Revision: NO IMPACT MAN by Colin Beavan

With a cover made from recycled paper, I knew that when choosing to read No Impact Man for my Winter Break this autobiography wouldn’t be just any green-lifestyle guide—it truly is an extremist’s guide at attempting to be planet earth’s superhero.  From “no-trash, no-carbon-producing transportation and sustainable-eating…no elevators, no subway, no plastics, and no TV” to name a few, the Beavan family transformed their lifestyle in New York City’s Greenwich Village to be one that tried to improve the earth, rather than harm the earth (Beavan 2-43).  Amidst their journey, documented in this autobiography, it seems as though the Beavan family unearth a lifestyle that is in actuality more natural for humans than the lifestyles most humans in our go-go-go society are living today.

Something that struck me as both witty and candidly true was when Beavan discussed a trip to the market he took with his two-year-old daughter, the rain clouds looming above they hurried along, but the rain poured down and Beavan’s daughter, Isabella refused to be shielded by an umbrella.  Although quite unaware of the experiment her parents were undergoing, this little girl was so much a part of it—she comprehended that “This is what walking on a rainy day, instead of using mechanized transportation, is like: you get wet sometimes” (87).  How true that is!  Before the time that umbrellas existed, what would a person do?  Just hide away until the rain ceased…that would be ridiculous.  It also maybe is ridiculous to think that all us humans have a desire to get sopping wet every time it rains; what I believe Beavan is trying to express to the reader is that if you get wet from rain, then you get wet.  Humans should not try to resist nature to such a degree, because it will just fight back.  Look at the weather patterns, as Beavan put it “It is January but seventy degrees outside” (7).  More close to home for us living in Fairfield, we have had tornado warnings much more prevalently than in years past, we have had record breaking snow fall, but today it was almost 65 degrees and it isn’t even March!  Beavan’s ability to point out the fact that climate change is real and needs to be addressed without preaching to the reader is what makes this book have such high literary merit in my opinion.

Beavan indicates truths about our earth, this one in particular made me really stop and think: “We are mowing down some nine football fields of trees in the Amazon rain forest every minute” (49).  (**this made me want to go plant a tree in the Amazon for all of the college mail that I have had to recycle lately!)  This autobiography is such good literature because of facts such as these, which are stated, but never dwelled upon.  This book would be painful to read if Beavan just chastised the reader for grabbing Poland Spring water instead of that ‘Klean Kanteen’ reusable bottle.  With these facts juxtaposed with tough questions that the author poses to himself, but in turn poses to the reader.  “What is the purpose of our lives?  What makes us happy and fulfilled” (218)?  It obviously doesn’t make us feel happy to know that we are breathing in chemicals that simply float around in the air, it cannot possible make us feel fulfilled to watch the hole in the ozone layer become sickeningly larger and the sun penetrating our earth to warm it even more.  Beavan makes it seem logical that the humans that walk this earth need to change, but the problem is that yes “We cannot wait for the system [of trashing the earth] to change.  But we individuals are the system” (221).  With this sentiment Beavan leaves the reader to make a choice; he doesn’t ask the reader to be “a martyr…just try to live life deliberately” and make changes in a lifestyle that are feasible (224).  The merit of this book truly is defined by the peace the author finds in his life by committing to the no impact man project; this peace is what almost forces the reader to champion Beavan’s cause.

NO IMPACT MAN BLOG: http://noimpactman.typepad.com/

*Check it out, it’s worth it!

AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/No-Impact-Man-Adventures-Discoveries/dp/0374222886/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1298941543&sr=1-1

Spiderland

Over break I chose to read a book in the 33 1/3 series, a line of books that focuses on the making of an album, I read the edition fir one of my favorite albums, Spiderland by Slint. Criticism of music is not a hard area to be interesting in, writer's can choose almost any format to make their point in from an essay to a fictional piece and they can be funny, touching, or insightful. But when it comes to writing about actual events in a rock band's history, the writing can lose its creativity and become just a list of dates and things that happened. Scott Tennent, the man who write the book chronicling the events around the making of the album Spiderland falls into this trap. The book is supposed to focus exclusively on the making of one album and it seems as if Mr. Tennent didn't have enough to work with for he reaches into the history of the band's creation and other album. I found myself waiting to get to the chapters about Spiderland, which is the only reason I read the book and while informative everything that came before those chapters was a bit dull. But when it came to talking about the album I actually wanted to hear about I was entertained and the album he is writing about is known for being mysterious and not having a lot of history, so I can forgive Tennent for not having too much to work with. If you are interested in reading a book on an album that the 33 1/3 series has covered I would advise making sure it's one that has a lot to say about the album you are interested in.

My Sister's Keeper

http://www.amazon.com/My-Sisters-Keeper-Jodi-Picoult/dp/0743454537/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1298746031&sr=8-1

Over break, I read My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult.  While Jodi Picoult is normally regarded as an author directed towards females and who writes traditionally easier, less complex reads, My Sister’s Keeper does touch on very deep and complicated issues.  Having read the novel when I was in 6^th grade, I was unable to fully grasp all of the turmoil and depth that the novel contains, which is why I chose to re read it now, at nearly 17.  I had heard from many other people that the novel definitely conforms with the age of the reader, so I was curious to test out that statement.  I found that it did, in fact, give me more to think about, and I disregarded some of the shallower interpretations or feelings that I previously thought much about.  For example, the novel became less about the sadness, pain, and death that Leukemia brings and more about the morality and precious relationships between mother and daughter, father and daughter, sisters, and brother and sister.  I learned more about maturity in what appears to be just a child and I thought more about the craft and reason behind the significance of the ending.  With that said, I initially thought that the novel was just a “chick flick in a book”, just a “tear jerker” so to say, yet Picoult proves her literary merit by crafting a novel that appeals to all ages in all different ways, which illuminates different values and sentiments with age.

Half The Sky

This break I went to Ecuador with an organization called Builders Beyond Borders. A few months ago my Uncle had told me that there was a book that I should read about women in other countries called Half the Sky. The story is based on true events and is very brutal to read. Mostly it deals with prostitution in other countries and how women are forced into it, either for money, or because they are taken away at a young age. The book included pictures that were horrible to look at. I not only chose the book because of my uncle, but because I would be in Ecuador experiencing a completely different culture from my own. This story addressed another culture, so during break I was introduced to two new cultures. The stories of the women were very eye-opening, along with my trip to Ecuador. I saw many children that were 12 years old while I was there and I couldn't help but thinking that these children could very well be sold for prostitution if they lived in another country. Just hearing the stories of these women, some who had children and then were separated from them, was incomprehensible. The book in general was very well written and told. Every story was very sad and there were not always happy endings. The authors wrote the story with the purpose of recruiting people to help the cause. They need volunteers and reading the book certainly made me want to help. It was a great read, definitely not a light one, but very good and i definitely recommend it to everyone.

