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.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
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?
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?
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