In William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, what the readers know about Caddy is learned only through the thoughts of her brothers. Caddy’s position in the story is controversial. She represents both good and bad, love and deceit, longing and disgust. She is the reason why both Benjy and Quentin have felt loved at some point in their life, but at the same time, causes the downfall of both of them. In the first two sections, with Benjy narrating one, and Quentin the other, we see many different aspects of Caddy and her effect on the two brothers and all of the Compson family.
It is evident, from the very beginning of the novel as Benjy waits by the gate for Caddy to come home, that Benjy truly loves Caddy. Caddy is understanding and caring, and does not refer to Benjy as ‘looney’ or retarded as nearly everyone else around him does. Caddy seems to be the only one who gives Benjy the love that he needs, on account that he barely receives any love from his mother or father. Since Benjy only gets older physically, but not mentally, he expects everyone else to not change mentally. He wants Caddy to be a little girl forever, and cherishes her innocence. When Caddy loses her virginity to Dalton Ames, Benjy senses her promiscuity and beings to bawl and scream. For all of Benjy’s life, Caddy has kept him safe and done what he wanted her to, like when she washed off her perfume, or washed her mouth, but she can’t wash off what she did with Dalton. It is at this point that Caddy breaks down Benjy. From the minute Caddy loses her virginity, she and Benjy become detached. Suddenly, the pattern and familiarity that has been Benjy’s life, is shattered. This is unfortunate because Caddy was such a large part of Benjy’s life, and it seemed as though the connection that her and Benjy had was unbreakable.
When Quentin begins to talk about Caddy, the reader gets a different sense of who she is. Quentin shows Caddy as a lost and weak girl, hiding under the cover of a strong and mature woman. She is unsure of why she slept with Dalton, and lies to Quentin about whether or not she has feelings for Dalton. Quentin and Caddy had a relationship similar to that of Benjy and Caddy. Caddy was the one person who truly loved Quentin, and cared for him when their parents didn’t. This caring nature created a bond between Caddy and Quentin that was more than just that of siblings. Quentin was jealous of the men Caddy was around, and felt as though none of the men she ever encountered were good enough for her. He wanted to break the pessimistic views that his father had about virginity and women, and for most of his life had used Caddy as a precedent. When Caddy loses her purity, Quentin loses hope. He can no longer believe that women are not ‘bitches’ or concubines, and because of the fact that he had not yet lost his virginity, he was ashamed and shocked. Caddy’s impurity was the breaking point for Quentin as well. With his loss of hope came his obsession with time. His father had told him once that time cures all, but Quentin had waited long enough, and time hadn’t cured his feelings. The tragedy of the Compson family seems to revolve around Caddy, who was once the rock of a family teetering on the edge of destruction. When she cracked, they all came tumbling down after her. (608)
Friday, October 26, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
The Five-Forty-Eight
John Cheever’s “The Five-Forty-Eight” is a captivating story that shines light on the struggle to create a facade of perfection in order to cover up one’s true inner turmoil. Blake’s stalker, a mentally ill and emotionally unstable woman, becomes the object of Blake’s deception. Blake is a well-off businessman, who feeds on those who are weak, confident that there will be no dire consequences. When his stalker gets the job as Blake’s secretary, it is her chance to recreate herself, and overcome her mental illness. Instead, Blake messes with her mind, and leaves her jobless, alone, and more frail than ever. In the end, though, it is not Blake’s stalker who works to cover up her inner conflicts, it is Blake. Despite the fact that the reader is meant to see the stalker as the psychotic character, it is Blake whose deep-rooted problems begin to seep through his phony exterior.
When the reader is first introduced to Blake, he is overly confident and distracted. He notices his stalker as he leaves his office, and wonders why she is following him, but seems preoccupied by the recent construction and window displays to worry about her for more than a moment. And for that moment that he does worry, he reassures himself with the fact that, “She was not clever. She would be easy to shake.” (4) Blake is completely oblivious to why the woman, whose name he has not yet taken the time to remember, would be following him. Maybe she was “misled, lonely perhaps.” (4) Despite this false sense of comfort, Blake takes a detour into a men’s bar on his way to the train, believing that his stalker was too simple-minded to wait for him. While in the bar, Blake tries, unsuccessfully, to remember his stalkers name-“Miss Dent, Miss Bent, Miss Lent”. It then becomes obvious to the reader how Blake can live with himself after the way that he feeds on women. He picks women who have a lack of self esteem because to him, they are not people. He dehumanizes them to the point where they are all nameless, each a star on the wall.