Feb. Break Reading

I hope everyone enjoyed their break! I know I sure did! I have to admit the book I chose would not be considered sophisticated literature, let alone literature in any way. However I took the freedom provided by Ms. Parrish to read any book, and therefore read (don't laugh) "Skinny Bitch" by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. As I returned home from Ecuador I was no way interested in losing weight as the excessive heat, sweating, and rice helped me to do that naturally, however while reading I found myself focused on the ways in which the authors expressed their ideas, rather than the ideas themselves. Freedman and Barnouin were brutally honest (which I found to be often times entertain gin), the title alone "skinny Bitch" automatically sets the harsh, and sarcastic tone of the book. Right on the cover the book is described as "A no-nonsense, tough-love guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating crap and start looking fabulous!” However as I read, it made perfect sense that it was a #1 New York times Bestseller, even though it entirely lacked literally quality, Freedman and Barnouin's way of depicting their advice was extremely persuasive. You learn about animal cruelty, and the truth about our body’s necessities. They bash all forms of sugar and make you feel guilty about indulging in your own birthday cake. At times I felt myself laughing at them thinking "Oh Just Shut Up", as they began to deny the necessity of protein, (not only in meat form, but in nuts as well). However I could at times I did agree with their points on natural sweeteners and dairy. However while reading I could not stop myself from thinking "do they really know?" As I discovered on the back Freedman was an agent for "Ford Models" and Barnouin was a former model. It made me question do they really know what its like? As their picture is shown on the back, and as they were both models it's evident that neither Freedman nor Barnouin ever suffered from a sever weight problem, let alone a weight problem at all. Although their brutality was often times persuasive, the irony in that they know the physical necessities in order to lose weight, but have no accurate perception of the mental difficulties that apparent when trying to lose weight, and the excessive motivation needed, to lose weight. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an entertaining book, but I warn you of the excessive verbal brutality, and blatant honesty.
Liz

The God Delusion

http://www.amazon.com/God-Delusion-Richard-Dawkins/dp/0618680004

In his 420-page negation of both the existence of a god and the benefits of religious belief, Richard Dawkins creates a novel that is sure to stand the test of time. Unique in the extent that he attacks the institution of religion, Dawkins criticizes the most famous ‘proofs’ of god, scientifically details the improbability of a divine creator, proposes theories for the roots of both religion and morality, explains the evils of religion and why it is so important to abandon it, and, most importantly, calls the general population to raise their consciousness to the wonderful possibility that is atheism. There truly is not an aspect of the religious debate that Dawkins does not tackle. In all ten chapters of his book, he incorporates and analyzes quotes from other writings on religion by both theists and atheists to completely dominate the issue of god.

Throughout all of this, Dawkins demonstrates his place in society as not only the face of modern atheism but also as a great novelist, as he is able to flow between styles of precise logic when detailing his explanation of evolution and comical incredulity when commenting on the persistent beliefs of creationists. Notably different from other novels refuting the existence of God, Dawkins is able to incorporate a subtle type of ironic humor that will leave a careful reader rolling on the floor laughing. In an effort to make sure that every assertion is proven thoroughly and every possible counter-argument is refuted (something that Dawkins’s opponents fail to do), The God Delusion can get a bit dull in places of extensive analysis.

Not to worry though, the quality of Dawkins’s arguments is unparalleled. If read by every religious person on the face of the Earth, there is no doubt that a overwhelming majority of them will end the novel having seriously questioned their religious beliefs. The elegance and never-ending logical insight that Dawkins provides makes it a must read. The publication of this book represents the greatest leap in the atheistic movement in the history of religion. People are now armed with the greatest arsenal of ideas an atheist could ever ask for in the never ending battle against religion (although don’t misunderstand the metaphor. We are an incredibly gentle people.). After reading The God Delusion, I have serious hope that more children will reject their parent’s indoctrination of religion and become aware of the possibility of atheism. My goal of living in a world free of religion may become a reality before I die; and this great book may have triggered it all.

Tuesdays With Morrie

For this break, I read a couple of different books and decided on one that I felt had the most impact on me to write about on this blog. Yet again, I chose to write about a memoir: Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom. Despite my previous knowledge of it being hard to write about memoirs, I am inclined to write about this one because of the way in which it touched my life, and my experience living life, and ultimately my heart.

Mitch Albom is a very successful author and in this novel specifically, Mitch writes about the relationship he and his greatest professor, Morrie Shwartz, had when he was taking his classes in college and then beyond that to when Morrie knows that he is dying. The book tackles the uncomfortable knowledge of knowing that you are dying, for the whole book takes place around the visits that Mitch has with Morrie as he is dying. Albom touches upon many aspects of the human experience in this novel and in my experience in reading it, I felt I was discovering the true way in which to live my life. All humans have the tendency to ask themselves and others questions that really have no specific answer to, for example, what is fear? what is death? why do we live? Questions such as these are similar to the ones that Mitch and Morrie discuss in Morrie's final months of life. Every Tuesday Mitch flies out to see Morrie, just for the day, and they discuss life, love, experience, and the meaning of what it is to be human. After reading this novel, my outlook on life has changed in many different ways. Morrie's ability to come to terms with the fact that he is dying, not mourn for his lost life, but instead, take advantage of the time that he has left really inspires me to view life as if it is short.

One of my favorite lines of the novel is when Morrie says, "We are too involved in materialistic things, they don't satisfy us. The loving relationships we have, the universe around us, we take these things for granted"(Albom 84). I think that Morrie really does touch upon an aspect of life that many humans are afraid to talk about, and that is the value and importance of materialistic items that are consuming our world today. I sometimes ask myself, what would I do without my cell phone? and I feel ignorant and ridiculous after doing so. Our culture and our society depends too much on materialistic items,(in my opinion) such as pricey cars, houses, clothes. We are all worried about what others think about us, but we do not take advantage of the love and the relationships and truly important experiences that we have each day. One thing that I do to remind myself that these types of things: phones, ipods, clothes, are really not as important as they seem is to think about my Grandma. I would give up every material item that I own for my Grandma to remember me again. That is what I believe to be important. I think that this is somewhat of the message that Morrie is portraying to Mitch in this novel, and just as Mitch learns to live a new type of life by the end of the novel, I am reminded of the true meaning of life; loving relationships and a fulfilling experience.

Morrie's undying ambitions and the truly admirable way in which he handles his inevitable death make me want to live life as if I was in the place that Morrie was throughout the book. One moment in the novel that really inspired me was when Mitch was observing Morrie in his suffering one day when they were visiting. Mitch writes, "But it was also becoming clear to me--through his courage, his humor, his patience, and his openness--that Morrie was looking at life from some very different place than anyone else I knew. A healthier place. A more sensible place. And he was about to die"(63). The relationship between the importance of life and the importance of death and the way in which Morrie handles this shows his strength as a human being. Reading this novel has really resulted in me having a slightly different outlook on life and I think that Mitch Albom does an extremely good job at portraying the life of this dying old man as an inspiring story from which all should learn.

NO IMPACT MAN by Colin Beavan

http://www.amazon.com/No-Impact-Man-Adventures-Discoveries/dp/0374222886/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1298852985&sr=1-1

No Impact Man was an opportunity for me to read what one may refer to as an eco-freaks bible.  The autobiography describes Colin Beavan's journey for one year (in NYC no less)to try to make as little to no impact on the world's environment.  All I thought, before reading the novel, was that the Beavan family would be doing what an average eco-friendly person would do, only for one year; bringing reusable bags to the supermarket, trying to walk/bike instead of drive (or maybe even just owning a smart car of some sorts)...I completely underestimated the difficulty of this experiment! 

