Characters of Waiting for the Barbarians

J.M Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians is narrated by a man called the Magistrate. He is magistrate of an empire supposedly being attacked by barbarians. We see him as an older man with sympathetic and sound views. He is a reliable narrator, I believe, evident through his disapproval of Colonel Joll. Colonel Joll is the only character in the novel with an actual name and is often depicted wearing sunglasses. Because of the concern over the barbarians attacking the empire and pillaging livestock, Joll is called upon to “investigate.” “Finding the truth” is his main concern with these investigations, but from the eyes of the Magistrate, Colonel Joll is way off the mark. He interrogates all the wrong people and beats them until they tell him what he wants to hear, which is that the barbarians are preparing an attack on the Empire. This is, in other words, the “truth.” Colonel Joll is a corrupt leader and the Magistrate is seemingly the only one aware. Everyone else is won over by the propaganda about the barbarians coming to attack and the urgent need for information in order to prevent a war. The Magistrate is the main character and Colonel Joll is his antagonist in the first section.


We see everything through the Magistrate’s eyes and tend to sympathize with him. Waiting for the Barbarians is like his diary entry. He does not trust Joll and finds him very useless against the cause. It is hard to tell whether the Magistrate thinks that there are barbarians waiting to attack or not. However, he shows suspicions with reflections like, “in private I observed that once in every generation, without fail, there is an episode of hysteria about the barbarians.” The Magistrate is smart, observant, and also sympathetic of the unfairly beaten prisoners. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders and that is why we trust him as a narrator.

Conrad: Symbolist or Impressionist

Ian Watt Article, "Impressionism and Symbolism in Heart of Darkness"

• Discusses whether Conrad is a Symbolist or an Impressionist with various definitions of each
• Impressionism: can be identified with the Impressionist movement in painting, characterized by artwork that had an obscured subject.
• It is the depiction of a subject that is blurred by the atmosphere or environment it is in, seen in Monet's work a lot.
• Heart of Darkness can be considered an Impressionist piece of literature because the Marlow's tale is kind of enveloped, making its overall meaning a little hazy.
• The word hazy or misty is used many times in the opening pages describing the Nellie as it moves down the Thames, which can be applied to the meaning of Marlow's / Conrad's story as a whole.
• The primary narrator "warns us that Marlow's tale will be not centered on, but surrounded by, its meaning.." and the meaning will be difficult to figure out.
• Virginia Woolf quote: "Life is not a series of gig lamps symmetrically arranged; life is a luminous halo, a semi-transparent envelope surrounding us from the beginning of consciousness to the end."
• Impressionists aimed to portray what is actually seen rather than an idealized or imagined view of things.
• Apparently though, Conrad was did not consider himself an Impressionist because he was more into realism stuff. Somewhat anti-impressionist.
• However, Heart of Darkness seems very Impressionist because it "it accepts...the bounded and ambiguous nature of individual understanding."
• Another Impressionist characteristic is that Conrad presents something and then holds off on explaining it until later, known as delayed decoding.
• This technique gives a more realistic feel to the narrative = more Impressionist
• Symbolism: objective is to discover coherent meanings and values for which was inwardly yearned, but not found in reality.
• The same argument is made that Heart of Darkness has very Symbolist characteristics, but Conrad himself did not consider himself a symbolist at all.
• Some of his quotes on the subject: He says he wrote the story "straight from the heart," in an attempt "to give a true impression." But he also says, "that [he] wanted to connect the small world of the ship with that larger world carrying perplexities, fears, affections, rebellions, in a loneliness greater than that of the ship at sea." = symbolist attitude!
• There are symbolist aspects of the novel, for example Watt discusses the title.
• The title is compelling in that it make us think about deeper meanings of it beyond the center of Africa.

"How can something inorganic like darkness have an organic centre of life and feeling? How can a shapeless absence of light compact itself into a shaped and pulsing presence? And what are we to make of a 'good' entity like a heart becoming, of all things, a controlling part of a 'bad' one like darkness?"

