Ruth vs. Macon

Throughout the Song of Solomon, Ruth and Macon seem to be on opposite sides. And Milkman struggles to pick which one he is going to side with. In the beginning of the novel, Milkman never seems to be close with Ruth. She's just there; she doesn't make a strong impact on him. But when Macon hits Ruth, Milkman immediately feels the need to intervene. He hits Macon, not because he is fiercely loyal to his mother, but because he thought his hitting her was unjust. But then Macon tells him the reason he hit Ruth. He explains how he came into the room with Dr. Foster's dead body and saw Ruth. 

"'In the bed. That's where she was when I opened the door. Laying next to him. Naked as a yard dog, kissing him. Him dead and white and puffy and skinny, and she had her fingers in his mouth.'" 

After this description of Ruth, Milkman seems thoroughly unnerved. 

"'Goddam. What the fuck did he tell me all this shit for?'" 

Milkman definitely believes Macon about this story. Before hearing this story, Milkman wasn't close with his mother. But after hearing it, he seems disgusted with her. There's no way to put a positive spin on the way Macon describes Ruth with her dead father. This story didn't make Milkman any closer to Macon, but it surely made sure that Macon would never see his mother in the same way again. Macon didn't enjoy telling this story, though. He maintained his composure while telling it, but he was obviously angry. He was angry at Ruth for supporting her father more than she supported him. He was angry at Dr. Foster for not lending him money. And he was probably angry at Milkman for hitting him without understanding the reason he hit Ruth. 

Could this anger have skewed the intentions of Macon? Was he telling this story to Milkman for truth's sake, or to get him on his side? Milkman is careful to not distinctively take sides, but there's no way he could fully support his mother after hearing this story. Macon painted Ruth as a sly, manipulative, and filthy woman. 

It's easy to accept Macon's story as the truth when he is the only person who has ever spoken of what happened with Ruth and her father. But when Ruth explains her side of the story to Milkman, the audience has reason to doubt Macon. When Ruth explains her relationship with her father to Milkman, she seems to have no motive. She just wants Milkman to understand her. 

Ruth describes her father as "the only person who ever really cared whether she lived or died." And because of that, she would have done anything for him. According to her version of the story, she wasn't naked with her father after he died. She "kneeled there in her slip at his bedside and kissed his beautiful fingers" because "they were the only part of him that wasn't [dead]". Her reason for doing that and for nursing Milkman until he was "too old" was because she loved him. 

Milkman now has two sides of the story. Ruth seems like a woman who loved too much. But if Milkman were to plug in Ruth into Macon's story, it would seem like Ruth feigned the whole "small woman" behavior in order to manipulate Milkman into being sympathetic with her rather than with Macon. Whether or not Milkman chooses either Ruth or Macon to side with, he will always know their family history. Milkman's family history often holds him back. It is one of the many reasons that he remains stuck in an adolescent phase. Will he have to escape his family to achieve adulthood? 

Antoinette's Addiction and Withdrawal

In Wide Sargasso Sea, Rhys often depicts love as a drug-like trance. The love we see between characters in Wide Sargasso Sea doesn't seem romantic; it seems like an unhealthy addiction. Antoinette displays a lot of "love" for Mr. Rochester, so much so that she feels the need to give him a potion in order to have him reciprocate her "love". Antoinette's idea of giving Mr. Rochester a potion to make him love her again shows her desperation for love. It's like she's going through a drug withdrawal, except with love instead of drugs. 

Drug withdrawal can be very traumatic, and we can see that from how Antoinette behaves. The more addicted one is to a drug, the more difficult his/her withdrawal from that drug is for him/her. It's obvious that Antoinette is very consumed by her love for Rochester, especially when she says "Say die and I will die. You don't believe me? Then try, try, say die and watch me die." To most audiences, this is not at all a romantic thing to say. But after Antoinette says that she would die if he told her to, Rochester and Antoinette proceed to have sex. Antoinette's addiction is considered to be love. 

Antoinette's withdrawal is just as extreme as her addiction, though. When she first comes to Christophine to solve her problems with Mr. Rochester, it appears that she just wants to have a conversation with Christophine about the matter. But she actually intends to obtain a potion from Christophine to make Mr. Rochester love her, even after Christophine told her she should leave him. Antoinette talks to Christophine about how afraid she is, but she doesn't know why she's afraid. She's likely afraid of the prospect of losing Rochester and his love. Despite Christophine's advice, Antoinette insists on giving Rochester the potion. She wants to end her withdrawal and continue using her drug (love). And she's willing to go to extreme and risky measures to do so. 