Colin and his wife Michelle and their 2-year-old daughter Isabella (who by Colin's description seems like the most adorable little girl!  She seemed to enjoy their experiment the most!), gave up television, use the stairs instead of elevators, walk/bike and NEVER use any form of transportation that emits CO2s (i.e. planes/trains/cars/taxis...you get the picture!).  So as I read the first 20 or so pages I felt that this family was basically creating their own mini eco-cult, but as the book progressed it became evident that they were actually living harmoniously with nature.  It can even be said that they were living in a way that humans (in the natural order of things) are meant to live.  Okay, I can honestly say that might sound a tad confusing, but think of it; before the time of umbrellas if it rained, you got wet.  Before the time of a society that is go-go-go, you stayed home and rested-and were not obligated to text/email/facebook message/call/fax someone to let them know you can't attend whatever pressing occasion you had to miss.  As Colin puts it "Back before the days of mechanized transportation and personal telephonic communications and coffee in to-go cups, there would be down times between the times of stress.  Maybe you had a presentation at the office or a great party to go to or a tense talk with your girlfriend.  But between those things you'd get a break.  You couldn't carry your coffee, talk on the phone, ride a taxi to the next stressful event all at the same time" (89).  The lives that the Beavan family led for this one year seems like the most idealistic way for any human to live--with reducing carbon emissions and impact on the environment they simultaneously reduced their stress and chose to not take part in a society that values stress above most other things.  In this I find the literary merit of the autobiography-Colin is able to craft his book forcing the reader to ask themselves the hard questions: What will our earth be like in 10 years?  15 years?  By the end of my lifetime?  Will I leave this earth worse than it was when I entered it, or will I leave it changed for the better?  These questions are raised not by Colin preaching to the reader, but by him discussing his own witty happenings during his one year project.  He described the horror of knowing he had to call his parents and cancel the train ride from NYC to ironically Westport, CT in order to abide by his no impact project, he discussed how an ordinary sneeze that would come with a tissue in tow was now a production of finding that reusable handkerchief.  These little things that happen in the novel are what give the novel it's quirkiness.  Now by the end of the novel, Colin admitted that his one year of being the Green Superhero was seriously exhausting, the thought of having to not use toilet paper, tissues, or walk up one more flight of stairs in lieu of the elevator was not going to happen-so the no impact man project ended, but Colin retains, till this day, many of the aspects of his no impact experiment...one being he keeps a blog encouraging average people to try to limit their own impact, check it out for yourselves:
http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/

A little P.S. to my blog post:  When reading this novel I quickly found myself realizing that it has become so insane to fathom living an impact free existence because protecting the planet so often clashes with humans desire to protect themselves before others, 'others' referring to the earth.  I find myself feeling that my happiness would in some respects be slighted if I had to trudge to school everyday...rain, snow, sleet, and all.  Although I know I will definitely not be able to begin a no impact project, I have this strange sense that by driving in my heat-blasting car during the winter, by throwing out whatever I don't want, by not even stopping to think about taking the stairs when I have the opportunity to take an elevator is fighting precisely what keeps myself alive-the earth...without the earth, where would I be?  The moon?  As Colin discussed in his novel, "the moon bakes away at inhuman temperatures during the day and becomes an icicle's icicle at night" (70).  Guess that won't work then.

The Book Thief

Over break, I decided to re-read one of my all time favorite books. I suppose this happened accidently, as it was one of the first books I grabbed in my book shelf, threw it in my luggage case, and brought it with me on the train ride down the East Coast to visit colleges.

One of the funny coincidences about this particular book choice, was that the first scene of thenovel also begins on a train ride- a particularly haunting train ride down to Munich Germany in the early 1930's.

On the train is a young German girl by the name of Liezel who is traveling with her mother and brother, where only two of which reach their destination. Her younger brother does not make it through the ride, and dies midway to Munich.

In this mannor, Death follows Liesel all the way to her destination, where she will be handed over to her new foster parents. Literally. One of the things i absolutely love about the author Marcus Zusak, is his abstract choice of narration. Zusak personifies Death, and lets 'him' narrate the novel, giving it an ominous, tone.

However, one might think death to be completely foreboding, but in this novel, he is even humorous as he makes remarks in his witty descriptions of characters. For example, every time a new character is introduced into the novel, you'll get a little blurb such as:

"A Portrait of Pfiffikus:

He was a delicate frame.
He was white hair
He was a black raincoat, decomposing shoes, and a mouth- and what a mouth it was."


This unexpected humor from Death seems to make him human; even in the face of World War II in the heart of Germany. This is what I absolutely love about Markus Zusak. He is able to creat a world in which your whole perspective becomes altered, as the reader is forced to see through the eyes of the world’s most cruel narrator.

Also, what I found interesting in this book was the fact that it follows a blonde haired, blue eyed girl who is an active member of the hitlet Youth. Often times, when we read World War II literature, I find we are hearing the perspective of the persecuted Jews in order for the author to express the racsism and fear of this time period. However, in this novel, although the main character is not on the run from Nazi's, Zusak is still able to demonstrate the cruelty of racism as Liezel eventually comes to terms with the immorality of the period.

Rosie

Book Over Break Review

Cry, The Beloved Country

A Novel by Alan Paton

Over break, I read Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton. First, I was struck by the similarities to Okonkwo’s journey in Things Fall Apart. The names and customs of African people (and the use of titles in African dialects) remain present in both novels. Some characteristics I have found typical of post-colonial African literature, at least from my experience with the novels I have read, are the themes of disruption between tradition and modernity and the struggle to find an identity following the period of colonization in their history. Throughout, Cry, The Beloved Country the destruction of the tribal custom and structure is lamented by the main protagonist, Kumalo.

The first part of the novel consists of an introduction to the remains of the tribal society of South Africa. It is immediately apparent as the “natural” alternative. The narrator begins by describing a “lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills” (Paton 34), and continues to emphasize the beauty of his town. The setting seems especially peaceful; the inhabitants get along, and the scenery is exquisite. However, there is clearly an apparent absence. In the narrator’s own family, his brother, his son, and his sister are gone. They have disappeared into the city. Paton uses the emigration to the city to serve as a metaphor for the disillusionment and irreconcilability between tribal life and a more modern city life. After leaving their tribal towns with the native people, “they go to Johannesburg, and there they are lost, and no one hears of them at all” (54). His brother has become a politician who has great ideas but is labeled a coward for not wishing to upset the current white government, his sister has become an unreliable woman “with many husbands” (50), and his son has been transformed into a murderer. Paton is almost obtusely accusatory of the corrupting influence that living the city has on the native population of South Africa.

