A Provocative Title

Angry Black White Boy. At first glance this title is quite confusing, but then you think about about it. Is it a black or white boy who is angry? Who is he angry at? Why is he angry? It turns out that Macon Detornay is a would be average white boy starting his freshman year of college. I say would be because he's not quite the picture you bring up when thinking about a generic white boy. Sure he may look the same, but what's different is his mind. Macon has adopted a "black" mentality. He has adopted Hip Hop as his way of life and is extremely in favor of black rights. But the way this comes across isn't as a normal protester protesting for equality. Macon is a pure radical. He wants revenge for the injustices that have been brought against the black community by the whites for years. He is militant. He is willing to use force and violence to attack white folks just on the premise that they are white and therefore deserve it. The story almost begins with him robbing people and spouting off black power statements. There is also a scene where he takes a trashcan and throws it through a cop car's windshield. I'd say its pretty easy to come to the conclusion that Macon has gone a little far off the deep end here.

The most prevalent question throughout this book is: Does Macon have the right to be such a black power radical when he is white? This is a really tough question and I can only add my thoughts to the discussion. I think that everyone has the right to ask for equality, no matter who it is for. But at the same time, the way Macon goes about his "activism" is something that you would expect from black people who have gone through the struggle of being oppressed for being black. Macon simultaneously assumes a black person's sense that he has been wronged by the system and the white man's guilt for all the oppression that he has put black people through. It's one of Macon's biggest contradictions. He wants himself to be hurt because he is white, but also wants to be accepted by the black community as a race traitor and forgiven for being white. I think that it is perfectly fine for Macon to support black rights however strongly he wants, but he is putting himself in a position where he might be seen as fighting a fight that is not his to fight.

But then his tactics change. Towards the middle of the book, Macon is discovered by the media and becomes an instant celebrity for his radical position. At the same time that this happens, he starts focusing more on changing whites, rather than attacking them. There could be a couple of reasons for this slight shift in methodology. One of them is media appropriateness. Macon might have of recognized that advocating for violence against white people is probably a bad idea. However, maybe, during his first speech coming out of the police department, he did realize that that wouldn't solve much and that whites needed to change how they think. One really important line is when Macon is talks about how the civil rights movement changed laws when it needed to change minds. I think this subtle change is extremely important even though it hasn't quite played out yet, and I wonder if it will really impact Macon on his quest.

After ROOM

So this post may be a little late in dealing with the ending of Room, but I still think that I should say something about it.

I think that Donoghue finished Room in the most satisfying, yet logical way possible. It made sense to have Jack and Ma revisit Room and realize that its not where they want to be anymore. I guess that it was a bit predictable, but it still did everything for me that I believe an ending should so. It left me with few questions. I was not left wondering what Jack's relationship to Room would be after spending time in the world. I do not have to wonder if Ma will forever reject the idea of visiting Room. There was an immense amount of closure that Donoghue put forth in just a few paragraphs. Jack, to the relief of the reader and Ma, is letting Room go - he doesn't even remember what Room was like before he left. He is able to say goodbye to Room without sadness, which means that he is looking forward to learning about everything that the world has to offer and won't look back.

Ma's portion of the ending is a little more interesting because she absolutely hated Room, especially right when they escaped. Jack convinced her to visit Room one last time. The emotional roller coaster she experienced was something I could feel as a reader. The intense physical reaction of seeing the place where her daughter was buried just highlights the deep impact of Room on her psyche. But then she gets inside, and it seems to cause unexpected feelings to rise up in her. She starts remembering and reliving the good times that she and Jack had. I can just picture her giving a sort of nostalgic half-smile as she reminds Jack of where Plant was. When Jack finds the picture that Ma gave to him for his fifth birthday, she breaks down. Ma no longer seems to hate Room. I think this is the part where she realizes that she is going to miss the closeness of being all alone with Jack in Room. Because as the world gets bigger for Jack, he is going to be further and further removed from Ma's presence and oversight. And yet, this is something that Ma can look forward to.

