BenLockLit

[benlocklang15]

Connections

At first I thought there was no real connection between these seemingly independent stories. But I've notice a theme of paralysis throughout each one. In the first story the narrators friend the priest was paralyzed near the end of his life. This set up a metaphorical paralysis for the other characters in the different short stories. There lives maybe not so great and when presented with an opportunity to change their situation they freeze and don't act. They are all for the most part very passive characters they let life happen and just observe.

[benlocklang15]

The Tribe of many Tribes

My tribe is just how it seems. I don't belong to one tribe in particular but rather many groups. I'm not sure if other people realize they're in my kind of situation, but it's very rare and I think it classifies as a tribe. In middle school I was in one large tight knit friend group who was very close. They had the same interests. But once we reached high school I noticed infighting within the group and they began to split. Around the middle of freshman year there were two distinct groups. They had different tastes in music, they like different activities, and they were in different classes. And they despised each other. Unfortunately I was somewhere in the middle. So I attempted to still be apart of both groups. I liked certain things in one group and other things in the other. The essence of my tribe is self-identification. Who you are when you're with one group may appear different with another group. I've learned to become "bilingual" ,that is, talking a different way when I'm with each group. I personally have a many diverse interests. Some people could see them as conflicting. But I only express certain interests in one group or others in the other group. So a problem my tribe faces is you don't really know your true self Now I know what you're say "Ben this is stupid, just pick a group" "Be yourself!" You might say. Well trust me if it were that easy I would have done it long ago, and I'd be a part of a happy little tribe and you'd be reading a much more boring post. But unfortunately that is not the case A major obstacle of my tribe is delegating the proper time for each group. The time doesn't necessarily have to be equal but enough to where both groups will call me a friend. Around my junior year I stopped spending time with both groups and only spending a minimum amount of time with each. And increasingly more time on my own. This is when I came to the realization of my Tribal Identity. I never really had a problem with an interest I had not being accepted because I had 2 friend groups. If one didn't accept it the other would. However I've never really felt truly all around accepted by one group. What keeps me going is individuals. I don't know if they're in my tribe but I've found certain individuals who'll just accept all of me.

[benlocklang15]

My querencia is a spot I have up north at my cottage near Grayling MI. If you take a walking trail for about a mile away from my cottage, and then take a backwoods trail for another quarter mile you're there. Unfortunately it's very remote and the only person who goes in this particular clearing is me, so I never felt the need to take a picture. So this is a google image of what the place looks like. But my drawing is a more accurate portrayal of what it looks like. Awhile back I found an old car seat that someone had thrown in the woods and abandon, so I picked it up and hauled it back to my secret place. When ever I go up there I sit on the chair and just think, and observe my surroundings. It keeps me sane. There is no noise, no cars, no distractions. When I'm there I can really be my self. I have a very unique taste in music, culture, and happiness. So there I feel no judgement and I can indulge in my own likes. I never really had a name for it other than "My Place"

[benlocklang15]

Tayo's sexual relationships really fascinate me in the book. None of them are really built in love they're both built on coincidental encounters. It makes me think of the relationship that Tayo's parents relationship. If it was just a casual hook up like Tayo's were. I wonder if he's trying to produce mixed children. One with a Mexican woman and the other a non laguna

[benlocklang15]

Is anyone else very confused about the cutting of the scalp in the ceremony. At first I thought he was getting straight up scalped but I quickly realized he wasn't. Because I would've stop reading the book if that were the case. Then I thought he was being partially scalped which confused me. I asked someone about it and they said he was being cut in the scalp. I'd really like to know the significance of this.