I found the distinct separation between the ancestry and the present of African society to be very interesting, especially as there is also a separation between the whites and the blacks (apartheid was implemented the year after the publication of the novel). The tension between new and old and white and black serves as the main concern of the novel. There is one character who encompasses the moral right of the novel in his writings. Ironically, the audience never meets this character, Arthur Jarvis. Moreover, it is the child of a broken tribe (Kumalo’s son) who kills him. At this point in the novel, Kumalo believes all hope has been lost, saying “cry, the beloved country for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear” (142). His own son (symbolically the present state of youth in South Africa) has murdered the hope and good in the novel. Kumalo cries not just for the children that have lost their chance at equality, but for the future of a country which exists in a state of disarray; South Africa is splintered not only by race but also split between native tradition and the lure of modern cities.

No present society seems ideal. The first presented is the tribal society, now depleted by those who have left or died. It provides structure and tradition necessary to maintain the integrity of its citizens, however it lacks the strength to keep the future people in its towns. Additionally, it lacks the resources to be productive and fully provide for its people. The second society is the modern society in cities; it provides the lure and excitement that the towns cannot however it entirely lacks the moral guiding systems. Furthermore, there is an intense amount of racial tension present. All members of Kumalo’s family that leave the towns end up corrupted in some way, and even Msimangu (Kumalo’s host in the city) is less patient and more conflicted than his counterpart in a rural town. Arthur Jarvis is entirely correct when he writes:

The old tribal system was…a moral system. Our natives today produce criminals and prostitutes and drunkards not because it is their nature to do so, but because their simple system of order and tradition and convention has been destroyed. It was destroyed by the impact of our own civilisation. Our civilisation has therefore an inescapable duty to set up another system of order and tradition and convention.

Paton 154

Ultimately, Arthur’s hopes are fulfilled through his father. After coming to his funeral, Arthur’s father reads his works and experiences a change of heart. He later donates to the small town of Ixopo, and provides for the people of another race. Although in the end of the book Kumalo’s son is executed and his sister stays a prostitute in the city, the end remains hopeful because Kumalo’s grandson (a baby) comes to live in the town with his mother (the son’s wife). Arthur’s death strangely unites the people in the novel, almost evocative of a Christ-like sacrifice.

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

The book I chose was The Truth about Forever, by Sarah Dessen. Though more of a beach read than scholarly, I liked the novel a lot because it is relatable. Macy is a junior in high school, who still suffers from the pain of watching her father die of a heart attack only 2 years before. Since then, her and her mother have lived without speaking of his death, within a perfect facade of "fine just fine", as Macy refers to it. Macy was the "perfect" child compared to her older sister, a reputation heightened by the fact that her boyfriend, Jason, is the ideal teenager. Smart and nationally recognized for his school-recycling program, Jason is the cliched, perfect child that every parent wants to have. He leaves Macy for camp, breaking up with her in the process, and Macy is left to a summer with a job at the library and books of SAT vocabulary. However, Macy's life begins to change after her mother's real estate party is catered by Wish Catering. Eccentric and chaotic, Macy is immediately drawn to Delia, the woman who owns the company, and its teenage employees. She meets Wes, a boy who understands her having lost his mother to cancer, and makes friends with Kristy, Bert, and Monica; Macy becomes truly happy for the first time since her father passed away.

This novel is cliched and predictable, yes, but I loved how Dessen sets up her characters. Though they are all different, it becomes easy to relate to each one: Delia is comforted by the chaos of her business, Bert has an obsession with the end of the world, Kristy is boy-crazy and eccentric, and Wes is caring and intriguing. The reader can easily relate to Macy's struggles with her father's death and her mother's inability to cope with her grief, and wills the story to have a happy ending. There is a quote in Ms. Parrish's room by Emily Dickinson: "Forever is composed of nows". Dessen's book expresses the same message; with so little time to live in this world, it becomes so important to truly live while you can. Macy spent so long grieving for her father and trying to live up to her mother's expectations that she never focused on her own happiness. Wish gives her this happiness and allows her to experience a real, imperfect life. The last few sentences of the novel read, "That was the thing. You just never knew. Forever was so many different things. It was always changing, it was what everything was really all about. It was twenty minutes, or a hundred years, or just this instant, or any instant I wished would last and last. But there was only one truth about forever that really mattered, and that was this: it was happening" (Dessen 374). Dessen's novel is enticing because it is a story that readers can easily connect to; though the novel's themes are not very original, the characters and storyline are. I would recommend it as a quick read just for fun.

http://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-Forever-Sarah-Dessen/dp/0142406252/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1298841865&sr=8-1

A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami

A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami was, to be honest, a little bit creepy. In fact Murakami's creates a setting within the novel similar to the mood and tone of Housekeeping - one that was a bit haunting, mysterious, and eerie. The book is basically about a man who gets singled out to find a mysterious sheep with a star on its back, or face "dire consequences". Thus, his journey begins as he sets out to find this sheep, who holds a mysterious connection to his friend Rat.

The literary merit of this book is definitely in Murakami's skill in the manipulation of the tone, plot, and characters. This novel actually fit really well with the "myth" unit we are currently studying and I actually saw a lot of similarities between this novel and The Road as well as parts of The Power of Myth. Like McCarthy, Murakami also choses to not reveal the names of any of his characters (the Rat is just a nickname for his friend). Additionally, he draws on elements of mythology, weaving it in effortlessly with real life. The protagonist meets a girlfriend with magical ears, a sheep man, and eventually (what seems to be) the ghost of the rat. By the end of the novel, my mind was spinning and it was hard to distinguish what was real and what was surreal. Murakami utilizes language in a way that blends reality and fiction to create a almost dream-like setting in which the protagonist appears to be struggling, but is conveniently helped along his journey by guides at just the right moments. What was really appealing was the way that the plot gradually grew darker as the novel progressed. It starts off with the protagonist living an everyday mediocre societal life with a wife, a business partner, a successful business etc. But by the end of the novel (and his journey to find the mythological sheep), the protagonist becomes completely isolated without friends or family snowed in an mansion in the rural mountainsides. When I got to part of his isolation, it actually gave me goosebumps (for other reasons that would give away the book).
 Additionally, Murakami creates this huge buildup of desperation, anxiety, mediocrity, darkness surrounding the protagonist that is never directly addressed, or resolved. Murakami begins the build up when the protagonist realizes that was simply a pawn in the man in the black suit's plan. He narrates:
        
          I was ready to get the hell off the mountain, but somehow that offered no satisfaction
          I had gotten in too deep. I would have been so easy if only I could have cried. But
          crying wasn't an option, because I felt that far ahead of me there was something really
          worth crying about.
                                                                                                      (Murakami 315)

The protagonist, as he is waiting for the Rat, also experiences "a terrifying dream. A dream too terrifying to recall" (323) during the middle of the night. In addition to this dream, the protagonist's feeling that something "far ahead of me...was something really worth crying about" served to intensify the premonition that something momentous will happen in the next few chapters. One would think that it is upon the arrival, and exit, of the Rat , but the protagonist does not "cry" until after his journey ends. Furthermore, the protagonist continues to exists in a dream-like state even after the Rat leaves when he becomes "unbearably cold", hears "someone whisper in [his] ear" and sees random people like the chauffeur, the Sheep Man and Charlie Christian (340). His fevered state accompanied by his frenzied actions and disjointed thoughts all help build up the expectations of a moment of catharsis for the reader. However, (for me at least) this moment never came.
In the end, the protagonist returns to "the land of the living"that he accepts as "[his] world...no matter how boring or mediocre it might be" (348) while distancing himself from 'memory'. The the ending occurs just as the novel began; the protagonist simply resumes his life of mediocrity by starting a new business with a new partner, without addressing his 'memories' of his sheep chase. Even when he eventually "cries", the protagonist does not address his reasons at all. He just cried, wiped his tears, and continued his walk, leaving the reader to wonder for what (or who) was he crying for? Why was he crying? What was "worth crying about"? The reader is left with a million more questions in addition to emotional build up that Murakami had created, successfully making the reader think harder and deeper about the meaning behind the novel.