As for what will happen to Ma and Jack after they say goodbye for the last time, I can only speculate. It will most likely become easier and easier for Jack to grow into society. By the end he was starting to have almost normal interactions with people. He is not afraid of everyone, and he quickly became attached to some of his other family members. Unfortunately there is still a lot more to be done in making Jack "normal". It will probably be a couple more years until he goes to school and when he does, it is hard to imagine where he will fit in. He most likely has more educational knowledge than a lot of kids his age, but he will be socially stunted and may not be able to handle being with kids his own age. Another problem is what Ma will do to make a living. It doesn't appear that she has a job by the end, but she will most certainly need one. She will make some money off of royalties for selling her story, but those will only go so far. Fortunately, she has family that can help take care of at lease Jack if need be. Ma also needs to deal with her depression. I do think that it is not likely to be a problem since their situation is really starting to look good, but if she does have another relapse, Jack may not be able to take care of her or find someone who can.

Those are mostly the negative possibilities of the future. It probably won't be bad at all for Jack and Ma, and I think that their reintegration to society will go fairly smoothly.

Finally a hero

At the end of the Dying chapter, Jack and Ma have finally been able to escape Room. I think this is the part where Jack finally becomes a hero. The biggest part of this is the absolute courage he exhibits in overcoming his fears of the unknown Outside. Ma is the one who comes up with the  plan, inspired by Jack, but Jack is the one who actually has to do all the hard work. Of course it would be wrong to discredit Ma, but Jack probably had it harder emotionally and psychologically. Jack was almost unable to even remember the 9 step plan to escape. Then he has to go through the trauma of having to experience the wide open world for the first time. He has no idea what to expect, and everything that he sees scares him. And when he misses the first part of the plan, he freaks out, because he has no idea if anything will even go right anymore. The most he can do is just try to follow up with the rest of the plan, if possible. And when he is found out by Old Nick, all he knows to do is run. He is extremely lucky that there is another man there that has some sense of the bad situation that is occurring. Then the dog bites him, and he has no idea what that means. He thinks that the dog is a vampire and wants to drink his blood.

I think that the most amazing thing, however, that Jack did was talk to the police officer. Jack has no concept at all of other people except for his mother. The fact that he was even able to communicate with them in a semi-intelligent way, allowing the cops to save his mother, is incredible to me. His focus on rejoining with his mother and following through with the plan is what pushed him through the talking.

But then he learned that they will never be going back to Room. To completely leave behind everything you have ever known and loved, without a reason that you can truly comprehend is awful. I feel bad for Jack in his loss of his life up until this point. He will definitely have a difficult time adapting to his new situation.

Discovering the 3rd dimension

Up to very recently in Room, Jack has only known or believed in two realities. There is his reality, which is Room and contains his Ma, Bed, Wardrobe, Table, Eggsnake, etc. Then there is also the TV reality. He thought that everything that didn't exist in Room could only ever exist in TV. There was no outside, there was no world that he could explore and learn about and have a real life in. There was only Room. But as he turned 5, he started to ask questions like kids do. He wanted to know more about how and why things were. Unfortunately for him, Ma started to give him answers he couldn't quite comprehend. Ma started to tell him that there was an outside world. One that if they ever got out of Room he would be able to experience. He could find his long lost family and maybe even live normally someday. This is what Ma really wants for him.

The thing that truly allows Jack to understand that Outside was real was an airplane passing over the skylight. Before that he would absolutely deny any possibility that Outside could exist. Then Ma started coming up with plans to escape. At first Jack plays along, saying that he will want to escape. But then he learned that Ma might not be able to come. Then he flat out doesn't want to escape anymore. This is completely understandable. He will be in a world that is larger than anything he could imagine. He will be out there with nothing that is familiar to him. No Ma to take care of him, and tell him what to do. None of the comforts that he has known for his entire life. Everything will be new and scary to him. This could put him into shock. The world is essentially infinitely larger than the small room he knew, and he will have no way of knowing how to navigate it. He has never talked to somebody that wasn't his mother, but will need to in order to rescue her. I can only imagine that Jack is going to have a real tough time if and/or when he escapes

the unsung hero

The book Room is really quite creepy. These two people are trapped in a small room with minimal things to keep them occupied. This probably qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment. Another thing thats odd, is that there are only three characters so far. One of which is an innocent boy who doesn't understand his world, another of which is the crazy man keeping two people locked in a room while he is out experiencing the world, and the last of which is probably one the most unfortunate people in the world. This last one, Ma, was captured and brought to this small room to be what can be seen as a sex slave for her captor, old Nick. She also has her 5 year old son who is beginning to question and ponder the world around him which has been kept secret from him for all his life.

