Jewel Bundren is a very complex character. He expresses his emotions in a different manner than most others in the book "As I Lay Dying" by William Faulkner. In the Bundren family tree, Jewel doesn't find a place like the other children do, mainly because he is the bastard child of Addie Bundrens affair with Reverend Whitfield which leaves him out of the inner circle of the family. Jewel faces hardships that the other do not because of this, which leads him to act the way he does. In most instances when someone attempts to discuss something with jewel that he isn't interested in, he'll most likely tell them "shut your goddamn mouth".
In his family, Jewel seems to be the most similar to his half brother Vardaman. Both characters frequently show their feelings in an odd way, which leaves the rest of the characters confused and leads them to become labeled as crazy. This trait is also what seems to motivate Jewel to be as independent as he is. He works for no one but himself, and he asks for no shortcuts. He even goes as far as to work on a neighbors property clearing land in order to build up enough money to afford a horse for himself, because Anse his step father refuses to give him one or help pay for one.
In the book, Jewel only has one chapter that is narrated from his point of view. This makes sense, as he is a man of few words. In that chapter he complains of his half brother Cash, who is making a casket for Addie, and it makes him feel as though everyone has given up on any chance of a recovery from his mother. At one point he even directly confronts Cash about this saying "Good God, do you want to see her in it?" . He feels that the rest of the family is only making the situation worse, with the constant sawing and the waiting around Addie as she dies.
Jewel speak infrequently, and he is only mentioned by other characters after his chapter is over. Only glimpses can be seen of his activities, and emotions which makes him difficult to study. His strong convictions of right and wrong guide him and allow him to develope after Addies death and emerge as a leader in the family. Characters outside the family all sympathize with his struggle of dealing with Anse as a step father, as most other characters share the sentiment that he is lazy and self centered.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Atwood Commentary "Red Fox"
In "Red Fox" by Margaret Atwood, Atwood compares the life of a fox to that of a poor mother in society. Imagery focuses on stereotypical views of poverty, and the contradictions within those stereotypes.
In the fourth stanza the speaker asks the question "Why encourage the notion of virtuous poverty?". This describes the notion of poverty as virtuous, which can be one of the stereotypical views on poverty, due to a lack of money and greed to corrupt them. The fifth stanza then contradicts this idea with the statement "Hunger corrupts, and absolute hunger corrupts absolutely".
The imagery of the fox also focuses on poverty, but also on motherhood. The fox itself is said to be a female, and the speaker describes it as " lean vixen: I can see the ribs...tricksters eyes... longing and desperation... adept at lies".
In this poem it seems that there are strong notions that class structure puts unneeded stress on people which causes them to do things that don't live up to their own moral standards. This theme is best summed up in the last sentence of the fifth stanza, "To survive we'd all turn thief.". In this image of a struggle amongst classes, it can be seen that there is a somewhat socialist/Marxist lean, promoting equality of opportunities for all, being characterized by a "Red Fox".
In the fourth stanza the speaker asks the question "Why encourage the notion of virtuous poverty?". This describes the notion of poverty as virtuous, which can be one of the stereotypical views on poverty, due to a lack of money and greed to corrupt them. The fifth stanza then contradicts this idea with the statement "Hunger corrupts, and absolute hunger corrupts absolutely".
The imagery of the fox also focuses on poverty, but also on motherhood. The fox itself is said to be a female, and the speaker describes it as " lean vixen: I can see the ribs...tricksters eyes... longing and desperation... adept at lies".
In this poem it seems that there are strong notions that class structure puts unneeded stress on people which causes them to do things that don't live up to their own moral standards. This theme is best summed up in the last sentence of the fifth stanza, "To survive we'd all turn thief.". In this image of a struggle amongst classes, it can be seen that there is a somewhat socialist/Marxist lean, promoting equality of opportunities for all, being characterized by a "Red Fox".
Monday, December 1, 2008
Act of resistance reflection
For my act of resistance, I took a different route than many. I didn't boycott a store, or try to make people more aware of a social problem plaguing society, I did something a little more close to home, for myself at least. As you may or may not know, I am a professional RC helicopter pilot, and I travel to many events and contests (sometimes as many at 15) every year promoting the hobby, and the companies that I am contracted with. I have met many people, and made lots of friends. Other pilots like myself, are also rather on the young side, contrary to the vast majority of pilots in the age range of 30's-70's. Because of this, locally there has been some "political unrest". For the past year or so, there has been growing animosity between some pilots at my local flying field and myself based on my style of flying.