However, I liked that Murakami intentionally leaves an open and seemingly insignificant ending because the book itself was so disjointed and symbolic. The plot is seemingly juvenile (with a Sheep Man and a girlfriend with magical ears to name a few characters) but the novel itself is anything but.

Although this book was a little eerie, I would definitely recommend it.

Link:
http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Sheep-Chase-Novel/dp/037571894X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1298786826&sr=1-1

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

I cannot say I was expecting a ghost story when reading the back of this book which says: “a young governess is left in sole charge of two charming and beautiful orphans…and is swiftly drawn into a frightening battle against unspeakable evil”. Being in English class we’re a bit more used to a symbolic sort of evil, but nope, these were scary dead-people who possess little children. Not really my cup of tea, but it was well written and supposedly “the original” in terms of all these modern day mystery ghost stories we see in movies.
The appeal of this book and its literary merit I think lie in the narration of the governess. Even if you don’t think she’s insane when she first sees the ghosts she is most certainly driven insane by them. She considers her herself a heroine, and is very willing to sacrifice herself to the ghosts in place of the children but is truly unable to stay mentally strong. She has no conviction and is not even sure of what she believes. This is definitely masterfully shown considering James never uses any physical evidence to show her going crazy and never even relies on those archetypal symbols such as distortion in a mirror. It’s strictly verbally done; the best way I can describe this is that she talk herself in circles, never coming to any logical conclusions. I think this is best shown in the following lines:
“I preternaturally listened; I figured to myself what might portentously be; I wondered if his bed were also empty and he were too secretly at watch. It was a deep ,soundless minute at the end of which my impulse failed. He was quiet; he might be innocent; the risk was hideous; I turned away.” (63).
If looked at only through a rhetorical lens the prevalence of the semicolon is what stands out and it demonstrates how she thinks she’s come to a conclusion, finished, then questions herself and starts again. Also, “I turned away” as the final of those lines is powerful considering after all that she’s debating she ends up never facing what she fears. She’s willing to stare down ghosts, but she’s frightened to even ask the children what they are up to. She’s definitely not as brave as she tells herself she is.
It can be a bit tedious to read, but it’s definitely evident that James is very purposeful in his drawn-out passages. This sort of narration runs throughout the book so the governess’ moral struggles and attempts to make sense of the mystery make up most of the book with very little progression action-wise.
What I think is most frustrating about this book is the jaded modern day reader will not be scared or surprised at the mystery or really impressed with James’ techniques. I thought it was pretty obvious that the children aren’t as innocent as soon as the governess meets them, since no child could be as perfect as the countless descriptions of “the radiant image of [the] little girl [and boy]…with angelic beauty” and perfect manners(16). We’ve learned that a good majority of narrators, especially if its first-person, are completely unreliable. Maybe in 1898, people would have believed everything the governess said and uncovered the mystery as she did, but for any modern day reader it’s pretty obvious from the very beginning. I found myself hoping the mystery would be beyond that- the children are the killers! The governess is really the bad guy!-but, there’s really not much evidence for any secret meaning. Even of the governess really made up the whole story, it really doesn’t add much of another dimension.

Ambiguity is also really heavily relied on; most questions remained unanswered such as why did the little boy get expelled? Why exactly are the ghosts evil, why are they there, and what do they want? I’m a bit tired of the ambiguous ending, to tell the truth, I feel it’s used absolutely everywhere, and it doesn’t really affect me as strongly anymore. For example, without spoiling it, the book ends in a way that makes the reader and the governess unable to ever be able to find out any answers (121). Again, maybe in 1898 this was new and exciting, but now it just seems a bit weary. If you like modern day horror, this is probably a good book for you since you’ll really see the origins of what has become every Hollywood B movie horror film out there. It’s not really my favorite. I wanted to read "Emma", but they didn’t have it at the book store.

I read this version:
http://www.amazon.com/Turn-Screw-RED-Penguin-Classics/dp/0141194375

Twain and Verisimilitude

As Born to Trouble suggests, Mark Twain was criticized by his contemporaries for his coarse, "low-brow" portrayal of life in America. Twain prided himself on depicting every day life accurately (a term often used to describe this realistic portrayal of daily life is "verisimilitude"). In what ways are questions of Realism tied to questions of language?

Schaub and The Road

In his essay "Secular Scripture and Cormac McCarthy's The Road," Thomas H. Schaub discusses the importance of spirituality and belief from the inside-- that which drives the characters of the novel. The author alludes to an idea from Kierkegaard's "The Absolute Paradox," in which he states, "the individual is always inside his thought and his reasoning, always attempting to reach by thought that which thought cannot think"(Schaub 153). In stating this, Schaub is emphasizing the concept of the man and the boy's journey being in solitude, in that they are experiencing this test of faith by themselves. For the man and the boy have nothing that keeps them going other than their own will to survive and their belief in a higher power. He is trying to focus on the importance of keeping the spiritual aspect of their journey in their hearts and how this is ultimately what drives the father to fight imminent death for his son, and for the son to agree to move on with another family at the end of the novel.

According to the author, the "father's foundation, from the beginning of the novel, is the son...the father's strategy is to construct meaning from the inside"(158). It is the father's duty to keep the boy alive and to lead him to the coast where there is a chance that the boy will find something greater, find more "good guys" like him, and have the possibility of defeating this gruesome post-apocalyptic world. It is in this desire to "construct meaning from the inside" that the father develops the phrase "carrying the fire" to motivate his son to keep on fighting for survival. It is exactly how Schaub asserts in his essay: "he[the father] tries to pass his values on to his son, in part through the language of "fire" he uses to justify their lives" (160). At the end of the novel, when the father is dying and he tells the son to keep on living and to keep fighting for his life, the boy asks, "Is it real? The fire?" and the father answers, "Yes it is"(McCarthy 278). The boy then questions further, "Where is it? I don't know where it is" to which the father responds, "Yes you do. It's inside you. It was always there. I can see it"(McCarthy 279). This establishment of "carrying the fire" is what allows for the boy to move on past his father's death. The father constructs this concept from his own thoughts and own beliefs, and passes it on to his son so that he too can be faithful in times when life is hard. The boy truly does believe that he is "carrying the fire" because the father instills that value in him during their time together. It is this belief on the inside that drives the boy to no longer want to die along with his father. It is evident that the father's repeated assertion that they are "carrying the fire" "is a strategy rather than a belief, a recourse to religious language and forms in the absence of any foundation for them in the world"(161).