[benlocklang15]

I got to the point in the book where Tayo described everything as having a creation story. And that at a time all things could talk. Which is just unfathomable to conceive. The millions and millions of species in the world all have their unique creation story. This is folklore of course but it just really made me sit down and think about the earth's fastness

[benlocklang15]

After reading in a ways I’ve found that the books brings up racial tensions in a whole new complex way. First off, white society deems it acceptable for white men to have sex with Indian women, but for the Indian men it is not appropriate to have sex with white women. So to do so they lie about their cultural background. And they very quickly jump to racial slurs. Emo says he’ll pretend to be Italian and his Irish acquaintance calls him a ‘WOP’ a racial slur meaning “without papers”. It reminds me of a Famous Native American actor named Iron Eyes Cody who was of Sicilian Ancestry but changed his identify to protect himself from Italian Lynchings by the Irish in rural Louisiana

[benlocklang15]

Handmaids

One thing I never understood was why the handmaids never banded together and refused. As the only ones who could bare children and repopulate Gilead they had a tremendous amount of power. An uprising at the Red Center would have been perfect. They probably outnumbered the aunts and there was a large amount of them. The problem then would lie in if the leaders of Gilead would decide to give into there demands or decide to forcibly rape them. But even then what's to stop the handmaids from neglecting their bodies for the destruction of the child. Makes you think

[benlocklang15]

Wives

I think for most readers wives were some of the most despised group of women in the book. They’re seen as viscous, crude, and annoyed. Which I agree this is how they were portrayed but I think there is a deeper level to their daily lives. I do feel pity for them. They live a life where there husband has sex monthly with a stranger. And they have to house this stranger. It reminds me of early polygamy in religions where polygyny is encouraged but its also taught that jealousy is a grave sin. It puts these women in an impossible situation.

[benlocklang15]

Aunts

Similar to my post about Jezebels and the harems, Aunts were considered higher up on the hierarchy of the harem. Which is exactly the position the book takes when dealing with concubines or handmaids. Aunts intrigue me because I think most of their motivation lies in their lust for power. They are given power over one of the most oppressed group in the book. But power is power even if it deals with women oppressing women.

[benlocklang15]

The nightclub to me was very reminiscent of Ottoman Harems where wives and concubines alike entertained the sultan or head of the house. Many times these heads would release their sexual desires on multiple women. This is just like the club. And similarly even though the concubine or Jezebel relieved the commander of their sexual frustrations they were still considered slaves.

[benlocklang15]

I am a complete imbecile

So I mentioned in an earlier post how I was wondering how all the stories related to each other. It wasn't as easy as they had the same character. The stories don't have one single character that progresses through the novel. It's different characters that share a similar time and setting. I'm assuming there is someway that either it will all come together at the end or the stories will share something more than just the setting.

[benlocklang15]

What's with all these kids

Thus far my book has told the story of a young man who was friends with a priest who died. He feels bitter sweet because he was an odd man and he felt obligated to spend time with him. In the next chapter he is skipping school and seeing the sights of working class Ireland. In the next chapter they talk about a girl whom he admires. And how he's going to some Arabian market. I don't quite know how the stories connect to each other yet

[benlocklang15]

Got my book

I’ll be reading the Dubliners by James Joyce. The book was written in pre-independent Ireland. Joyce is a major support of Irish Nationalism and Irish home rule. This is a culmination of Irish culture so I’m excited to read this book

[benlocklang15]

Marthas

The Marthas are servants in the commander's house. They cook and clean and take care of the handmaids. They want so much to have some sort of greater purpose. Greater than being used. In our class they said they had some power, that they could make the food taste bad. But really you're just a tool that the commander uses. If you don't cook well he can find a way to get rid of them.

[benlocklang15]

And then there were two

Upon further investigation I realized both of the novels I talked about were too much for me. I read a page out of Finnegan’s wake and almost cried it was so difficult to read. So I found an easier text by James Joyce “the Dubliners”. It still incorporates Irish culture. Also the father brown books by GK Chesterton

[benlocklang15]

Narrowing it down

I knew what The Inferno was about but I figured I'd be willing to give it a shot. But I now realize we are spending way too much time on this book to read something I don't like. I'm now considering Ulysses and Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce because they're an authentic glimpse into Irish culture, which is always been a personal interest of mine.