Marlow's Fresh-Water Sailing Story

Marlow is an explorer. "He is the only man of us who still 'followed the sea," says the unknown narrator who seems to be a crew member on the Nellie. The sea is greatly revered by the sailors who share the "bond of the sea" as well as the bond of the Nellie. It is a lazy day on the Thames River as the Nellie lazily lulls closer and closer to the ocean when Marlow begins his tales of his time as a "fresh-water sailor" on a long, snake-like river in Africa. As a child, Marlow constantly studied maps. He "had a hankering" after Africa as a young boy, and as he grew old, this fascinating, mysterious place became a "place of darkness." When he scores a job on a French steam boat that moves along the coast of Africa, what he sees shocks him. He becomes "acquainted with a flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil of a rapacious and pitiless folly." He witnesses a cliff being repeatedly blasted for no apparent reason. Marlow's interpretations of what he sees are never stated, but rather implied. When he sees the native people being enslaved and crawling off to die, turning into "black shadows of disease and starvation," he clearly thinks the methods of buisness in this part of Africa to be more destructive than productive. There seems to be a conspiracy working with the buisness Marlow is involved in but he cannot figure it out. It has something to do with Mr. Kurtz, who we learn about through the dressed-to-impress Chief Accountant. The flabby, weak-eyed devil is present in all aspects of this situation in which Marlow finds himself.
What do you think of this conspiracy? and Mr. Kurtz?

June Second, 1910

It is evident that Quentin is obsessed with both time and Caddy. Time haunts him always, specifically his shadow and the ticking of his broken clock. Is he driven to commit suicide because it is his only escape from his constant awareness of time? Also, the question of virginity comes up in this section, along with the emphasis on Caddy's promiscuity, which angers Quentin. Does Quentin's anger come from jealousy because he loves Caddy as more than a sister? Or because her promiscuity is embarrassing and shameful for him and the family?

Look Before You Leap!

Leroy and Norma Jean were a couple that got married for the wrong reasons. The did not have time to ask themselves why they were marrying eachother, it was decided for them, by "fate" as Norma Jean's mother Mabel calls it. Mabel is "a short, overweight woman whose tight, brown-dyed curls look more like a wig than the actual wig she sometimes wears" (29). This is Leroy's description of her, the son-in-law that has only gotten along with his mother-in-law by way of trivial jokes. It is implied that Norma Jean and Leroy were married out of wedlock and because of pressure from Mabel. Leroy thinks that "Mabel has never really forgiven him for disgracing her by getting Norma Jean pregnant." (30). The baby that Leroy fathers dies shortly after birth but is never forgotten. The thought of their child haunts Leroy and Norma Jean many years after it has died, and never stops affecting them. The word baby cannot be said without getting a reaction from Norma Jean. When Mabel tries to make conversation by saying, "did you hear about the datsun dog that killed the baby" she is greeted with anger and annoyance by her daughter (71).

The death of their child affects their marriage severely, as does the fact that Leroy is injured in a truck accident, leaving him without his work and home with Norma all day. It is then that Leroy is able to see how their relationship has changed. He still is very in love with Norma Jean, but his feelings are no longer returned. When he was driving trucks he was "always flying past scenery" literally and figuratively (6). He is constantly trying to show his love for Norma Jean, but does not know how to really. He buys her an organ and always talks about building her a log cabin. "Ever since they were married, he has promised Norma Jean he would buy her a new home one day. They have always rented, and the house they live in is small and nondescript. It does not even feel like a home Leroy realizes now" (8). When Leroy does not know what to say, he brings up the log cabin and Norma truley does not care about it. She is now focused on going back to school and lifting weights, bettering herself. Norma Jean is a woman trapped by her husband, her mother, and her life overall. She only starts to become her own person sixteen years after her baby has died. I think because she was married at such a young age, she never had time to grow up and was therefore lost. Her child dying and her overbearing mother did not help either. I believe Norma Jean never loved Leroy and married him for one reason only, for their baby. And then that reason disappeared. Stuck in a huge rut, Norma Jean realizes she does not love Leroy and never has.