Not only does the phrase "carrying the fire" have meaning in that the father created it so that the boy could believe in something on their journey, but the author of the novel also uses it symbolically to symbolize goodness. The boy embodies this goodness in every aspect of his journey. Often referring to himself and to his father as "the good guys," the boy is ignorant of the dangers and reality of the world that he lives in. It is his ignorance that makes him good however, because he does not falter under the evil and maliciousness of the common will to survive in this world. He wants to help others in all situations: such as the boy and the dog that he sees for only a split second, the old man Ely, and he does not even want to harm the man who attempted at stealing all that the boy and his father had to live on. It is this complete and total goodness that keeps the boy from stopping his journey after his father dies, for he believes that there is goodness in all human beings and that is why he joins the other man and his family. The boy is carrying the fire, furthermore carrying all human capacity to be good, and ultimately his unwavering belief in this fire is what allows for him to continue his journey in this desolate land.

The Journey Inward

What is Joseph Campbell's main argument as articulated in his interview with Billy Moyers? Use specific textual evidence to explain your response, and please be sure to read ALL of the other responses. Your comment should indicate that you've read and considered your classmates' respionse. Please note that the blog responses are mandatory and not posting is like not turning in a response paper.

433 Was Definitely Worth No Sleep

Before I get to my actual response, I have to say something.

god doesn't exist.

As logical and rational high school students, we should all be aware of this conclusion. Since I am not aware of the class's religious beliefs, I don't know if this clarification is actually necessary. I mean I assume that everyone recognizes the fallacy of god, but before I begin, I wanted to make it clear. There is no god.

But that doesn't mean religion is useless. In a less sophisticated and scientific world, the men of previous millennia had a decent (I am being very generous here, I know) reason to suspect the existence of a god. Their entire lives were shaped by religion and religious scripture. A lot of the ideas and stories that were told by the church became universally understood. They became a part of our culture (I'm not saying that this is a good thing, but that it did happen). And so biblical allusions carry the significance throughout society even to this day because people understand the sentiment behind the allusion. I mean snakes have become a symbol of deception just because of the story of Adam and Eve. This is why religion is still relevant in our lives today. The ideas of religion are so universally known that people can use them to create symbols and references that enhance literature. It's like TV. Shows like the Jersey Shore, which are complete trash, still hold some minute ounce of relevance in our society because it allows people to discuss New Jersey and it's lovely inhabitants on a common level of knowledge.

Okay. That's over. Now let's start the actual response. I actually don't think that Schaub or McCarthy are talking about traditional religion. Shaub's essay begins with a synthesis of multiple American novel that all deal with finding meaning in life. The Moviegoer pessimistaically states, "the signs of the world make no difference". He includes a quote from Housekeeping (which is probably why Parrish chose the essay) where Ruth comments, "that things were held in place, are held in place, by a web of words." And most fittingly, Schaub uses the quote: "If we did not pretend to believe these things, the world would collapse".

This last quote is the idea that Schaub is conveying in his essay about The Road. If the father and son do not maintain human civilization and morality, if they do not "carry the fire" (ugh), the world will collapse. Life as we know it would fall apart and cease to exist. Schaub's interpretation is one with which McCarthy would agree. The world of The Road lacks any sense of civilization or kindness. Someone once said that "the measure of civilization is extent to which people go to help each other". Then what kind of civilization is the road? Thus, the survival of the father and son and their refusal to not "eat people" represent the preservation of the entire code of human morality, in a world that is falling apart.

Schaub argues that "The Road is an allegory of spiritual survival". And that the "spiritual end that must be reached" is finding a community of survivors on the coast and preserving humanity. And because the boy is the best hope for this survival of the human spirit, Schaub argues that the purpose of the father's journey, and the "basis for the father's love for his son", is to "affirem and protect his son's life". There are so few people of knowledge and integrity left on the earth that maintaing these values through surviving is of utmost importance.

At one point the narrator depressingly comments that "On this road there are no godspoke men" (and by godspoke McCarthy means men that uphold the virtues that are established by the bible, which are basically just virtues). He continues, "[the godspoke men] are gone and I am left and they have taken with them the world" (32). As one of the only times that first person narration is used, McCarthy draws attention to this line. The father is the only man that is left to prevent the world from collapsing. The men that have died have taken "the world" (i.e. culture, knowledge, and virtue) from this planet. All that is left is the father and the son. This is why it is so important that they don't resort to the theft and cannibalism of those around them. They must preserve the human spirit.

Schaub argues that the "central problem of the novel" is "the status of the ethical, as well as the reason for being, in the face of apparent meaninglessness". The fascination that the boy has with the concept of dying and the torture that the father suffers from the temptation of suicide echo this sentiment. When the boy asks over and over, "Are we going to die?" and when the the reader can feel the father's desperate struggle to keep his son alive, "one may wonder if McCarthy's motive might not exactly be the testing of whether goodness can persist in the face of violence."

And so it becomes clear what the memorable line "each the other's world entire" actually means. For the father, preserving human culture is his greatest task. And he knew that "the child was his warrant" (5) to accomplish this task. "In sustaining his son's breath, he sustains not only his own capacity for life but for some belief in life’s continuance, in the value of life”. And for the son, the father represents the source of the ideals that he must continue to uphold. It is evident throughout the novel that the boy learns so much from the father in terms of survival and life philosophy. The boy continues his father’s goal when he asks the stranger who rescues him if he is “carrying the fire”.

Response to Schaub and The Road

I think that Schaub's interpretation of The Road was insightful and touched upon many of the topics that I personally had been thinking about. For example, as we have talked about in class, I think that Schaub does a nice job bringing attention to paradoxical role of fire in the novel stating that McCarthy utilizes the symbol of fire as "the sacred fire of human spirit" as well as "the demonic fires of apocalypse" (Schaub 161). It seems that wether the "fire" takes on a destructive or healing role depends on the wielder of the flame. For instance, Schaub believes that the boy is "in some sense a receptacle for any number of related ideas, including the consecrated elements of the Eucharist and the body of God" (163). I have to agree with Schaub that McCarthy uses many religious allusions to emphasize the potential of the boy. Not only is the boy a youth (which is associated with life, vitality etc.), but he also recognizes, what Schaub believes is, "the divinity within himself" by saying, "I am the one" (162).

An interesting point that Schaub brings up at this point is the relationship between the characters and the reader. He says, " their two meanings --the secular and the sacred -- co-exist within the text, for the words 'I am the one' signify both for the reader" (162). I think that this is an really interesting point because I do agree with Schaub that "The Road has the form of a spiritual journey" (154) and I might even go so far as to say that I think McCarthy not only brings the man and the boy on a spiritual journey, but also attempts at bring about the same results on the readers. Schaub makes a really interesting point about the conclusion the novel where time is dislocated and reverts back to a narrative form.

