WFTB: Section 4

“You have been treasonously consorting with the enemy.” He says.
So it is out. “Treasonously consorting.”: a phrase out of a book.
“We are at peace here,” I say, “We have no enemies. There is silence. “Unless I make a mistake,” I say. “Unless we are the enemy.”
I am not sure that he understands me. “The natives are at war with us,” he says. I doubt he has ever seen a barbarian in his life.
. . .
With my bedroll and the old bear-fur under my arm I enter my cell. The soot-marks are still on the wall where the brazier used to stand. The door closes and darkness falls.

Now that the magistrate has been imprisoned for standing up for the barbarians, does our perception of him change? In what way? Were our previous judgments of his character fair? Why or why not?

Heart of Darkness According to Edward Said

Heart of Darkness According to Edward Said
- Most Latin American, Asian, and African countries are technically sovereign, but still as dependant on the nations of Europe as they were during the period of imperialism.
- It is unfair to entirely blame the Europeans or the Africans in Heart of Darkness for the institution of imperialism.
- Little has changed since – however now we use words such as “vital national interests” to justify “unlimited imperialism” – such as the First Gulf War (Said published this article before the Second Gulf War).
- Throughout the novel, Marlow runs into several obstacles, but eventually reaches Kurtz’s ivory enterprise. It is as though “Conrad wants us to see this” . . . “the heart of it all.”
- As we discussed in class, Conrad could not be open and straightforward in his depiction of imperialism through the characters of his novel. He was “telling his story to a group of British listeners at a particular time in a specific place.”
- Conrad could not envision a future world devoid of European dominion.
- Said has two possible interpretations of Conrad’s understanding of imperialism. One thought is that Conrad believed that imperialism would increase in prevalence and scope, and that after World War Two the Western Powers would consolidate their empires.
- Another theory is that Conrad believed that the “savage” societies that were then under the rule of the Western powers were “incapable of self-rule,” but that he foresaw the end of imperialism as an inevitable consequence of progress.
- Conrad’s characters always attempt to force themselves to see the terrors of imperialism as routine, “but there never is.”
- Although several characters, namely Marlow, see the injustices of imperial rule, they are “characters of their own time,” and they cannot take the next step to condemn the actions of the Europeans.
- In closing, Said is rather harsh of Conrad. He says that, “as a creature of his time, Conrad could not grant the natives their freedom, despite his severe criticism of the imperialism that enslaved them.

The Past

Throughout section three, Jason recalls several events from the past. These memories, however, only seem important to him as they affect his current situation. How does this compare with Quentin's view of the past, especially regarding honor and the family's reputation? Quentin mainly looked up to his Father and Jason mainly looked up to Mother. What affect do Quentin and Jason's parental influences have on their views of the past?

My Short Stories

Thus far I have read three stories. "Grandmother's Nose," by Robert Coover did not really interest me. If, for example, I am going to a movie with my friends, I always prefer seeing an action movie, or maybe a comedy. They always entertain me the entire time I am in the theater. This story, let's just say, didn't exactly keep me on the edge of my seat. The whole death thing didn't really appeal to me either. The next story I read, "Nessus at Noon," by John Updike, was interesting, in that it was presented in the form of a cleaner talking to a customer at a "dry-cleaning establishment." But, despite the original presentation, the subject matter didn't really speak to me.
The last short story I read, "Rat Breach," by William Styron, was by far my favorite. I am going to use it for my project. It is about the author's experiences as a young Marine Second Lieutenant during WWII, as he waits to fight during the invasion of Japan that was never to be. The subject matter is clearly of interest to me, and the details that the author remembers after over sixty years is astounding. I have found my short story!

The Cathedral

The Cathedral

Oftentimes, people jump into situations with pre-conceived notions. In The Cathedral, by Raymond Carter, the narrator starts off the story in a bad mood. His wife has invited a man that employed her for a summer, ten years before, to come and stay with them. In the time since, the narrator’s wife and Robert (the only character Carter saw fit to name in the story) have stayed in touch by recording messages to each other on tapes and mailing them back and forth. At first, the narrator does not want “the blind man” – Robert – to come and stay with them, even though he had just lost his wife. The reader learns that he has never known a blind person, and that he is creeped out by the possibility of having one spend the night at his house. In the end, the narrator is convinced by his wife to allow the houseguest.

