The road religon, good and evil, and fire

The road had many biblical allusions that were confusing. The author suggested that the apocalypse was caused by religious conflict, however religion is also what distinguishes the boy and man, who are good, from the cannibals. The child could arguably be an allegory for Christ; he is giving and often said to have the word of god from his father. But why don’t we view the world from his perspective if he is this important figure, why is it only the fathers ideas that are highlighted? Perhaps it’s because Macarthy is focusing on religion’s effect on people rather than the religion itself. Maybe by portraying Christ as a simple innocent child who just gives hope to his father keeping him on the road shows how religion should go back to basics. Although this story is grim, this simple religion that rose from the ashes of destructive religion gives hope for a new beginning.

The road also discussed good vs. evil in the road and it’s very clear whose good and who’s evil. But in real life it’s not that clear there is good and evil in all of us. Its much more difficult to escape or conquer evil in yourself than if its external. What was interesting was the good were portrayed as weak who were just trying to escape the cold and the cannibals. If you compare this to Beowulf which is also about good vs. evil the good confront the evil and are victorious over them. But McCarthy criticizes overly fantasized heroes by creating a world in which there are none and the heroes are just those who don’t do bad. He is saying when the world has no heroes survival and running away is the new bravery.

I also thought the idea of fire as an idea of hope and love and humanity was interesting. I would have thought light would symbolize hope better, in a more idyllic way at least. But macarthy chooses fire over light to critically look at hope. Fire can burn it’s dangerous but it also keeps you warm. It’s something you have to control to keep from getting out of hand and you have to keep it burning simultaneously. He says if you’re not careful with hope you’ll be burned. For example the son is naive and hopeful of humans, and if his father let him talk to everyone he would have be eaten, so we should not be too hopeful. But if there was no hope the father and son wouldn’t survive. Like you have to maintain a fire to keep it burning you has to maintain your moral values as well meaning self discipline and faith thats how the man stays on the road. Also fire is something you have to make yourself, unlike light which is given to you from the sky, showing how this world and the heavens gives them no love or hope so they have only each other. McCarthy illustrates how much effort it takes to maintain hope, humanity, and love but like fire its necessary for survival.

Style and the Road

The fiction article described writing in the third person with a free indirect style. What struck me the most was the part about whether the words belong to the author or the character being described? It stood out especially when they discussed the man crying in the theater. But I wonder how today writers manage to portray characters honestly and still write beautifully. With today’s language degradation any character set in this time would probably think in speak with crude language, if a writer tryst to use better language he or she will not portray the character accurately and those words will belong to him or her not the character. So do authors just have to choose between good words or honest characters? The article presents an author who struggled with this dilemma. the author who wrote about the Muslim teen in America made him sound overly philosophical with him connecting his height and to his views of afterlife, overall it seems forced and not believable.
So had would James wood examine the style of the road? I will look at the style of the excerpt below:
“When he woke in the woods in the dark and the cold of the night he’d reach out to touch the child sleeping beside him. Night’s dark beyond darkness and the days more gray each one than what had gone before. Like the onset of some cold glaucoma dimming away the world. His hand rose and fell softly with each precious breath. He pushed away the plastic tarpaulin and raised himself in the stinking robes and blankets and looked toward the east for any light but there was none.” Its clear which words belong to the man and which belongs to the author. The word “precious” clearly belongs to the man because it suggests a deep emotional connection the child that only the man not the author would feel. Even though he doesn’t specify Cormack McCarthy implies the paternal relationship between the man and the boy through his diction. You can tell “plastic tarpaulin” and “stinking robes” are more the author’s words because they describe the cruelty and discomfort of the world not the man’s relationship with it. So what words belong to the child? In this passage the child is sleeping so he doesn’t have words but why does McCarthy do this? He does this because masking the boy’s thoughts keeps the audiences image of him as naïve and ignorant which is necessary to make his optimism believable. Also it could be the child’s ability to speak his mind that his thoughts don’t need to be portrayed with words that belong to the child, but again that suggests his hope and resilience, despite the cruelty of the world he is not discouraged from speaking.

Commentary on Memory

In Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Attwood presents Offred talking to the commander about life before Gilead; and manipulates structure to portray the consequences of feminism and Offred's reliance on memory to survive in the oppressive society Gilead.

When the commander brings up an unfamiliar topic we can see Offred shut down. “I don’t have to tell it. I don’t have to tell anything, to myself or to anyone else. I could just sit here peacefully I could withdraw.” She wants to escape this conversation desperately, she seems to be trying to calm herself down with the drawn out words. The broken up structure reads slower as if she’s trying to make the most of her scarce thoughts in order to avoid facing the emptiness of her life.

When the topic changes Offred clings to the security of her knowledge. “It was the central thing; it was the way you understood yourself; if it never happened to you not ever you would be like a mutant, a creature from outer space.’’ her sentences have become much longer compared to the previous paragraph as if she sees a chance to distract herself with the past, she jumps for it almost desperately. Her memories aren’t idealistic, she doesn’t paint the old society as perfect, she mentions exclusion “you would be like a mutant” but she still would rather think about the flawed past than the present, revealing her preference for the previous society. Feminists often complained about love and pleasing men being the central thing in women’s lives, but Offred prefers this life, reflecting the author’s issues with feminism.

Offred is comforted by any memory even remembering insecurity “likely you would think at those times: what if he doesn’t love me?” she recollects the nature of the past seeing the good and bad and still feels nostalgia. The time when women fretted about what men thought of them the time when feminists complained about this was better in her eyes than the present.