Leroy knows that there are problems, but continues to try and win Norma's love in vain. "As he and Norma Jean work together at the kitchen table, Leroy has the hopeful thought that they are sharing something, but he knows he is a fool to think this. Norma Jean is miles away. He knows he is going to lose her" (94).

Their marriage was glued together by their shared child, but after the glue faded, their marriage was just a decade wasted. Leroy is a man in love with his wife but is not smart enough to figure her out, or really anything out. And Norma Jean is a woman that was lost for a while but is finally starting to find herself.

The end of "Shiloh" can be seen as happy and sad. The author makes us sympathize with Leroy because that is whose mind we see through the whole story. We feel sad that Norma Jean has chosen to leave him in the end and that he is still in denial, formulating ways to win her back. As Norma is walking away from him forever, Leroy "[n]ow he sees that building a log house is the dumbest idea he could have had. It was clumsy to think that Norma Jean would want a log house. He'll have to think of something else, quickly" (156). On the other hand, we are happy for Norma Jean because she has found her freedom. Leroy and her mother were smothering her, she says to Leroy, "[s]he (Mabel)won't leave me alone--you won't leave me alone. I feel eighteen again. I can't face that all over again" (155).

"Shiloh" is a story that feels very real and gets you thinking about life and how the choices we make largely affect our futures.

Reflections of "Cathedral"

“Cathedral” is a very intriguing story that deals with ignorance and preconceived notions. The main character has a strong adversity towards his wife’s friend coming for a visit, because he is blind. His remarks on the man are so surprising that they are humorous in their insensitive and ignorant nature. He remarks sarcastically to his wife at one point, “[m]aybe I could take him bowling” (6). He quips about blind people, whether they are to himself or to his wife, remain amusing yet frustrating since he has never met a blind person and therefore his comments have no basis on reality. However, upon meeting his wife’s blind friend Robert, he shockingly makes no rude remarks, which opens the doors to a friendship between them. Their relationship evolves over drinks and dinner. By the end of the night they are smoking some dope and watching a show about cathedrals on the color television, recognized by the blind man. I cannot help but question if their friendship would have evolved as much without the influence of both alcohol and pot, however. Nevertheless, I believe the point that Raymond Carver was trying to make was that with education, ignorance can be cast aside. The husband was so adverse to the blind man in the beginning of the story because he could have been scared, intimidated, or just stubborn about the whole situation. However, by the end the blind man and the husband are somewhat friends. This shows that ignorance is stupidity and preconceived notions are not reality.


When the husband and the blind man are watching a television show about cathedrals, the question of religion comes up. The blind man says, “Let me ask you a simple question, yes or no. I’m just curious and there’s no offense. You’re my host. But let me ask if you are in any way religious?” The husband replies with “I guess I don’t believe in it. In anything. Sometimes it’s hard. You know what I’m saying” (103). This passage seems like a comment on the husband’s life as a whole. He is a man that needs proof to believe in something. When I read this part of the story I thought of the saying “I’ll believe it when I see it” applied to the husband. That seems like it is his motto, while the blind man sees nothing. But in the end, the husband is moved by drawing the cathedral with the blind man. He says, “It was like nothing in my life up to now” (108).


On a different note, I could not help but think of Earnest Hemingway when reading Raymond Carver’s short story “Cathedral.” The repeated consumption of alcohol and the short, staccato sentences are Hemingway’s trademark style. Also, their histories are not so different in that they both struggled with alcoholism.

Teenage Wasteland?

The plot of “Teenage Wasteland” is centered around Donny, a defiant teenage boy who is constantly disappointing his parents and the authority figures around him. Through Donny’s story we see the importance of parenting and the negative effects of advice and persuasion from peers and counselors. Anne Tyler’s “Teenage Wasteland” is told from the point of view of an omniscient narrator, so we see all sides of the story from an objective view. The omniscient voice focuses mainly on Donny Coble’s mother, showing us her self-consciousness, her lack of confidence, and her lack of self-worth. All of these weaknesses are what affect Donny’s well being as her child and they also give way to a main theme of the short story.