After realizing he has missed the express, Blake leaves the bar in order to catch the local five-forty-eight. He is sure that he has lost his stalker, boards the train, and uses the evening paper to “avoid speculation or remorse about her.” (16) “Mr. Blake”, he hears her voice from above him, and suddenly he remembers her name. Miss Dent. While, to the reader, Miss Dent is becoming seemingly more dangerous, her timid voice gives Blake some relief. He still feels as though he has the power to manipulate her, and instead of being worried about what Miss Dent is capable of, Blake looks around to make sure that none of the people on the train that he knows are watching them. But it doesn’t take long for Blake to realize that Miss Dent is serious. She tells him she has a pistol, and that she is not afraid to kill him. This scene shows that there has been a role reversal between Blake and Miss Dent. Blake is now the weak one, the one who is being dehumanized and messed with. The consequences of his actions have finally come back to torment him. He is now the coward, for once he does not have the upper hand of being the tabby in this cat and mouse game he often plays. Miss Dent, although mentally tormented, has found the strength to stand up to the man who has caused her unwarranted trouble and pain. She has realized that she has a problem, and found Blake to be the principle source. Miss Dent uses the train ride to share with Blake how he has made her feel, and instead of listening and trying to fix what he has done to Miss Dent, Blake is distracted by the ads on the walls of the train stations, and who is getting on and off of the train.
Miss Dent is a symbol of Blake’s past. She symbolizes all of the women that Blake has manipulated and used in the past. Instead of confronting the women, Blake has always avoided them-after sleeping with Miss Dent, he fired her, and refused to allow her into his office building. When Miss Dent first met Blake, she had imagined his life to be “full of friendships, money, and a large and loving family.” (6) But once Miss Dent sees Blake’s weaknesses and heartlessness, and once the train stops in Shady Hill, she realizes Blake’s life was not what she had imagined. She says that she ought to feel sorry for him, and that despite what she has been through, she is still better than him. This is ironic, because most of the story, the reader sympathizes with poor Miss Dent, a troubled woman, so desperate for the adoration of such a man as Blake. In the end though, it is Blake whose tormented soul is visible and pitied. It seems as though he is past the point of being cured, whereas Miss Dent can now wash her hands clean of Blake, and finally find peace of mind. After having just been held at gunpoint with his face down in the dirt, Blake, who realizes that Miss Dent has left the station and he is safe, “got to his feet and picked up his hat from the ground where it had fallen and walked home,” and unchanged man. (63)
(921)
Discussion Questions:
1. Do you believe that Blake or Miss Dent had a revelation in the end?
2. Why do you think that Blake was always distracting himself with everything that was going on around him?
3. In your opinion, were either Blake or Miss Dent likeable characters?
4. What is the significance of Miss Dent’s handwriting?
5. What mental problems do you believe that Miss Dent suffers from?
When the reader is first introduced to Blake, he is overly confident and distracted. He notices his stalker as he leaves his office, and wonders why she is following him, but seems preoccupied by the recent construction and window displays to worry about her for more than a moment. And for that moment that he does worry, he reassures himself with the fact that, “She was not clever. She would be easy to shake.” (4) Blake is completely oblivious to why the woman, whose name he has not yet taken the time to remember, would be following him. Maybe she was “misled, lonely perhaps.” (4) Despite this false sense of comfort, Blake takes a detour into a men’s bar on his way to the train, believing that his stalker was too simple-minded to wait for him. While in the bar, Blake tries, unsuccessfully, to remember his stalkers name-“Miss Dent, Miss Bent, Miss Lent”. It then becomes obvious to the reader how Blake can live with himself after the way that he feeds on women. He picks women who have a lack of self esteem because to him, they are not people. He dehumanizes them to the point where they are all nameless, each a star on the wall.
After realizing he has missed the express, Blake leaves the bar in order to catch the local five-forty-eight. He is sure that he has lost his stalker, boards the train, and uses the evening paper to “avoid speculation or remorse about her.” (16) “Mr. Blake”, he hears her voice from above him, and suddenly he remembers her name. Miss Dent. While, to the reader, Miss Dent is becoming seemingly more dangerous, her timid voice gives Blake some relief. He still feels as though he has the power to manipulate her, and instead of being worried about what Miss Dent is capable of, Blake looks around to make sure that none of the people on the train that he knows are watching them. But it doesn’t take long for Blake to realize that Miss Dent is serious. She tells him she has a pistol, and that she is not afraid to kill him. This scene shows that there has been a role reversal between Blake and Miss Dent. Blake is now the weak one, the one who is being dehumanized and messed with. The consequences of his actions have finally come back to torment him. He is now the coward, for once he does not have the upper hand of being the tabby in this cat and mouse game he often plays. Miss Dent, although mentally tormented, has found the strength to stand up to the man who has caused her unwarranted trouble and pain. She has realized that she has a problem, and found Blake to be the principle source. Miss Dent uses the train ride to share with Blake how he has made her feel, and instead of listening and trying to fix what he has done to Miss Dent, Blake is distracted by the ads on the walls of the train stations, and who is getting on and off of the train.