        On their backs were vermiculate patterns that were maps of the world
        in its becoming. Maps and mazes. Of a think which could not be put
        back. Not be made right again. in the deep glens where they lived all things
       were older than man and they hummed of mystery. (McCarthy 286)

Schaub brings attention to "the grammar of reference and antecedent [that] actually suggests something quite different" (Schaub 165). Because the this conclusion is written in a narrative form which creates a "position of the storyteller above the story, for whom the history of the road is entirely spatial" (166), it gives off a feeling that this whole story was perhaps an allegory, designed to warn mankind of its potential for destruction. This idea of a "storyteller" that is on the 'outside' looking back at that moment from the world that was already "in its becoming" ultimately gives off a sense of hope. That even if the old world can "not be made right again", there is still possibility in the boy (with his fire) to create a new world.
Furthermore, Schaub talks about how the man and the boy do not posses names and further contributing to creating a fable-like style of writing. Drawing again on the idea of a "storyteller", Schaub's ideas that The Road is a spiritual tale seems to be entirely correct. In addition however, I would probably say it is also an exploration human potential to change their world (as the boy may be able to do) even if the old world can no longer exist the way it did.

Thomas Schaub "Secular Scripture and Cormac McCarthy's The Road"

Today in class most of us realized that this essay mainly focused on the idea of religion in The Road. I think that Schaub's essay best described the idea of religion in this particular novel, because it is not a normal type of religion. He clearly distinguished between what we believe and what the father and the son believe. In this post-apocalyptic world where everything is literally burning to ash, some might think that there would be no spirituality or morales, but yet there are "the good guys" like the father and the son who "carry the fire" and the bad guys, who have lost most humanistic qualities of life. The father and the son do not pray every night to a God, they simply just keep going and to do that they must have faith in something; in a new world or maybe in each other. So although this is not a type of religion we are most commonly associated with, this is the type that is present in the novel. As Schaub said, "the father's repeated assertion - that they are carrying the fire - is a strategy rather than a belief, a recourse to religious language and forms in the absence of any foundation for them in the world" (Schaub 161). They are living in a world of literally no foundation, it is completely falling apart, so because of this they become spiritual for many things, including each other. The relationship between the father and the son is a very dependent one. They both need each other; they were "each the other's world entire" (McCarthy 55). This may be a total stretch and Schaub does not come out and say it in his essay, but i see the boy as a symbol for Jesus. The christian belief is that Jesus will come at the end of the world to judge the living and bring those who deserve it into the Kingdom of Heaven. At this point in the story, the boy is living in a world that is almost over. It is almost dead. The father could symbolize God because "The God of the American Religion is an experiential God, so radically within our own being as to become a virtual identity" (161). This is very interesting because the father is a man that is very relatable to us. "If he were God he would have made the world just so and no different" (McCarthy 89). He has survivor instincts for himself and his son, and he stays the good guy. He has the will to keep moving on. In a world like the one they are in, that signifies a very strong man, like God is represented as; a strong man. The son is one of compassion, who helps almost every person he finds. There is a bible story about a beggar that Jesus healed. The son does this when he comes across a beggar on the road. Jesus is known for his compassion, while God is sometimes known for his wrath. The father must kill, or harm sometimes in order to keep them alive. Further into this idea, towards the end of the novel we start to see the boy become frustrated with his father. He always wants to help and sometimes they cannot. "You're not the one who has to worry about everything. 
The boy said something but he couldn't understand him. What? He said. 
He looked up, his wet and grimy face. Yes I am, he said. I am the one" (McCarthy 191). The boy has kept the responsibility of being in charge and he feels burdened. In the bible we never get the sense that Jesus felt burdened or obligated to do what he did, but he died for people that may not have deserved his life. He suffered many horrible things in order to save millions of people. Maybe this is McCarthy's view of some religions, Jesus was a normal "son." He had a family and a life, but he was something special just like the son in the novel, but that does not necessarily mean he accepted who he was at all times. These are just some of the ideas that the essay by Schaub made me think of. I have a lot more, but my blog would be way too long and very confusing with many different ideas!

Thomas H. Schuab and The Road

I agree with Amanda's claim that "Those who lived in the “old world” will eventually die out like the Man, but I think the boy and others born after the apocalypse will not lose all intuition." The idea of this intuition seems to stem from Carl Yung's theory of the Collective Unconscious. Is it possible that though all traces of the old world may have disappeared, symbols such as darkness and light may stay the same? I believe that people who live in a world that is going through such a drastic change, will still respond to "darkness and light" as they might have in the old world, but symbols and archetypal patterns will be altered. As people grow accustomed to the dark, their response to it will be different. As people see the light, they may interpret it not only as a symbol of hope, but as a symbol of destruction, as the light of the fire is what has destroyed the world.
As Thomas H Schuab asserts, the very things people rely on to survive will be altered. In this new world, the characters eventually are forced to revert back to a life of simplicity, where "things were held in place, are held in place, by [merely] a web of words.”
A web of words seems to be so fragile, as if life depends only on the support of single, distinct meanings. Even if "there is no God," then people such as the boy and his father in The Road will emerge, with magnitude, and find something else to believe in, such as the love between father and son, or in the case of Housekeeping, letting the world be defined by a distinctive "set of words."
Even without a God, The Road is a spiritual journey: McCarthy even employs an "ironic echo of Adam and Eve departing Paradise" in the beginning of the novel to emphasize the magnitude of their journey. Even in the face of the barren "wasteland," the father and son are able to find something Godly in each other, as they both travel in the hopes of "carrying the fire"

Response to Schaub's "Secular Scripture and Cormac McCarthy's The Road"

While reading Schaub's essay I found myself enjoying the way Schaub highlighted aspects of McCarthy's novel that were used to evoke a thought process in the reader. Schaub recognizes how "McCarthy taps into the commonplace of American writing, or fishing in America..." (Schaub 156). McCarthy does not in fact describe the pre apocalyptic world, but yet his inclusion of the brook filled with trout and other allusions make it clear that the pre apocalyptic world must be in fact much like today's world. Furthermore Schaub states: "McCarthy uses memory to bring into our consciousness the very images that are fading away within the world of the novel" (Schaub 157). Similar to what we discussed today in class alluding to Connor's parallel to the collective unconscious, McCarthy's "hints" through out the text make it much easier to picture the pre burnt and deteriorated earth.

Furthermore Schaub's essay is very peculiar in how it contradicts itself continuously, Schaub first asserts that signs and symbols of spiritual facts can no longer be used as they have all been turned to ash, however he later discusses the idea of "whether there can be meaning without embodiment" (Schaub 155). Originally Schaub contends that symbols and sign are no longer relevant because their remains are merely ash, however he later discusses the possibility that there can be meaning with out "embodiment". The idea that something can have spiritual value and importance, however its physical being may no longer exist. God for example, a controversial topic throughout the novel as the protagonists question his existence, in most religions is not seen by human’s, however is a spiritual being who is known to watch over mankind. God to many is extremely meaningful, and therefore proves that there can in fact be meaning without embodiment. When the protagonists take shelter with Ely, as Ely states that God does not exist in the post apocalyptic world, however the father responds with a simple "No?", he too questions whether God can in fact exist in such a deteriorated world, and questions how God could allow the downfall of life on earth. interestingly Schaub like the protagonists battles with this question, and the idea of meaning without embodiment. However this contradiction between the lack of symbolism because they have all been burned to ash, and the idea that spiritual meaningfulness does not have to spark from a an actual, present being. Fire for example a symbol that "burns" throughout the novel as the destructive force that brought the majority of life on planet earth to its end, and the fire that "burns" within the man and his son, the "fire" to persist and survive, does not actually exist within the protagonists. The internal organs are not in fact burning with fire, and therefore this symbolism though not realistically burning there is still extremely meaningful. Scaub's essay poses many questions to his readers through his contradictions and ideas. These questions lead to further interpretation of novel, and a greater more "meaningful" understanding of the text.

