Sunday, October 25, 2009

April Sixth, 1928

After finished Quentin’s narration, this section proved to be much more “normal” in terms of how it was written. Jason, our narrator, talks and thinks chronologically. He often refers to the past but does not actually immerse himself in it as we have seen with the other two narrators, Quentin and Benjy. Although he does not find himself reliving memories, Jason allows the past to infiltrate his everyday actions and thoughts. His past continually influences him. His contempt for his cursed family is shown again and again. In the yes of Jason, it seems as if Quentin – Caddy’s daughter -- can never escape her mother’s past; “Once a bitch always a bitch.”(180). Many other members of the family also suffer from a permanent branding. He tries to escape the past but we see how he obsesses over Quentin’s supposed escapades with the man in the red tie. He exclaims “let her go to hell as fast as she pleases and the sooner the better. (239),” yet he follows her into the woods in order to stop her. He find himself hating all women. He is brutal, cynical, and tyrannical.

From the beginning we see how he has evolved from the tattletale to the punisher. The first scene makes us disdain Jason. He attempts to beat Quentin for ditching school but then mother intervenes. How can Mother see him as an angel when she is afraid of him losing his temper? Jason often thinks about how he never received the things his siblings received yet he has to provide for what is left of the family. Although he was Mother’s favorite she never sacrificed Benjy’s pasture for him. What has Mother’s favoritism done to him? Does he even love Mother?

Sunday, October 4, 2009

A Grandfatherly Vampire

Vampires in the Lemon Grove

Karen Russel

 

I read this short story because of the title, Vampires in the Lemon Grove. I have always found myself gravitating towards stories involving vampires. My second favorite book I have ever read is called The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, which deals with the most revered vampire of all time, Dracula. However, the usual darkness shrouding a gothic vampire story is absent from this title. A lemon grove does not seem a fitting home for the undead. Immediately I found myself questioning the juxtaposition of this title, and, consequently, reading on.

Clyde, the main character, is described as “a small kindly Italian grandfather,” with a walnut stain peculiar to Southern Italians. He is not a stereotypical vampire: untouched by the sun, red eyed, with the face of living death.  Most likely, “kindly” would be considered an atypical adjective for any vampire. By describing Clyde as so, we see him as very human.

Clyde, the vampire, experiences many human the fears and desires: his loneliness concerning his wife, his disconnect with his, his care for her. However, he is immortal. The question remains, if you had to love someone forever, could you? We empathize with him and the eternal loneliness that accompanies his existence. At the moment we comprehend his total loneliness, we are abruptly reminded of the monstrosity within when he attacks a village girl, Fila. Vampires in the Lemon Grove explores love and loneliness, suffering and reprieve, as well as sacrifice all within the context of immortality. I found it very interesting. (260)