable position, she must depend on the assistance of a white hunter. This hunter speaks down to Phoenix. His superiority is clearly present. This young white man refers to Phoenix as “Granny” (38). The term granny was often used to address African American women in the 1940s and 1950s. This term establishes Phoenix as a frail and aimless woman, which proves to be far form the truth. In addition, the hunter, throughout the entire interaction, is laughing to himself about Phoenix Jackson. He does not think that she is capable of such a journey. Her journey and, metaphorically, her life are a joke to him. He is putting himself on a pedestal when he chuckles, “I know you old colored people! Wouldn’t miss going to town to see Santa Claus!” (48). In assuming this about Phoenix, the hunter is referring to her as a child. Phoenix is no more experienced in life than a typical child— her venture is no more pivotal than a child going to see Santa Claus.
Along the rough road to town, Phoenix must overcome many unexpected obstacles. This parallels the impediments that African Americans had to fight to conquer every day. In addition, this uneven road reflects the road blocks of Phoenix Jackson’s life. One of the obstacles made apparent to the reader, is Jackson’s struggle with poverty. Jackson is an elderly woman, alone in the woods, on an immense trek to retrieve medicine for her ill grandson. Jackson is desperate for money to buy the medicine. When talking to the hunter, Jackson sees a nickel fall from the pocket of the hunter. Her eyes are drawn to this heavenly sight. She, with great care and secrecy, moves this morsel of money into her pocket. Having had to fight for what she has, we see how incredibly moral Ms. Jackson is, “God watching me the whole time. I come to stealing” (54). She must do what she can for the survival of her grandson— even if that means diverting from her own moral compass. She will not only fight for her own life, but she will fight for the life of her loved one.
Poverty was not the only obstacle that attempts to slow Phoenix Jackson. From the beginning of the novel, I assumed that Jackson was blind. Although this is never specified by the author, there are a few key areas that trigger this theory. Jackson carries a cane with her on this journey “… and with this she kept tapping the frozen earth in front of her” (1). This makes the reader think that Phoenix Jackson has impaired vision. This is just another example of how determined and strong this aged woman is. Nothing is going to stop her in this journey, just as nothing is going to stop her in life. She will succeed in what she sets her mind on.
Phoenix Jackson was not only blind, but she is consumed by her mind. She often talks to herself on her expedition. In its most extreme form, her mind produces a hallucination that Jackson had to battle her way through. But, one again, not even the strength of her own mind could slow this aggressive woman down.
Phoenix Jackson, although confronted with many potentially altering problems, never so much as mentions her misfortunes. She looks to her goals. She needs that medicine and she will attain the medicine. She reaches for the future and what it has to offer her. She will not be slowed down by the past and its hardships. She appreciates everything good that comes her way. When the woman at the clinic offers Phoenix five pennies Phoenix thinks not of the charity, but of the present she will buy her deserving grandson. Phoenix is optimistic and looks at the brighter side of her often gloomy life. With great drive to progress in life, Phoenix Jackson had no time for tragedy. (788)
Questions:
1.)Is Phoenix Jackson a heroic character? Do you think the author intended on making her heroic?
2.)What is the significance of the boy that she hallucinates?
3.)Do you see any allusions to Christianity?
4.)What issues of racism are present in the story?
“A Worn Path” slyly shows issues of racism in mid-20th century society. While on the way into town, Phoenix Jackson runs into only one person. After falling into a hole, putting Jackson into a weak and vulnerable position, she must depend on the assistance of a white hunter. This hunter speaks down to Phoenix. His superiority is clearly present. This young white man refers to Phoenix as “Granny” (38). The term granny was often used to address African American women in the 1940s and 1950s. This term establishes Phoenix as a frail and aimless woman, which proves to be far form the truth. In addition, the hunter, throughout the entire interaction, is laughing to himself about Phoenix Jackson. He does not think that she is capable of such a journey. Her journey and, metaphorically, her life are a joke to him. He is putting himself on a pedestal when he chuckles, “I know you old colored people! Wouldn’t miss going to town to see Santa Claus!” (48). In assuming this about Phoenix, the hunter is referring to her as a child. Phoenix is no more experienced in life than a typical child— her venture is no more pivotal than a child going to see Santa Claus.