As said by his psychologist, Donny “needs a better sense of self-worth,” and ironically “[t]hat night, Daisy (Donny’s mother) lay awake pondering the term ‘self-worth’” (11). Daisy is a woman with little self-worth trying to parent two children. After their second meeting with Donny’s principle, Donny’s parents, Matt and Daisy, are shocked at what they hear. They had to sit on “Mr. Lanham’s couch like two bad children and listen to the news…Daisy thought, how they must look to Mr. Lanham: an overweight housewife in a cotton dress and a too-tall, too-thin insurance agent in a baggy, frayed suit. Failures, both of them” (8). Instead of focusing on her son’s difficulties with discipline, school, and life in general, Daisy focuses on her own imperfections and how they may come off to Mr. Lanham. In an environment where the mother is naive and the father is virtually impalpable, any type of trouble with their children is almost expected. There are many examples throughout the short story that show Daisy’s lack of parenting skills, such as how in attempt to fix Donny’s problems, she somewhat neglects the younger sibling Amanda. The root of Donny’s behavioral issues lies in his parent’s naivety about how to raise a child properly.

Calvin Beadle, or Cal as “all his kids” called him ends up being the Cobles’ worst nightmare and he commandeers Donny into his “tutoring” group (14). However, the events that follow Donny’s entry into Cal’s world happen only because his mother lets them happen. Her pushover personality is exhibited throughout “Teenage Wasteland” and eventually drives Donny away from his own home. With Cal’s influence, Daisy completely changes her method of parenting, suggesting that there were no real boundaries in the first place. “The tutor had set down so many rules!” the narrator exclaims seemingly from Daisy’s mouth. She no longer is a parent figure to Donny, and has given all of the responsibility to Cal. After Donny is expelled from school because of numerous violations, he runs straight to Cal, who suggests a conference with Donny and Daisy. After panicking about where her son was, Daisy is soothed by the fact that Cal is handling the situation. Because of the outcome of the short story, Tyler suggests that parenting should be done by the parent only. Another thing Tyler suggests through both Cal and Daisy is that people are shaped through their experiences. Daisy “had a miserable adolescence herself and had always sworn no child of hers would ever be that unhappy” (40). We see now that her insecurities come from her childhood, and are projected onto Donny. In the story we also learn that Cal had been married to a controlling woman, “[s]he didn’t understand him a bit,” states Donny (58). Cal could have possibly gotten his relaxed, loose attitude by rebelling to his previous wife’s controlling attitude. Overall, with the examples of the bad parenting, controlling wife, and terrible childhood, Tyler is showing that every experience a person has shapes them.

A question that comes to mind when reading this short story is why Tyler chose to name it “Teenage Wasteland,” also the unofficial name of a popular rock song, officially known as “Baba O’Riley,” written by Pete Townshend of The Who. The song is even mentioned in the story as Daisy and Matt are observing a group of Cal’s students playing basketball in the driveway. She recognizes the song blaring from inside Cal’s house as “Teenage Wasteland” and Matt replies with “it certainly is,” thinking that she was describing the scene before them (60). One interpretation of “Baba O’Riley” is about having space to grow up with impunity and without imposition. Donny’s life did not embody this version of a teenage wasteland, but it may have turned out better if it had. With “Teenage Wasteland,” Tyler shows how vital good parenting is in raising a child, and what a hard task it is to take on.

Questions: 1. Why do you think Tyler chose the title “Teenage Wasteland” for her short story? And what do you think the song represents versus this short story?
2. Why do you think Donny ran away?
3. Do you think tough restrictions spark rebellion?

Books that stuck with me

1. Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis
As I said in my other blog post, this is my favorite book of all time because it totally opened my eyes to a new world of drugs, music, and chaos. Even though it is really long, Scar Tissue is a really fast read.