At the professional level of flying, pilots tend to fly extremely close to the ground, sometimes even touching the ground with the rotorblades, all while under complete control by the pilot, and in a very safe manner of doing so. Because of such I have become a target for many people that are typically either jealous of my abilities, or have some other animosity towards people my age. As my act of protest, I continue to fly in the manner that I do, partly because, 1 this type of flying is practiced internationally and is accepted as the norm, 2 I am in full control of my aircraft at all times, and 3 many of the people judging what I do as "unsafe" have made multiple violations of both safety and coutesy rules, while I have made none at all in my 4 year career as a pilot.
As my act of resistance, I continued to fly, with the support of the majority of the pilots in the local club, with the exception of the few that have been repeatedly prejudiced towards anything that I do. As a result, I was banned from my flying field for 30 days. The ban was instituted via a letter from the club that was also sent to two other members. The letter claims that two people in the airplane club witnessed myself and two friends deliberately break the rules. There were no club officers present at the time the event I am accused of commiting happened, and there was immediate action taken in part by both the airplane and helicopter clubs to band myself and my friends for 30 days. In the letter it was explained that I personally was to be ejected for 30 days due to so claimed incident, and then for an additional 30 days due to "unsportsman like conduct", due to my resistance of rules created specifically for myself in order to keep me from flying to my abilities. This total of 60 days rather than the 30 for my friends clearly shows prejudice towards myself in both the airplane and helicopter club governing bodies.
As a result of this ban, the two other pilots banned from the field and myself have formed a new club, and nearly 85% of the original club has stated they do not plan to renew membership based on the banning of myself and the others, and will join our new club at the beginning of next year. In addition to the new club, we pettitioned the County of Milwaukee to donate land in order to create a new helicopter field for us, and as of now land is being inspected, and we will have a new place to fly.
In all, did my protest work? Yes, in the sense that I am now able to pursue my interests in flying RC helicopters without having to worry about what is being said behind my back. However, in the process of this small sucess, many many very good friendships were broken, and really can not be repaired. There is a very high amount of tension between myself and those that tried to kick me out, some of which I believed to be very close friends at the time. As a result, I have seen that what you believe in can cause problems if you resist to give in to what you think is wrong.
Eric Brandenburg
At the professional level of flying, pilots tend to fly extremely close to the ground, sometimes even touching the ground with the rotorblades, all while under complete control by the pilot, and in a very safe manner of doing so. Because of such I have become a target for many people that are typically either jealous of my abilities, or have some other animosity towards people my age. As my act of protest, I continue to fly in the manner that I do, partly because, 1 this type of flying is practiced internationally and is accepted as the norm, 2 I am in full control of my aircraft at all times, and 3 many of the people judging what I do as "unsafe" have made multiple violations of both safety and coutesy rules, while I have made none at all in my 4 year career as a pilot.
As my act of resistance, I continued to fly, with the support of the majority of the pilots in the local club, with the exception of the few that have been repeatedly prejudiced towards anything that I do. As a result, I was banned from my flying field for 30 days. The ban was instituted via a letter from the club that was also sent to two other members. The letter claims that two people in the airplane club witnessed myself and two friends deliberately break the rules. There were no club officers present at the time the event I am accused of commiting happened, and there was immediate action taken in part by both the airplane and helicopter clubs to band myself and my friends for 30 days. In the letter it was explained that I personally was to be ejected for 30 days due to so claimed incident, and then for an additional 30 days due to "unsportsman like conduct", due to my resistance of rules created specifically for myself in order to keep me from flying to my abilities. This total of 60 days rather than the 30 for my friends clearly shows prejudice towards myself in both the airplane and helicopter club governing bodies.
As a result of this ban, the two other pilots banned from the field and myself have formed a new club, and nearly 85% of the original club has stated they do not plan to renew membership based on the banning of myself and the others, and will join our new club at the beginning of next year. In addition to the new club, we pettitioned the County of Milwaukee to donate land in order to create a new helicopter field for us, and as of now land is being inspected, and we will have a new place to fly.
In all, did my protest work? Yes, in the sense that I am now able to pursue my interests in flying RC helicopters without having to worry about what is being said behind my back. However, in the process of this small sucess, many many very good friendships were broken, and really can not be repaired. There is a very high amount of tension between myself and those that tried to kick me out, some of which I believed to be very close friends at the time. As a result, I have seen that what you believe in can cause problems if you resist to give in to what you think is wrong.
Eric Brandenburg
Friday, September 19, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)