Along the rough road to town, Phoenix must overcome many unexpected obstacles. This parallels the impediments that African Americans had to fight to conquer every day. In addition, this uneven road reflects the road blocks of Phoenix Jackson’s life. One of the obstacles made apparent to the reader, is Jackson’s struggle with poverty. Jackson is an elderly woman, alone in the woods, on an immense trek to retrieve medicine for her ill grandson. Jackson is desperate for money to buy the medicine. When talking to the hunter, Jackson sees a nickel fall from the pocket of the hunter. Her eyes are drawn to this heavenly sight. She, with great care and secrecy, moves this morsel of money into her pocket. Having had to fight for what she has, we see how incredibly moral Ms. Jackson is, “God watching me the whole time. I come to stealing” (54). She must do what she can for the survival of her grandson— even if that means diverting from her own moral compass. She will not only fight for her own life, but she will fight for the life of her loved one.
Poverty was not the only obstacle that attempts to slow Phoenix Jackson. From the beginning of the novel, I assumed that Jackson was blind. Although this is never specified by the author, there are a few key areas that trigger this theory. Jackson carries a cane with her on this journey “… and with this she kept tapping the frozen earth in front of her” (1). This makes the reader think that Phoenix Jackson has impaired vision. This is just another example of how determined and strong this aged woman is. Nothing is going to stop her in this journey, just as nothing is going to stop her in life. She will succeed in what she sets her mind on.
Phoenix Jackson was not only blind, but she is consumed by her mind. She often talks to herself on her expedition. In its most extreme form, her mind produces a hallucination that Jackson had to battle her way through. But, one again, not even the strength of her own mind could slow this aggressive woman down.
Phoenix Jackson, although confronted with many potentially altering problems, never so much as mentions her misfortunes. She looks to her goals. She needs that medicine and she will attain the medicine. She reaches for the future and what it has to offer her. She will not be slowed down by the past and its hardships. She appreciates everything good that comes her way. When the woman at the clinic offers Phoenix five pennies Phoenix thinks not of the charity, but of the present she will buy her deserving grandson. Phoenix is optimistic and looks at the brighter side of her often gloomy life. With great drive to progress in life, Phoenix Jackson had no time for tragedy. (788)
Questions:
1.)Is Phoenix Jackson a heroic character? Do you think the author intended on making her heroic?
2.)What is the significance of the boy that she hallucinates?
3.)Do you see any allusions to Christianity?
4.)What issues of racism are present in the story?
Thursday, October 4, 2007
A Silent Story
Giving me the liberty to write about whatever is running through my head is dangerous. I promise not to abuse my new and shiny privilege.