Miss Dent is a symbol of Blake’s past. She symbolizes all of the women that Blake has manipulated and used in the past. Instead of confronting the women, Blake has always avoided them-after sleeping with Miss Dent, he fired her, and refused to allow her into his office building. When Miss Dent first met Blake, she had imagined his life to be “full of friendships, money, and a large and loving family.” (6) But once Miss Dent sees Blake’s weaknesses and heartlessness, and once the train stops in Shady Hill, she realizes Blake’s life was not what she had imagined. She says that she ought to feel sorry for him, and that despite what she has been through, she is still better than him. This is ironic, because most of the story, the reader sympathizes with poor Miss Dent, a troubled woman, so desperate for the adoration of such a man as Blake. In the end though, it is Blake whose tormented soul is visible and pitied. It seems as though he is past the point of being cured, whereas Miss Dent can now wash her hands clean of Blake, and finally find peace of mind. After having just been held at gunpoint with his face down in the dirt, Blake, who realizes that Miss Dent has left the station and he is safe, “got to his feet and picked up his hat from the ground where it had fallen and walked home,” and unchanged man. (63)
(921)
Discussion Questions:
1. Do you believe that Blake or Miss Dent had a revelation in the end?
2. Why do you think that Blake was always distracting himself with everything that was going on around him?
3. In your opinion, were either Blake or Miss Dent likeable characters?
4. What is the significance of Miss Dent’s handwriting?
5. What mental problems do you believe that Miss Dent suffers from?
Friday, October 5, 2007
Arnold "Friend"
While reading “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, I couldn’t help but become strangely engrossed by the horrible situation in which Connie found herself. I was reading it-despite being advised otherwise-at night after my Mom was fast asleep, and halfway through the story, I couldn’t help but stand up and close the shutters in the room where I was studying and turn on all the lights I could. In addition, I found myself becoming overly sensitive to the usually drowned-out sounds of cars driving through the neighborhood. I found this story to be one in which any young girl, or woman of any age, can relate to. Although Joyce Carol Oates writes an exaggerated version, many women at a young age experience a situation in which they feel threatened or uncomfortable because of a male.
In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Arnold Friend becomes the stereotypical male predator that most females find themselves worrying about while at home alone. With his shaggy black hair that was “crazy as a wig”, and his eyes that were “chips of broken glass”, he becomes a greaser-esque character, with tight pants tucked into his boots, and a white shirt that was tight enough to show off his lean arms (618). And while meant to be a sickening and perverse character, I couldn’t help but be intrigued by Arnold Friend’s charisma. From the moment that he pulls up to Connie’s house, he holds her attention, and makes her second guess staying in the house. At one point Connie blushes because “the glasses [he was wearing] made it impossible for her to see just what this boy was looking at. She couldn’t decide if she liked him or if he was just a jerk, and so she dawdled in the doorway.” (617). For Connie to be considering going for a drive with Arnold, a murderer, says a lot about Arnold. It shows that not only is he persuasive, but he has a sort of charm that stems from his mysteriousness.
Another thing that struck me as strange was the way in which Connie deals with males. She seems to have this air of confidence, but I had a hard time deciphering whether or not this is true confidence, or just a face she puts up to cover her insecurities. Although beautiful, Connie is constantly checking her reflection in mirrors, “or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right.” (614). This tells me that Connie is truly insecure, and is just trying to grow up too fast and let off a sense of false security to play games with men. It seems like this control that she seems to have over males is her way of getting the reaction she wants out of people, which she doesn’t get from her family. It is sad that her character comes to her own downfall because of her attitude and her values. If it weren’t for her self confidence, and the way she acted when Arnold Friend first saw her at the movies, maybe Connie wouldn’t have faced the same horrific ending that she did, at the feet of Arnold “Friend”. (534)
In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Arnold Friend becomes the stereotypical male predator that most females find themselves worrying about while at home alone. With his shaggy black hair that was “crazy as a wig”, and his eyes that were “chips of broken glass”, he becomes a greaser-esque character, with tight pants tucked into his boots, and a white shirt that was tight enough to show off his lean arms (618). And while meant to be a sickening and perverse character, I couldn’t help but be intrigued by Arnold Friend’s charisma. From the moment that he pulls up to Connie’s house, he holds her attention, and makes her second guess staying in the house. At one point Connie blushes because “the glasses [he was wearing] made it impossible for her to see just what this boy was looking at. She couldn’t decide if she liked him or if he was just a jerk, and so she dawdled in the doorway.” (617). For Connie to be considering going for a drive with Arnold, a murderer, says a lot about Arnold. It shows that not only is he persuasive, but he has a sort of charm that stems from his mysteriousness.
Another thing that struck me as strange was the way in which Connie deals with males. She seems to have this air of confidence, but I had a hard time deciphering whether or not this is true confidence, or just a face she puts up to cover her insecurities. Although beautiful, Connie is constantly checking her reflection in mirrors, “or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right.” (614). This tells me that Connie is truly insecure, and is just trying to grow up too fast and let off a sense of false security to play games with men. It seems like this control that she seems to have over males is her way of getting the reaction she wants out of people, which she doesn’t get from her family. It is sad that her character comes to her own downfall because of her attitude and her values. If it weren’t for her self confidence, and the way she acted when Arnold Friend first saw her at the movies, maybe Connie wouldn’t have faced the same horrific ending that she did, at the feet of Arnold “Friend”. (534)
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