The Voice of Reasoning

 

Now and then my shadow sits on my shoulders and reminds me of things that once were. His latest story, however, has been my favorite this far. He peered over my shoulder, and said:

You remember his funeral. The tiny Baptist church, with its white walls inside and out. You had never been in a place so powerful. The carpet was brown plush. It was cold outside. You think it may have been December. The church was stuffed full and sweltering hot. Hot with grief. Hot with failed expectations. Half of the attendees didn’t even have a place to sit. You remember being pushed against a wall. You were covered in sweat and my eyes were closed. You could barely see the room where his body lay and you never got to see it. His face stuffed of formaldehyde and ethanol. The thought of it made you feel like you were going to puke. But by the time he went his way, he was so filled with chemicals to keep him alive that what was the difference? You grappled with death. The way it grappled you: stood tall behind your shoulders. Its fingers coiled around your neck. The preacher’s eyes were dead set at you when he said he had to turn to God, “lest we face eternal damnation. He was looking right at you.

Do you remember that?

The ambulance had taken his grandmother away. She wouldn’t be there for his burial. It was the last time she saw you and you her.

Do you remember that?

            “Do you care for a cigarette or a glass of wine?” Your mother asked you. She had never approved of your smoking habits, but she understood that today was a special occasion. She could see how badly you needed it in how green you were. Your weak, bony fingers reached back until you felt the lightness in your hands. It was already lit.

Do you remember that?

            You tried so hard not to collapse. You breathed so heavy, in and out and in and out. You kept the car door open and spat on the dirt and gravel beneath you. The taste of the smoke reminded you of the days he came home late, reeking of nicotine. The sweat was drying on your skin and you pressed your palms into your eyes and made stars.

Do you remember that?

            Your fingers were sore because you had been biting them all during the service and the day before. Seeing the blood, however, made you angry because it reminded you of what was absent from his body.

Do you remember that?

            There were so many cars in the parking lot that people had boxed you in. You were trapped. You had to wait for every car in and front and next to you to go home so you could leave.

It was such a beautiful memory please don’t tell me you forgot.

Assorted Sketch by Byron Otis

Hey, Buddy! Be Sure Not to Play in the River.

         In Chapter 9 of, "How to Read Literature Like a Professor",  Foster debunks the mystery of rain in both movies and literature. As well as explaining it's allegorical meaning behind Rain.
   
          Have you ever wondered why almost EVERY movie scene involving: heartbreak; death; or an emotional revelation, takes place when its raining? Yeah, me too. Well that's simply because it's symbolic, duh. If, Foster taught me anything in Chapter 9: It's More Than Just Rain or Snow, it's that: weather is never just weather. Regardless of what meteorological condition the author throws at you, whether it's hail, sunshine, downpour, or tornadoes; weather is always used as an element to shape the story.
          Allow me to provide a straightforward explanation: people associate emotions, experiences, and events with weather patterns. For example, Rain customarily connotes: enigma, anguish, and isolation; Sunshine however, brings feelings of elation, nostalgia, and frolicsomeness. In this chapter, Foster denotes the effect of Rain on the biblical tale of, "Noah's Ark". Many of the points composed by Foster, I considered relatable to the play, "The Diviners", by Jim Leonard. In the play, a young, benevolent, slow-minded boy named, Buddy Layman, encounters a near-death experience as a child when he almost drowns in a river while playing. Suddenly, in the knick of time, Buddy is rescued by his mother. However, while saving her child, the mother herself ultimately drowns. This plot point ties back in to the story of the Ark, by sharing the concept of water's ability to bring life full circle. By that I mean: where water takes old life away, it gives new life to opportunity to grow. Continuing on with the story, as time progresses, Buddy's abhorrence for water becomes increasingly present (and rightfully so), until one day when a ex-preacher named, C.C. Showers (obviously a reference to rain) strolls into town and befriends both Buddy and his sister, Jenny-Mae. Throughout the course of the play, the audience as well as the actors, begin to see that Jim Leonard's uses rainy scenes as a unifying element. Meaning: every time it there is a scene involving rain, all characters are seen on-stage.
          Another idea Foster shares about rain is the fact that, "It's clean". This notion is explicitly involved in the production when, Jenny-Mae and C.C. Showers bring Buddy out during a storm, in an effort to clean the blisters Buddy received as an aftereffect of a nasty ring-worm case he acquired towards the beginning of the story. Lastly, the concluding connection made between the Rain in both stories, it it's ability to lead people places to certain destinations. Just as the rain forces the animals to migrate aboard ship in Noah's story; Rain also manages to direct every character to the river in the closing scene of the show. And just as the flood eliminates those outside of the Ark in the biblical tale; "The Diviners" comes full circle as Buddy Layman's life is taken when he drowns in river during the final Rainstorm.

Side note- 'The Diviners' was performed at BTW, I played Basil Bennett.