I think that Ma is in one of the most unfortunate positions possible. She has no idea how to explain the outside world to Jack, but she is realizing that she has to. I think it might have been easier for her if she just told Jack the truth from the beginning, but she may have kept that from him to protect him from being too curious and possible interacting with old nick, exposing him to bad influences. She has to deal with the same stuff day in day out, trying to keep Jack entertained and provide him with what little education she can. Remarkably, she has done a great job with this so far. jack knows how to read and write, and is beginning to learn how to count. Given the circumstances I am amazed. Ma, so far is the true hero. The suffering hero that does not get the recognition she deserves for the troubles that she has.

Ma should be nominated for mother of forever for her dedication to Jack. She puts up with everything that is thrown at her just for the safety and well-being of Jack. All the abuse, the boredom, she might even be clinically depressed. I know i would go bonkers, but Ma has a drive that cannot be replaced. I can only hope things get better for her as the story progresses.

Anse comes out on top

It is extremely hard to like Anse as a person or a character by the end of As I Lay Dying. He is lazy, stubborn, and selfish. He forced his family onto this absolutely disastrous trip that turned out badly for everyone but him. He sacrifices his family's safety and well being to get to town, his alleged reasoning being to bury Addie where she would have wanted to be buried. Looking at how Anse turns out at the end makes the truth of his reasoning questionable. Anse ends up with a new set of teeth and a new wife. He had been talking about getting a new set of teeth since the beginning, and even if there was no mention of getting a wife, Anse could have just been hiding it in the back of his mind. To be fair, though, he could have just been extremely opportunistic with getting his new wife. But Cash's narration of him stopping in front a specific house could counter that argument. Either way, Anse ends up doing well for himself and everyone else is out something or in big trouble.

Vardaman is the least affected by Anse's destructive quest. Vardaman wants to get a toy train, but never gets it. So he is no worse off than before, except maybe a little disappointed.

Jewel's horse has to get sold for Anse to pay for a team of mules. That horse was most likely the most important thing to Jewel. He worked really hard for really long to finally get that horse, and he made sure that it was his. He allowed only himself to feed it and care for it. Jewel was truly dedicated to that horse, but Anse's stubbornness puts Jewel out of a lot of hard work.

Cash's leg is broken for the second time during this journey. The first time was falling off of a roof while working. But Cash suffers through it. He risks infection and worse because he doesn't want to complain, and Anse doesn't seem to think that it is all that important that Cash gets to a doctor because he simply doesn't care nearly as much for Cash as he does his journey - whatever the reason may be. Then Anse makes things worse by trying to make a cast out of concrete which shows off Anse's incredibly small amount of intelligence. Anse just doesn't know how to take care of his children.

Darl gets sent off to a mental institution. This problem is more ambiguous, because Anse was being threatened to do something about Darl setting fire to the barn. If he didn't send Darl away, then Anse would've gotten sued, which is interesting because he doesn't really have much that can be taken from him. But it is still pretty cold how Anse seems to have no second thoughts or regrets about sending Darl away. Or maybe Darl wanted to go away because he knew what would happen and didn't want to be a part of a family with Anse anymore. I think that's less likely, but who knows, Darl is a strange guy.

I think that Dewey Dell ends up worst of all at the end of the story. She is the only female character with any real voice and it seems that that makes her very alone in the story. Then she has the problem of being pregnant. This is a huge problem. It could potentially ruin her entire future, knowing what kind of culture there was back then. She tried to get an abortion, but couldn't find a place that would work out for her. Then she had her $10 stolen by Anse and is in an even worse position to do something about her pregnancy. Dewey Dell has no one she can talk to about her problem, being the only female. She is alone and in trouble and unlikely to get any help so you really have to feel bad for her.