The Bizarreness of the Characters in The Stranger

It's easy to think of Mersault as abnormal, apathetic, or even sociopathic. But sometimes I feel that we focus so much on Mersault's abnormalities that we forget about the other characters. Most of the other characters don't seem very normal either. Mersault is just easy to fixate on because he is the narrator and main character. But if you take a look at the other characters, you'll find that it's just as easy to analyze their abnormalities as it is to analyze Mersault's. 

Mersault's somewhat love interest Marie seems pretty normal at first glance. Her relationship with Mersault is pretty typical and healthy. It's very understandable that Marie wants Mersault to be committed to her. But she's willing to marry him even if he doesn't love her. He clearly says that marriage doesn't make a difference to him, and that it doesn't matter if he loves her or not. And she decides that she's okay with that and that she's excited to marry him. I just doubt that Marie's mind is very sound, because she's willing, even excited to make a huge commitment to someone who doesn't reciprocate her excitement or even her feelings. 

Raymond is another abnormal character, but the audience figures that out pretty quickly. He's extremely sadistic towards his (ex)-mistress, probably as a result of feeling hurt and/or losing control. He doesn't just want to hurt her physically; he wants to mess with her mind so much that she won't know what to do with herself. Mersault may have written the sadistic letter to Raymond's mistress, but Raymond was the one who asked him to. Raymond has several unhealthy personality traits, which definitely seem to manifest themselves when his mistress comes up. 

The chaplain isn't sadistic like Raymond or a little too impulsive like Marie, but he is extremely passionate. He's so passionate that Mersault makes him explode with emotion by barely saying anything. He thinks that Mersault has the power to make his life meaningless. I understand that Mersault can be a perplexing character, but the chaplain seems to be driven crazy by Mersault, not just perplexed by him. While he seems to get used to Mersault throughout the trial process, he still seems unnerved by him. I just get the impression that it doesn't take much to make the chaplain crack, and by crack, I mean go postal. 

Ironically, I think Old Salamano might be one of the more normal characters of the novel, which is definitely saying something. He has the same routine with his dog every day. Before that, he had the same routine with his wife every day. He's definitely not completely healthy, though. He treats dog like shit, but I definitely think he loves his dog. He has a natural reaction to his dog running away. Many of the other characters in The Stranger have abnormal reactions to significant events in their lives. But Salamano is just very sad, as most people would be if their dog (who had been with them for a long time) ran away. I really don't like the way Salamano treats his dog, but I'd probably say that he's my favorite character. It's not because I find his reactions normal; it's because I think he's a very relatable character in the way that he loses a routine aspect of his life and doesn't know what to do about it. 

I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with bizarreness; it's often something to be appreciated. But remember that Mersault is not the only character worth analyzing in The Stranger. 

Ignore the Prospect That Every Story Has a Happy Ending

Gregor Samsa was a man who spent his adult life working off his father's debt, turning into a bug, and being persecuted as a bug. I have to admit, that life doesn't sound too appealing. He was alone through most of his hardships as a bug as well, which makes his life sound all the more sad. As soon as I had learned about Gregor's life as a human, I knew that there was no way he would get a happy ending. 

As a human, Gregor pretended to be a very eager worker, while all he wanted to do was to finish working off his father's debt. He wasn't happy. (Sorry, I know I'm stating the obvious.) As a bug, his family either ignored him or treated him like vermin. Even if Gregor had turned back into a human, his life would've either gone on as it did before, or his family would realize that they didn't need him at all. They were self-sufficient while he was a bug, why wouldn't they be when he turned into a human again? 

If Gregor remained a bug, his family would continue ignoring him. And whenever he would try to be a part of something, they would hurt him, physically and with words (that they aren't sure he understands). As it happened, neither of these possibilities came to be. Gregor didn't turn into a human, and he didn't remain a bug. He was killed by his sister, with approval by the rest of the family. 

Gregor is the central character, so it's easy to view things in his point of view. I know I sound biased, but I don't think the ending was happy. One could say that this ending was happy for the rest of the family, by viewing quotes such as "And it was like a confirmation of their [the Samsas] new dreams and good intentions when at the end of the journey their daughter was the first to rise to her feet and stretch her young body." But the ending for the central character didn't seem happy. "Then his [Gregor] head sank fully down, of its own accord, and his last faint breath ebbed out from his nostrils." 