I recently read an article in New York Magazine. Anderson Cooper is the author. Being somewhat of a groupie of Anderson Cooper’s, I know his dedication to service and his love for travel. I was immediately enthralled. This brief article talks about the mementos that Anderson Cooper picks up when on the road. He speaks respectfully of his souvenirs. He says that along his path, he picks up items that are of interest to him: a Buddhist pendant from Bangkok, a smooth stone from Somalia. He always ends up losing these items though. Anderson Cooper says that he is okay with losing these items because he recognizes that they never truly belonged to him. Losing an item means that it is not meant to be in his possession anymore— someone else is in need of its healing powers. There is a particular item that Mr. Cooper has failed to loose through the years. While in Rwanda, Anderson Cooper found a picture lying in tall grass on the side of the road. This was 1994 and the genocide was in full swing. The picture was of three women. He explains his thoughts about these intriguing strangers, “Two of the women seem uncomfortable, but the one in the center stares right into the lens. Her expression I find impossible to read…. I don’t know if the women are Hutu or Tutsi. Victims or killers.” The time captured in this picture tells the entire story of the genocide— their faces project pain, their clothes elicit poverty. The three women that Anderson Cooper totes around “…cocooned in the soft leather of my [his] wallet, or sometimes between the pages of a book,” represent a tragedy. I do not know these three women and neither does Anderson Cooper, but looking at the picture in the magazine, I can imagine what they are thinking just through the expressions on their faces. Anderson Cooper picked up this photo because of what it represented. To him, it represented the disappearance of countless victims in this never-ending genocide. He did not want this picture to disappear with the many victims. To me, this picture represents what was not lost in the tragedy. This picture was probably taken by a loved one of loved ones. When I look at pictures, I often forget what a picture really is. These hardy women stood still for a moment in time during a life changing disaster. These are people that are still alive today, hopefully walking around this very moment. They have lives and loves that I do not know or even need to imagine. Although Anderson Cooper has yet to lose this photo, its presence in the center of the article has affected me. I do not need to possess this treasure to feel what he feels. Anderson Cooper realizes that the privilege he has been granted of being able to glance at this photo daily will not last forever, “Someday the picture will probably disappear. Left behind in a hotel room, or on a city street. That is, I suppose, how it should be. After all, the photo does not belong to me; I’m simply holding it until it’s needed somewhere else.” I am glad that he shared this picture with the world because I needed it and I am sure that many others felt the same. I hope that I often think about these women and their ultimate destiny. (595)
I recently read an article in New York Magazine. Anderson Cooper is the author. Being somewhat of a groupie of Anderson Cooper’s, I know his dedication to service and his love for travel. I was immediately enthralled. This brief article talks about the mementos that Anderson Cooper picks up when on the road. He speaks respectfully of his souvenirs. He says that along his path, he picks up items that are of interest to him: a Buddhist pendant from Bangkok, a smooth stone from Somalia. He always ends up losing these items though. Anderson Cooper says that he is okay with losing these items because he recognizes that they never truly belonged to him. Losing an item means that it is not meant to be in his possession anymore— someone else is in need of its healing powers. There is a particular item that Mr. Cooper has failed to loose through the years. While in Rwanda, Anderson Cooper found a picture lying in tall grass on the side of the road. This was 1994 and the genocide was in full swing. The picture was of three women. He explains his thoughts about these intriguing strangers, “Two of the women seem uncomfortable, but the one in the center stares right into the lens. Her expression I find impossible to read…. I don’t know if the women are Hutu or Tutsi. Victims or killers.” The time captured in this picture tells the entire story of the genocide— their faces project pain, their clothes elicit poverty. The three women that Anderson Cooper totes around “…cocooned in the soft leather of my [his] wallet, or sometimes between the pages of a book,” represent a tragedy. I do not know these three women and neither does Anderson Cooper, but looking at the picture in the magazine, I can imagine what they are thinking just through the expressions on their faces. Anderson Cooper picked up this photo because of what it represented. To him, it represented the disappearance of countless victims in this never-ending genocide. He did not want this picture to disappear with the many victims. To me, this picture represents what was not lost in the tragedy. This picture was probably taken by a loved one of loved ones. When I look at pictures, I often forget what a picture really is. These hardy women stood still for a moment in time during a life changing disaster. These are people that are still alive today, hopefully walking around this very moment. They have lives and loves that I do not know or even need to imagine. Although Anderson Cooper has yet to lose this photo, its presence in the center of the article has affected me. I do not need to possess this treasure to feel what he feels. Anderson Cooper realizes that the privilege he has been granted of being able to glance at this photo daily will not last forever, “Someday the picture will probably disappear. Left behind in a hotel room, or on a city street. That is, I suppose, how it should be. After all, the photo does not belong to me; I’m simply holding it until it’s needed somewhere else.” I am glad that he shared this picture with the world because I needed it and I am sure that many others felt the same. I hope that I often think about these women and their ultimate destiny. (595)
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