When everything goes wrong

To me As I Lay Dying is like one of those really bad comedy movies about a family that goes on vacation and a series of accidents ruins it for them. Except that As I Lay Dying is fairly enjoyable once you figure out Faulkner's writing style. The Bundrens get themselves into so many unnecessary situations just because Anse is so stubborn about getting Addie to Jefferson so she can be buried where she wanted to be buried. Or maybe it's so he can go get his false teeth. Anse wants his trip to Jefferson to happen so badly he doesn't seem to realize that it is not at all worth the trouble that he is getting for it. In some ways this is admirable, but it is also annoying because it is so unnecessary. In my and the opinions of the non-Bundren characters, they should just go to New Hope to bury Addie. But they don't and so they get all the trouble of doing things the hard way.

There are some things that make me question the Bundrens' real devotion to delivering Addie to Jefferson though. The first thing is the teeth that Anse keeps on mentioning. It seems as though he really wants those new false teeth. Vardaman wants a toy that he once saw. Dewey Dell needs help with her pregnancy. These ulterior motives make the Bundrens seem less interested in what Addie would have wanted as opposed to what they want. I don't really think that they take too much away from the big purpose of the trip, but they are, especially in Dewey Dell's case, important to each character. Darl and Jewel don't have extra reasons for wanting to go to Jefferson. Jewel just doesn't want to go at all. Darl I think is the most genuine. He is the one who appeared most concerning for his mother as she was sick, and he goes along with the journey without complaining.

Whose mother is the fish?

Darl, in As I Lay Dying, seems to have a completely different sense of the world than most, if not all people. He is constantly questioning his own existence and the existence of others. Once his mother dies, he stops loving his mother because he thinks that she no longer exists, while at the same time he calls Jewel's mother a horse, and Varadaman's mother a fish, which doesn't make any sense at all seeing as they all have the same mother. Not only that, but hes got some sort of supernatural power, or at least that is what Faulkner makes it seem like. Darl seems to be able to accurately tell what exactly is happening in a totally different place. He watches his mother's death while he is away at town. The thing is, we don't actually know if these events are accurate. He could just be completely imagining these scenarios, but they are neither confirmed nor denied. The only part that we know to be true is that Addie dies while Darl is away. Darl is a very intriguing, but creepy character and I like him because of it.

Another interesting character is Vardaman. With memorable quotes like, "My mother is a fish." to give readers a sense of him, it seems as though Vardaman has absolutely no idea what is going on. He might vaguely recognize that his mother is dead, but she is most certainly not a fish. It also seems like he is at least somewhat able to understand Darl's mysticism. Or maybe he just goes along with whatever Darl says. It probably just comes with being very young and innocent to the world. I do have to wonder what was going on in his head when he decided that it would be a good idea to bore holes into his mother's coffin and face. Like, what? Maybe he thought she wasn't getting air. Hard to say.

Jewel is a bit of an ass.

Bloodbath

In anticipation of Odysseus murdering a bunch of ungrateful suitors (who deserve it) I would like to look at heroes getting revenge and think about how far it is really necessary to go in getting this revenge. Obviously all heroes are different and will react differently to the tragic events that often inspire the heroes. The heroes we are accustomed to generally have an aversion to killing. This is probably because they have realized that if they kill, they are just becoming as bad as the people who have had such a negative impact on their lives by, for example, killing the hero's parents. The hero then turns that anger and pain to solving bigger problems, even if they have already gotten revenge or had their original nemesis brought down. This is all very inspiring, and I think part of what makes heroes so appealing - they have overcome such a horrible event and use that to push themselves to do good. That's all fine and well, but (using batman as an example) I think that it would have of been justified if Batman went after his parents killer with an intention to kill. For sure it wouldn't have been appealing, and honestly, it probably would be better for almost everyone if he didn't, but I do believe that there is some kind of retribution that Batman can have of gained through killing his parents' killer.