I'm aware the central character isn't the only character, but he was the only character I felt sympathy for. I initially felt sympathy for Grete, but then I became unsure of whether her care for Gregor was out of selflessness or having control. She seemed to enjoy being the one to take initiative for all things Gregor, including his death. So if her ending is happy, it doesn't necessarily mean the ending is happy. 

Plus, we have to take into account the parasitic nature of Herr and Frau Samsa. Are they planning on taking advantage of the new Grete? They want to find her a husband, and they seem to take notice of all the useful characteristics of Grete. Maybe her ending isn't going to be so good. I wouldn't wish a bad life for her, but her happiness isn't what I would define as a happy ending. 

Herr and Frau Samsa will probably have a happy ending. I'm not quite sure that they deserve it. So I don't think their happy ending gives The Metamorphosis a happy ending. 

The Sun Also Sets

Each of the main characters has a unique ending in The Sun Also Rises. These endings seem rather appropriate considering Jake's feelings for each of these characters. I knew immediately after reading the first chapter that the ending of The Sun Also Rises wouldn't be a stereotypically happy one. But I also knew that the ending was bound to be interesting. 

In the end, Hemingway managed to separate all of the characters (physically, not emotionally) except Jake and Brett. I think there's a lot of significance to this. It's almost like stripping down to the bare essentials. How do Jake and Brett act when there's no one around, no Romero, no Mike, no Cohn, just no one? In the end, there's no one to disturb Jake and Brett. Both of them seem very unprovoked, contrary to how they felt in earlier chapters. 

Neither Jake nor Brett seem completely happy at the end, but they seem content. When Brett says, "Oh, Jake, we could have had such a damned good time together,", it's obvious that she wishes Jake didn't have an injury. But she doesn't sound bitter about it. She seems happy about what could have been, but fairly fine about what her life is now. 

Jake, despite being the narrator and main character, is harder to read. Our class struggled to completely understand Jake's last line: "Yes. Isn't it pretty to think so?" It must be hard for Jake to love someone that he can't be with. But I don't think he will go about it in a completely negative way. We've seen several times that Jake enjoys being alone. So I think he'll be fine, even if he can't be with Brett. But I do think that having Brett's friendship makes Jake's ending happier. They understand each other emotionally like no one else does, and that will always mean something, even if they aren't dating or married. 

Brett's ending makes a lot of sense based on what Jake feels about her. But don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the other characters. Cohn's ending HIGHLY reflects what Jake feels about him. Cohn ends up leaving because he has disappointed almost all of the main characters. He is sad because none of his "friends" have completely accepted his apology for his behavior, and damaged because Brett didn't reciprocate his feelings. I don't think Jake only holds bitterness for Cohn, but I do think Jake would say that Cohn got what was coming to him. 

Bill and Jake have a rather sweet ending, though I wish it had been longer. Their relationship was actually my favorite one in The Sun Also Rises. They have a genuine, honest, and fun friendship that many of the other characters lack. They have a nice goodbye, where Bill says that he had a good time and then Bill and Jake say their "So long"'s to each other. Jake also watches Bill through the train window, which I thought was almost kind of sad, because they probably won't enjoy each others' company for a while. While Jake doesn't explicitly say that he'll miss Jake, it seems sort of implied based on the way he acts in the moment. Maybe I'm reading into this too much, but I think they will miss each other. 

I never thought that Jake had any super deep feelings for Mike, negative or positive. So it makes sense that Mike's ending wasn't too significant. Jake, Bill, and Mike all shook hands, and then they separated. It was a nice goodbye, but there was nothing too emotional in it. 

How Holmes Ruined a Good Moment

Often, one of the most heart-wrenching things a book can do is create a character that you bond with, only to kill him/her off. In Mrs. Dalloway, I don't know how much I loved Septimus, but I definitely started understanding him. I was quite touched by how he and Lucrezia were able to have happy moment together, for the first time in a while. It was all Lucrezia wanted. And it helps us see that Septimus and Lucrezia weren't in a completely loveless or lifeless marriage. 

Maybe I'm reading too deep into their scene of friendship and enjoyment. Maybe I don't understand exactly went on in that moment. But at that point, both Septimus and Lucrezia really started growing on me. Their points of view even started becoming similar. They thought about each other, rather than worrying about their own worlds. In the beginning of Mrs. Dalloway, I felt like Septimus and Lucrezia were so far apart. Septimus was in a different world and Lucrezia, much to Septimus's dismay, had to drag him back to the "real" world. But now, they were enjoying themselves. Septimus was struggling to keep himself in Lucrezia's world, but he did it, at least for a moment. I don't know if he did it for himself or for her, but it was nice to see. 