Schaub and The Road

Schaub of “Secular Scripture and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road” points out how The Road is paradoxical in structure. It is a story in a world with no need or want of stories, with allusions and allegories that help the reader understand, but would mean little to the post-apocalyptic characters whose previous faiths and philosophies have been replaced with a sort of rugged spirituality without rules or traditions or figureheads. I agree with Schaub’s ideas about the structure, however, I disagree in thinking that the spiritual belief the boy and his father gain is so incredibly “unique”, that is so isolated to the time and place that the man and the boy live in.

In our discussion earlier, Connor mentioned how he kept being reminded of the archetypal symbols we discussed earlier in the year that evoke the same feelings in the subconscious of every individual. Those who lived in the “old world” will eventually die out like the Man, but I think the boy and others born after the apocalypse will not lose all intuition. Though, he may not know of God or Jesus or any other religious symbols I believe he’ll understand simple intuitive symbolism. If nothing else, he’ll see light and know it is good and dark and be scared. He’ll look to the horizon and wonder what is beyond it, and then begin to question, who am I? Why am I here, like generations of men before him? I think this is best demonstrated when the boy meets the other man at the end and “demands an answer” to whether or not the man holds the fire. The man says yes which could mean either he’s just agreeing with the boy to get him to follow him or he identifies with the fire as a positive force that he and the boy share. I doubt it’s the first since this is the first man that seems as “humane” as the boy; Ely before seemed unreal like a warning or a demonic prophet. I don’t believe being human necessarily makes you “humane” in the way we see the word today, so this connection over symbols is really a great affirmation of the continued existence of humanity as well as a connection to the spirituality of the past.

Now, obviously Schuab doesn’t believe that The Road’s characters are completely without human or personal connections; his essay brings up many ideas of the boy as a god-like figure to his father and the boy’s empathy towards all living things. It’s just to the extent that he thinks that this spiritual journey transcends all others. I think it’s a testament to Cormac McCarthy’s ability that it’s not; he is able to apply these archetypal ideas used throughout time in a manner that is unique.

Response to: “Secular Scripture and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road”

Schaub asserts in his essay that The Road that in a post-apocalyptic world, the lack or even absence of religion forces the few people who are left to have to create some sort of religion or belief to live for. I fully support Schaub’s claim that the idea of faith being grown out of something horrible was McCarthy’s intention to get across to a reader. McCarthy often drives this point by the many references to Genesis and the creation of man to the journey the man and boy are on in The Road. With literally nothing to live for, it is only natural to create things to live for—in the case of The Road, Cormac McCarthy crafts the boy to allude to the idea that he may be “the chosen” one. That chosen ‘higher power’ to prevent their planet from inexistence—“When we’re all gone at last then there’ll be nobody here but death and his days will be numbered too” (McCarthy 146). The journey that the boy and man are traveling to survive can be paralleled to the story of Genesis. As Schaub discussed, “these allusions [in The Road to religion] constitute an echo not only of literary but also of human history, within which the artist sought to explain the ways of god to men” as Genesis for some people today explains how god/God created man (Schaub 155). Even the obvious that the man is never named, as the man in Genesis is never named shows McCarthy’s ability to allude to Genesis in his novel. As Schaub recognizes, the opening lines to The Road are almost identical to the passage in Genesis “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (002:007). Even the idea (which may be a stretch on my part) but that the boy outlived the man—to spread their ‘good news’ or what they called “the fire” as Jesus in the Catholic Faith is considered to have been crucified as atonement for the sin of all man. Did the father in the novel play the same role of dieing for another to live? As I believe someone (I apologize I don’t recall the exact person) but I know someone in class today suggested that the father’s ‘fire’ was extinguished by the end of the novel, but the boy’s was not so that may be why the boy was able to live. He could continue to carry the fire. Also, often in depictions of Jesus he has a heart filled with fire:

So when the father states to the boy at the closing of the novel, “You don’t know what might be down the road. You must carry the fire” he means he must carry that fire in his heart, as a higher power would, to spread good news, to spread faith (Schaub 163). In this same depiction of Christ above you can obviously see the light that radiates from him. That is the same idea when the father is dying and he recognizes, “when he moved the light moved with him” (277). The father could see that his son attained that same aura of light as does Jesus in many drawings.

Now I have somewhat strayed from my original thesis and what I am supporting—I feel that I may have been somewhat off, it is not the boy creating faith, it is the boy living and acting out that faith where the father is recognizing it. The father can recognize that his son may in fact be ‘holy’ because he lived before the time of the apocalypse. The father knew what it meant to be a “body of God” whereas the son’s life and all that he could remember was in the post-apocalyptic world. This connects back to the idea in class that ignorance can be directly connected to goodness and purity—the boy was acting his life in the manner “goodness can persist in the face of violence” without truly understanding that his goodness was in the face of such a horrible world (Schaub 158). The boy did not know what a world without seas of ash, barren landscape, and constant cold was like. That isn’t to say that the boy thought the world he lived in was all hunky dory—he just didn’t know the extent of how horrible his planet had become.

Returning to the father’s death as I discussed above, in the final moments when he is speaking to his son and revealing to the boy that he will be leaving him alone, he reassures him by stating, “You can talk to men and I’ll talk to you. You’ll see. ... You have to make it like talk that you imagine. And you’ll hear me. You have to practice. Just don’t give up” (Schaub 163/McCarthy 278-79). Now it may just be the father’s paternal instincts that he told the son he could ‘talk to him’ to make the boy not feel alone, but I have a lingering feeling that McCarthy intended that dialogue to show the transcendence of religion even amidst death—if the father and son could ‘talk’ to one another even after the father had passed, doesn’t that somehow suggest that the father is going to an afterlife and then further suggesting that the two of them were creating a religion or faith to live for?

I believe that Schaub’s intent in his essay was to highlight how (as Molly and Chelsea spoke about in class) religion can exist without emulation—of course the world in The Road had no churches left, no bibles, no hymns, or organized prayer, but even amidst death glimpses of religion can still be recognized. As Ely asked the man “Maybe he believes in God” (McCarthy 173). I believe that Schaub asserts that it wasn’t that the boy believed in a god per say, he was acting as a God as the boy had “values that transcend mere survival, that are fundamental to the boy’s character” (Schaub 162). The boy never really explained fully his reasoning behind wanting to help all of the sick and suffering and why it pained him so that he could not. Schaub makes me think that the boy never explained this desire to want to help people because the boy never felt like he had to, it was a desire, a passion or “fire” that burned in his heart that he could not let go of, whether it meant living or dying to fulfill this desire to help people, the boy would do it. The boy would save another man’s life before his own in a heartbeat; that in itself sounds holy to me.