Unlike the real Batman, Odysseus actually does go on a rampage and kill the people that have been against his house (except Poseidon for obvious reasons). These violent "heroes" that kill people for revenge are in some cases justified. I think that Odysseus is justified in killing the suitors for example. But some times these killings aren't necessarily justified. This makes me think of the TV show Arrow, about the Green Arrow superhero. In the first season, the protagonist wants to get revenge on the rich aristocrats who control his city through corruption and for personal gain. To get revenge, he decides that it will be a good idea to put arrows through the villains saying "You have failed this city" every time. I don't necessarily think that this is the best option, but he is doing what he can. I really only enjoyed the fact that he killed his enemies because it was so different from what all the other superheroes do. But by the end of that first season, he decides that it is no longer necessary to kill all his enemies. He will be satisfied with just uncovering the evidence needed to put them in jail for a long time. I think that this is a more heroic solution to his problem. These people definitely needed to be punished, but I don't think that killing them was necessarily the best way to do it.

I am a firm believer in "an eye for an eye". It is so logical and simple it just seems like the best plan. People should get what they have given. Punishment is generally a must, and I think that the best way to give punishment is to give back the crime that has been committed. That actually sounds a bit messed up now, but oh well.

The Longest Journey

Can I just take a moment to appreciate Odysseus? Can we all?

Odysseus has been away from home for 20 years. 20 years after fighting one of the most gruesome wars in history. This man is a real trooper. He just keeps on going and trying to get home. There is nothing else that drives him. That right there is a good man. Its actually quite ridiculous how much he has to go through. After fighting the Trojan war he is essentially cursed by the gods to wander forever, even though there isn't really a good reason for them to hate him (except maybe Poseidon, but that comes later). He is just forced to wander the sea fighting off monsters and sexy witches. Quite the life isn't it? 

It's no wonder why Odysseus is regarded as a hero and his story told for millennia. His is really an inspiring story and he is quite the inspiring character. I'm pretty sure everyone wishes that they were as badass as Odysseus. I've noticed some people commenting that the help Odysseus receives from the gods diminishes his heroism, but I think that the help is actually a large factor in what makes him such a hero. Especially for the time, being in favor with the gods was the biggest honor, and even a peasant could be invited to a king's banquet if he had the mark of a god on him. Plus some of the tasks that Odysseus has to undertake would be impossible without a god's help. If not for the gods, Calypso would have of been able to keep Odysseus on her island. Nor would he have been able to survive Poseidon's wrath. 

It's hard not to admire Odysseus/

Test Post

I am become student, learner of things. 

This blog is for my Hero's Journey English class. The hero's journey is a generic path that heroes generally travel on when becoming a hero. I'm not totally sure what it entails, but there is a lot of change involved I'm pretty sure. There can be both mental and physical change. I think the more important is mental. You can have all the strength in the world, but if you don't have the right mentality or know-how to use it, you are just stuck with a really heavy albeit muscular body. Its the mental aspects that truly make someone a hero. The courage to overcome a fear. The perseverance to keep going at something even when all seems hopeless. The ability to take that one in a million chance and run with it, making the odds greater and greater as you go. It takes balls to be a hero. Balls or total lunacy - I'm sure both work. 

Generally we think of heroes as being big and strong and attractive and impossible. These are the types of heroes we find in media. Books, movies, commercials... These are the heroes that appeal to us. We cherish the idea of a superhero, I think, because we like the idea of potentially being that hero ourselves. And if we are that hero, that strong, attractive, and powerful hero, than it is not hard to see ourselves as better than everyone else. That right there is what we really want. Humans are selfish beings, becoming better than everyone else is one of the main unconscious goals of almost everyone. This has been true for millennia. In the dark ages, people sought individual glory through battle. The person who killed the most or defeated the strongest enemy became a hero. In modern times the media gives superhero status to the fictional characters who are given incredible abilities and powers that no one else has. But that's what really makes a hero, isn't it....