2. Harry Potter (all of them)
They are my favorites and I never get sick of reading them.

3. 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper
I felt like I had to read this because my grandma gave it to me on Easter last year. However, I started reading it and could not stop because it was such an amazing story.

4. Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger
I don't think I really understood it because I was kind of young when I read it, but I remember loving it anyways.

5. Running With Scissors by. Augusten Burroughs
The funniest book I have ever read.

6.How I Paid for College by Marc Acito
The 2nd funniest book I have ever read.

7. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Maude gave it to me for Christmas because she thought I would like it, and she was way right. The movie was just as good as the book.

8. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
This book is magic. I love reading it around Christmas because it is such a magical book and Christmas is the most magical time of year.

9. Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
I read this when I was young and everything in the book seemed really new to me, so this book taught me a lot.

10. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
I have never cried so much from reading a book.

11. Twilight
I cried really hard in this book too. And I was obsessed with it for a while, just like every other girl in America.

12. Bridget Jones' Diary by Helen Fielding
The 3rd funniest book I have ever read. The movie is really good as well.

13. Deception Point by Dan Brown
I love Dan Brown books, and I think this one is my favorite.

Summer Reads

In the summertime, one of my favorite things is a good book. This summer was not a particularly productive summer on the reading front, however I read a few good novels. The best are autobiographies. Over winter break last year I read the autobiography of Anthony Kiedis, the lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and it is still the best book I have ever read. I cannot help but compare every book I read to Kiedis's Scar Tissue. Also, I am now obsessed with multiple songs by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, they are great. Many times I pick up a book and get halfway through it and then put it down. Its a bad habit that I wish would go away. So, this summer I picked up three books that never got finished: The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards, Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, and The House at Riverton by Kate Morton. My favorite out of that group is Shantaram... it is an autobiography. It is all about the author's life after he escapes from prison. He moves to India, Bombay specifically, (which is now Mumbai) and has many adventures. The book is so interesting because of Roberts's take on the world after he is out of prison. Most people would be disgusted by the slums and filth of Bombay, but he loved it because "everyone looked so happy." Shantaram depicts Bombay as a city pulsing with so much life and fun, with some crime, but that is what makes it super exciting. However Shantaram is about 700 pages long and somewhat intimidating, but I plan on picking it back up, it is waiting on my nightstand to be read.

The books I read all the way through were The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, Look Me in The Eye by John Elder Robison, and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Although I loved all three of them, my favorite was Look Me in The Eye...it was another autobiography! The author John Elder Robison lives with a mild form of autism called Asperger's syndrome. Look Me in The Eye is entirely about his life. He includes much about his autism and how it affected him in the real world. What makes the book so interesting is his anecdotes about growing up with wacky parents in a small town outside of Boston. The book also shows what a person with autism has to deal with. What those without autism might think of as quirky, a person with autism would think of as totally normal. I loved how he only remembered people's names if he nicknamed them himself. Consequently, he called his first wife "Little Bear" for all of their time together, I do not even remember her real name, or if he even revealed it in the book. Also, his parents became "Slug" and "Stupid" after he discovers his affinity for nicknaming.

In addition, Look Me in The Eye explores the wonder that is the autistic mind. With very little schooling, Robison had some serious engineering talents. After many little jobs such as fixing cameras in the A.V. department at his high school he went on to become the man that made revolutionary guitars for KISS. Revolutionary as in when Gene Simmons would bust out into a face-melting solo his guitar would burst into flames and, needless to say, the crowd went wild for Robison's guitar designs.

The title for Look Me in the Eye was inspired by Robison's father, A.K.A. "Slug." His father would say "look me in the eye, boy" but the truth was that Robison had difficulty making eye contact with anyone because of his Asperger's. Look Me in the Eye is an eye-opening yet hilarious story about a boy's life with Asperder's that is thoroughly entertaining and overall an awesome read for the summer or any other time of the year. In my mind, it is up towards the top of my list along with Scar Tissue and will not be soon forgotten.