When Robert arrives, the narrator seems to see him as something less than a person. Upon first seeing him, the narrator tells the reader that “he was wearing a beard! A beard on a blind man! Too much, I say.” Throughout the story, the narrator continually references Robert simply as the “blind man,” as though he is a thing with only a description, instead of a person with a name. But as the story goes on, the narrator’s disapproval of his visitor gradually become feelings of respect and admiration. When he asks Robert what he would like to drink, the blind man responds “I’m a Scotch man myself.” The narrator replies approvingly “Sure you are. I knew it.” Next, he asks Robert if he would like “[a] little water with [his] Scotch,” (meaning ice). Robert responds that he only wants a little, explaining how he, like “[t]he Irish actor, Barry Fitzgerald,” prefers to drink his whisky and his water separately. Many traditionalists are of the opinion that adding ice to a good spirit ruins the drink. The narrator’s responds again with “I knew it,” meant to be a compliment to the “blind man.”

The narrator’s opinion of Robert only seems to get better. During dinner, he seems impressed by Robert. “The blind man had right away located his foods, he knew just where everything was on his plate. I watched with admiration as he used his knife and fork on the meat.” After dinner, the narrator invites Robert to smoke some Marijuana with him. When Robert agrees, the narrator responds with, “Damn right… That’s the stuff.” Although it is his first time trying the “gimbly gimbly,” after several tokes, the narrator says it was “like he’d been doing it since he was nine years old.” Robert is growing on the narrator by the minute. Just then, the wife falls asleep on the couch (or passes out), leaving the two men in what the reader expects to be an awkward situation. When the narrator offers to show Robert to his room for the night, the blind man replies “No, I’ll stay with you, bub. If that’s all right.” And the narrator finds himself answering back “That’s all right… I’m glad for the company.” This seems to be the turning point in the story, when the narrator really does seem to enjoy having Robert at his house.

As the two sat up watching/listening to late-night TV, they eventually find themselves on a documentary about the history of cathedrals. Eventually, the narrator wonders if Robert has any understanding of what a cathedral even is. Although it is difficult for him to explain, the narrator forces himself to try, thinking (to the reader) “How could I even begin to describe it? But say my life depended on it. Say my life was being threatened by an insane guy who said I had to do it or else.” At this point, he really cares about Robert, the man he had dreaded meeting because he was uncomfortable with his blindness. As the narrator finds his explanation to be terribly unhelpful, Robert comes up with an idea. The narrator draws the cathedral, while Robert follows along, so that he can understand what one is like. As the blind man closes his hand over the narrator’s, they seem to share a moment. Together, they draw the cathedral on the paper bag that serves as their make-shift canvas. Near the end of the process, Robert asks the narrator to close his eyes too, and continue drawing. As they share this moment, something special happens. As Mr. Coon said, perhaps putting words to what happens would make it sound corny, but the out of body experience the narrator seems to have, drawing with the blind man serves as the climax of the story. The narrator says (or rather thinks), “My eyes were still closed. I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn’t feel like I was inside anything. ‘It’s really something,’ I said.” The narrator finally accepts Robert for who he is as a person, not what he seems to be because of his handicap.

15 books...

What are the 15 books that stick out most in your mind?

My picks:

-The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien
Hands down, my favorite book of all time. I've read, re-read, and re-re-read it more times than I care to count (or admit) and it holds a special place, near and dear to my heart. "A Hobbit's Tale, by Bilbo Baggins" is a scholarly gift from Tolkien that I shall cherish forever.

-The Harry Potter Series, J.K. Rowling
Yes, I do love Harry Potter. And yes, I have worn out the pages of every first edition book I waited in line for the night/morning they came out. Starting with Goblet that is - I'm to young to have camped out for the first three midnight releases. Sadly, I have probably read them all more times than you have. And if anyone actually reads this, they'll probably contest that fact. And, again, sadly, I'll probably come out on top. BTW: I hate the movies. The first one was OK, the second one was decent, the rest were awful.

-My Side of the Mountain, Jean Craighead George
Every boys' dream! Quit school, leave the big city, live on your own, and get fed every day by a BA falcon?! No wonder I thought of this one...