Offred is addicted to her memories, but they can be hard to look at as they show the roots of her current world. “God is love the once said, but we reversed that, and love like heaven was always just around the corner.” She mentions changes that began to occur in the past that led to this dystopia, this helps give an explanation for what happened which might give her some comfort but it is also painful to face. When she says “we” she points out when her individuality began to disappear, and she didn’t really do anything to stop it. She doesn’t reflect on her memories she just narrates them, she can’t reflect for her own sanity.

Her sentences shorten towards as the topic draws to a close, revealing her complicated emotional state “who can tell what they really are? Under their dailyness.” It’s as if she’s trying to drag out her memories to avoid returning to the present. But she is also trying steady herself by trying to keep herself from getting to absorbed in the past, she tries to slow down her speech to stunt her thought to keep herself from living in the past . She’s doing conflicting things revealing her confusion with this life.
Memory is essential to Offred's survival. It gives her a distraction to keep her from facing the painful reality of her life. Her slow sentences show how she rations her memories and thought trying to make them last so she can last. Her memories also reflect Attwood’s view of feminism and the world the feminists longed to change became much worse once their dream had solidified. Her memories are the only thing she can control. Her memories are her roots all she knows the remnants of her individuality. She permits herself to think about the past but she doesn’t let herself get too excited about them or else she wouldn’t be able to face the present at all. She also refrains from reflecting on the past she only narrates it to avoid seeing where she had a chance to escape.

compromise

The article like Handmaids Tale highlights the need for females to compromise. the article disscusses women having to chose between children and a career and the pain that causes women. handmaids tale shows this the nececity of compromise, to stop rape and objectification they lost their freedom. handmaids tale shows the eradication of love from their lifestyle sort of like how the life of single the carreer woman. Both suggest that basing your life off your culture or striving to achieve eqaulity is self destructive they rather suggest women should just live thier lives as indivduals follow their passion weather thats taking a traditional domestic role or dedicate thier lives to a career. Looking back at Offred's life before women were stripped of rights, she seemed to be happy with her average job and having a daughter. she didn't really equate herself with a feminist movement or a reactionary movement, she didn't see herself as a purely career women or room parent, she saw herself as an individual and didn't really force herself into a category. i think that is what women need to be concerned with what they feel as an individual not what follows a movement. Women do have to compromise career and children sometimes,but they're more likely to make a decision that makes them happy if they base it on what they truly feel themselves.

beauty myth?

I agree with some aspects of the beauty myth. I agree that Beauty is definitely not biological or a sign of fertility, because the image of beauty varies so much all over the world it’s clearly a cultural issue. There has been an increase of eating disorders and cosmetic surgery clearly more concern with body image for females, but this concern applies to males as well. While women want to get skinnier to look like runway models men want to get bulkier. I think this might have something to do with feminist movements but I think its more increase in film and pop culture that puts more focus on the bodies of both men and women. I think it’s also the obesity issue in America and the increased health concern. For women today there is more of an interest in being fit and toned healthy than just skinny, living an athletic and healthy lifestyle is considered beautiful part of this is to counteract obesity issues, but I also think trying to lead a healthy lifestyle is often used cover up the superficial reasons, for exercise and diet like looking good in a swim suit. But I don’t think female beauty is purely a cause of the patriarchic society, it’s not just for men. Women like to feel beautiful just for themselves they search for the perfect pair of shoes or hand bag, knowing very well that men won’t really be concerned with a strappy gladiator sandal or a designer clutch but having something they think is cute gives them a sense of beauty and satisfaction that has nothing to do with men. Like offred's vegetable oil face lotion was'nt for anyone but her. Beauty while it might be taken too seriously by some doesnt need to be and definately wont be eradicated from society. And in handmaids tale we see a world with out objectification and its pretty grim we can also see this in 1984. while the feminists view beauty as something thats hampering women from attaining power, Attwood looks at it quite diffrently she suggests that objectification and sexuality is power for women. if you look at the girls at "the club" thier dressing in sexualized outfits and have alot of preasure put on thier bodies(if they gain ten pounds they go to solitary) but they seem much more powerful than the handmaids. you can see in the restroom scene thier loud they talk with authority and Moria, who Offred portrays as confident and powerful, is one of them. while i agree that the beauty obsession is unhealthy for women beauty can be seen as power will never be eradicated.

barbie and magazines or our society?

I think the articles were interesting but they exaterated the negative effects of magazines and Barbie dolls. I don’t think it’s the dolls and magazines that cause these issues, they reflect it and encourage it. why did girls buy Barbie so much if it made them feel bad about themselves and why didn’t they buy dawns instead? The initial cause is a social issue not the doll. But I do think if agirl did own a Barbie doll and played with it frequently her body image issues would grow. As for teen magazines I think their impact is not that large, sourounding people have a more profound effect on girls than magazines. Magazines in my opinion aren’t read religiously their something you read when your bored or in a waiting room or something. After reading the article on magazines I found an issue of seventeen lying around my house and compared it too what the article said. There were the usually fashion and beauty tips, as for the models, a majority were white and skinny there were a fair amount of minorities too it wasn’t as racist as the article made it out to be. The health section while it featured a skinny girl encouraged more of a healthy lifestyle than an extreme diet or exercise regimen and it didn’t say lose ten pounds or anything. There was a beauty article about embracing your hair and facial feature and the main photo showed a girl with braces, that is a good thing. Also It had an article showing off the best boyfriends in America which probably had a negative effect on single or gay girls, but it also had an article which encouraged girls to follow their dreams and dream bigger which is a good thing. In general the tone of the magazine wasn’t harsh or saying you had to be a certain way it had a tone encouraging self esteem, it wasn’t as bad as the article said and I didn’t feel negatively about myself after reading it. now there are magazines out their that are bad for self esteem but really their catering to our society girls are the clients they are buying what pleases them,while they do affect girls no one is forcing them to by them.