Vampires of the Victorian Era

           Chapter 3. Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires
In this chapter, Foster edifies the reader on the usage of vampires in literature, moreover their symbolic value. In literature, the vampire is a symbolic reference for something or someone that puts their needs in front of the needs of those surrounding them. A vampire manipulates the other characters in the story as a method of getting what their (undead) heart desires; draining those around them of the very thing they live for, and ultimately leaving the character empty of what's vital to them.
         Foster denotes many literary examples in which vampires can be found, but the one I plan to focus on is: "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy (Foster 21). Knowing that a vampire is a symbolic reference for someone that "destroys" the character, it seems evident to point out that in Hardy's novel, Alec d'Urberville fits that role almost perfectly. Alec is the nemesis of the story's protagonist, Tess Durbeyfield, and also the catalyst that sparks her "destruction." His full name, Alexander, which one could connect to the conqueror-as in Alexander the Great- who appropriates anything he desires without any regard to moral propriety. The duplicitous character of Alec is evident towards the end of the novel when he abandons his newly adopted Christian faith upon meeting Tess. Alec's vampire-like associations also become known when he seduces Tess such as the serpent seduces Eve in the book of Genesis, thus taking away her "value" and leaving her worthless to most men in Victorian society. Additionally, like a common vampire, Alec makes no attempt to hide his malevolent nature. In Chapter Twelve of Hardy's novel, Alec tells Tess, "I suppose I am a bad fellow-a damn bad fellow." Like a vampire, Alec d'Urberville symbolizes the evil that steers characters away from their achievement of moral perfection.

"Count Alec", an original by Dylan Asher

           Historically speaking, the number of vampires found outside of literature and in the real world is rapidly increasing; as people grow more and more selfish and devoid of virtues. This phenomena is considered to have started as a "side-effect" of the creation of The "Me" Generation.  The "Me" Generation is a term given to the Baby Boomer generation and the self-involved qualities associated with it. Americans born during 1946 to 1964 were dubbed the Me generation by author Tom Wolfe during the 1970's; Christopher Lasch was another one of the many historical writers that commented on the rise of narcissism in the younger generation. This quality of narcissism appears to be worsening as time goes by. In today's society we seem to overlook the shockingly high population of vampires surrounding us, due to the idea that almost everybody we encounter has some sort of vampire-like quality. From an early age we are told that, "It's a dog eat dog world.", and that we must do or say whatever it takes to not only survive, but to also fight our way to the top. While this lesson is helpful in preparing us for what's to come, it also instills a sense of competition that we must "take down" those around us that could potentially be better than we are. Thus creating a society replete with vampires that are ready and willing to manipulate, attack, and drain you of your life force.
Better hold on to the garlic.

Cady Heron... Or Should I Say, Heroine

         In Chapter One: "Every Trip is a Quest (Except When It's Not)" Foster uses simplistic, humorous, and understandable language to provide a piece by piece break down of what a quest consists of.
Foster supplies the reader with a reference to a great quest novel: 'Crying of Lot 49' (Foster 3) and discusses it's connection to his alphabetical system of quest-making. And while it is an extremely strong example of a quest, given the fact that it was written in 1965, I find it a little hard to relate to. However, it just so happens that I've taken my newly found knowledge of quests, and related it to one, more current film, 'Mean Girls.' in which, one can easily apply Foster's five methods.
        (a) the quester: a young Cady Heron. (b) a place to go: the movie doesn't really have a determined location which our quester is really trying to get to. But, for the purpose of the story, we'll call the, "place to go", North Shore High School. (c) the reason: Cady's mother and father decide that she needs to begin to acclimate herself socially with girls her own age, so they send her to Public High School. (d) challenges and such: along Cady's quest she finds herself challenged by: taxing academics, ruggedly handsome high school boys, cliques, and the Social Caste System of High School along with the drama it provides. (e) the real reason for going there: self-knowledge, obviously! According to Foster, "Self-knowledge is always the reason" (Foster 3). At the end of her quest, Cady discovers who her true friends are, and realizes that she should not have to alter her personality, regardless of whom she decides to befriend. Thus proving Foster's point of self-knowledge.

But doesn't she look so fetch?

          I do have a question about the Holy Grail aspect of the quest. By that I mean: is the Holy Grail an actual object, or could it be a feeling, emotion, or action. Take for example your cliche, stereotypical tale of a "Knight in shining armor", he sets off on his noble steed to a faraway castle in an effort to slay the petrifying dragon and rescue his princess. Would the princess be his Holy Grail? Could the same thing be said for an angsty, depressed teenager that runs away from home, finds himself joining a gang of troublemakers, but eventually grows to love and miss his family? Is that feeling of love his  Holy Grail? In terms of an action, could you classify a Holy Grail as a first kiss, or a last hug? Are the Holy Grail and the final self-knowledge inextricable, or can they be completely separate from one another?
        Foster wraps up his case by pointing out that, "Always" and "never" are not words that have much meaning in literary study." (Foster 6) both of those words, while commonly used, hold very little validity due to the fact that they can be disproved at any time. One might say that The Blank Slate Theory could never be wrong, until the very day someone says that certain personality traits can be inherited from generations before it. But enough about psychology, let's get back on track. In his final paragraph Foster discusses the fact that every quest is a trip, but not always vice versa. Let's say that my very best friend, Ashley Moore and I were to go get snow cones from Bahama Bucks, but seeing as how the trip lacked flying monkeys, trebuchets, and fireballs, I do not think Foster would consider it a quest.
       So far this book is a very refreshing break from last years Summer assignment! I enjoy the fact that not only is the voice of the book light, it's also very humorous. Foster uses his wit and understanding of the study of literature in a very appealing way. At first I was a bit skeptical of reading this book, I guess I just assumed it would be pedantic and high-minded, but I'm delighted to say that I am wrong!