When Holmes knocked on the door, both Septimus and Lucrezia immediately reacted  negatively. This is another example of their having similar points of view. Lucrezia told Holmes to leave, but instead, he pushed her aside and came in. His level of insensitivity at that moment was astonishing, considering that he probably knew Septimus didn't like him. I believe Woolf was trying to antagonize Holmes at this point. His behavior is rude and borderline idiotic. If there was even a slight chance that he could be a trigger for Septimus's suicide (which there was), he should have been much more careful. 

Holmes didn't intentionally cause Septimus's death, but it's really easy to feel like he did due to the tension of the moment. It just happened at the worst possible time, because Lucrezia was finally content. I appreciate how Lucrezia tried to keep Holmes out of the house; it really displays her loyalty to Septimus. But, Holmes still got in. It's obvious that Holmes triggered Septimus's suicide because Septimus wasn't feeling as tense before Holmes came (and if he was, he found ways to lessen the tension), so Septimus probably wasn't planning on killing himself before Holmes came. Septimus didn't want to die either, which made it worse. All he wanted to do was escape from Holmes and the "human nature" that he represented. Septimus saw jumping out of the window as his only option. 

To make things worse, Holmes called him a coward for doing so. This especially shows that Holmes had no understanding of or sensitivity to what Septimus was feeling. It's easy to become completely angry at Holmes; I know I definitely am. I think Holmes's behavior is definitely supposed to anger the reader. So Virginia Woolf might have been trying to make a point of how (psychiatric) doctors of her time behaved (and treated her). Doctors didn't necessarily treat Woolf the same way they treated Septimus, but Woolf definitely had some negative feelings towards her doctors. 

Mrs. Dalloway may sometimes seem like it lacks heavy and obvious emotion, because the characters have so many emotions fused together that it's hard to read just one. But this scene definitely has emotional depth that can manifest heavy feelings among readers. I didn't like Septimus or Lucrezia that much before this scene, but I came out of this scene enraged with Holmes and sympathetic to Septimus and Lucrezia for the trauma that they went through. 

Peter Walsh's Role in Mrs. Dalloway

I don't know what most people expected Peter Walsh to be, but I thought someone who got this much interest from Clarissa must be pretty amazing. In the beginning of Mrs. Dalloway, before you learn the characters' true natures, it seems that Clarissa Dalloway is married to some boring politician type and that she really misses Peter. I assumed Peter would be this pretty great guy who rescued Clarissa from her marriage. I didn't know much about Clarissa's relationship with her husband Richard, but I just sort of assumed that they wouldn't work out based on patterns of other books that I've read. 

At first, Peter seemed like Clarissa's lost love who had some annoying traits. But as I learned more about him, I could tell that thinking about him bothered Clarissa. It didn't bother her because she missed him so much. It bothered her because she could always hear him criticizing her. They may have had passion in their relationship, but she doesn't seem happy when she thinks about Peter. And throughout the book, we learn more about Clarissa and Richard's relationship, which is much less boring than one would expect. 

Every time Clarissa used to think that Peter would judge her for marrying a politician, I thought that Richard would be some stuck-up, selfish politician. But Richard loves Clarissa a lot, and their relationship seems very warm and relaxed. It may lack the passion of Peter and Clarissa, but that doesn't mean that it's bad. In one chapter, Richard was very intent on giving Clarissa something to show his love for her, even after they had been married for quite a while. Richard and Clarissa do definitely love each other, which is why I don't know where Peter fits in the scheme of things.

Clarissa and Peter definitely have something, but I don't know if I would call it love. Maybe it used to be love, and maybe it still is, but it's not quite obvious. Peter tries to convince himself that he doesn't love Clarissa, and he claims to love another woman. But why then would he come to her house and cry (for reasons that still aren't 100% clear)? I know I sound biased against Peter, which I probably am, but I'm basing most of my information on how Clarissa sounds when she thinks about him. She sometimes enjoys moments with him, but whenever she thinks about him, his criticisms of her always seem to pop up in her head. I don't think Clarissa likes feeling this burden of Peter; she doesn't necessarily hate it, but it doesn't make her happy. So I wonder what Peter is going to do for the rest of Mrs. Dalloway. He is obviously a significant character and he is in the same town as Clarissa, but what could become of Peter and Clarissa? Could they potentially make each other happy despite all of their problems? If not, then why is Peter there? I hope that this will become obvious as the book progresses.