-One Thousand and One Arabian Nights
Sadly, I have only read this "book" once. And even that time I read it, I didn't read all 1001 stories. But, I have always meant to go back and re-read them all. GREAT short stories.

-Last of the Breed, Louis L'Amour
A truly impressive novel, it follows the journey of a USAF test pilot, Joe Makatozi, that is shot down in over Russia. A Souix Indian, he must break out of a Soviet labor camp in Siberia, survive the pursuit and the brutal Russian land, all the while making the journey on foot that his ancestors made, back across Asia and over to North America. For everyone who hasn't read this book (which is most of the world it seems) you are missing out.

-Without Remorse, Tom Clancy
Without Remorse is the tale of an Ex-Navy SEAL, John Kelly, during the final years of the Vietnam war. SEALs were famous in Vietnam for using any means necessary to stike absolute terror into the hearts of the North Vietnamese, amassing an epically impressive 200 to 1 kill to death ratio in the conflict. In the course of their regular operations, SEALs often broke all 10 commandments in one day. In Clancy's story, following the death of his wife and unborn son in a car accident, Kelly falls in love with a girl with a similarly "checkered past." When he is shot by druggies, and she is killed, John Patrick Kelly systematically destroys the group responsible. WARNING: NOVEL NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART - its pretty intense. He also does some work for the CIA in Vietnam, and adopts the name John Clark in order to elude prosecution the various crimes he committed taking down the drug syndicate so that he could work full time for the Agency.

The Red Pony, John Steinbeck
JUST KIDDING. They should have named this thing the DEAD Pony. It dies in like the first chapter.

Mr. Coon, I hope this is enough. I shall not be in class on Friday, so I deemed it prudent to complete this blog early.

Perry

Clear and Present Danger

Through the combination of plane flights, layovers, car drives, and ferry rides I sat/stood through this July, I was able to get through one book: Clear and Present Danger, by Tom Clancy. It managed to keep me enthralled for all 650+ pages. Every time I put the book down, I couldn't wait to pick it up again. This is the element I enjoy most about reading. And when I say reading - make no mistake - I'm not talking about reading for school. When I have to read something, moreover something that I did not choose, for school, I find it difficult - no, impossible - to enjoy myself. I have disliked every book I've read in school for the past eight years, except maybe the Odyssey. However, I digress. Now, about Clear and Present Danger…

I have trouble pinning down one reason why I liked this book so much. One factor might be that it was written by my favorite author, Tom Clancy. In fact, before July, this was the only TC book that I had not yet read. Clancy uses a simple, third person (omnipotent) point of view and his terse prose prove readily understandable. I find this important in a pleasure reading book. Years and years of reading stuff that’s hard to understand has had the opposite effect of what my teachers have intended; I stay away from difficult-to-read books as a matter of course now – I’m so sick of trudging through it. Apart from the writing style, I find I like Clancy books because they all share a subject matter in which I’m interested: the military. Whether I am reading Clancy’s Shadow Warrior: Inside the Special Forces, or Rainbow Six, a fictional story about a multi-national, NATO tier-one Counter-Terror team, I always find myself entertained. His level of research in his works of military history and historical fiction is unparalleled, and I never fail to learn something about my future profession. Moreover, his fictional works are always plausible – if not expected. Clancy always takes care to consult experts – mostly ex-military officers – in order to present viable works. His book, Debt of Honor, foreshadows the events of 9/11, when a commercial aircraft is intentionally crashed into the Capitol Building. Clear and Present Danger proved to be no different. It is the story of a secret war being fought by our armed forces in Latin America – the War on Drugs.

The story has from two to five plot lines developing, depending on which part of the story you are reading. The central plot, and the part that I find most interesting, is the tale of a Special Operator named SSGT Domingo "Ding" Chavez, starting with operations in his unit (1st Btn, 17th Reg, 7th Infantry). The details Clancy exposes in his books are evident here. One part that sticks out in my mind is when Clancy described Chavez's operational loadout. He explains how important Extra-Strength Tylenol is, and explains its nickname, "light-fighter candy." He really gives you a sense of what AND WHY his characters are doing and thinking things throughout the story.

For all the reasons mentioned above, I would highly recommend Clear and Present Danger to any and all readers who may be interested in the military. If you're not interested - don't bother. You will be bored out of your mind.

THATS ALL FOR NOW - MORE TO COME!