Cash: The man's man

While reading William Faulkners amazing tale of the Bundrens I have quickly come to relate to the eldest of the family, Cash. He is the one who will work through rain, night, the death of his mother, hell, he'll break his leg again just to save his mothers coffin. This guy is just down right respectable. I guess one of the things I enjoy about him so much is the fact that I'm almost positive this is exactly who my father wants to be. My dad has always tried to instill a work ethic of a machine in me. I remember just a few years ago staining my deck twice in 90 degree weather because he thought 6 months was the allotted time for stain to last (it is 5 years). Cash just embodies what I imagine almost any father would want in a son. A man that gets done what he needs to get done and doesn't complain. He doesn't seek any recognition it is just what he thinks needs to get done. When Cash makes the coffin on the bevel it takes quite a bit of extra time. It isn't needed but he does it because it is just logical. If you're going to do something might as well do it right. He even asks to bring his tools on the trip just so on the way back he can work on Tull's roof. Towards the end of the novel he loses his leg. A man whose sole purpose is to work will have that inhibited due to his fathers (still thoughtful) stupidity. You would think he would be upset but he is not in the least. the only time I think I saw Cash convey any sort of emotion was when he heard the gramaphone and realized he would not be able to buy it due to his father taking his money. It was almost one of defeat. Fortunately, in the end Cash was able to get his gramaphone and at least his mission was a successful one.

The Gunslinger

    Whenever I think of Jewel I see a young Clint Eastwood saying "Get three coffins ready." Jewel is just a total badass with a temper. He would have fit into any Sergio Leone spaghetti western. Unfortunately for him, he is stuck with the Bundrens. Quite possibly the most unimpressive family in Mississippi. Jewel has everything to make a great western flick. A complete outcast and bastard son who is on a mission to finish his dying mothers last wish (according to Anse). Sadly, his opposition is not some Mexican gang it is his family. Whenever Jewel gets closer to fulfilling this image it seems something inevitably ruins it for him. He has a horse he is trying to break and when he finally does his father sells it. When you think he will finally break off from the family and become a lone ranger of sorts he saves his mother's coffin and is seriously burned in the process. 

    Jewel is one of the few family members that actually seems to notice what people probably think of them, but Jewel being Jewel, doesn't care. He is almost like the older brother to the family. He is the one that will stick up for them but he hates being with them. He has no reason to stay and yet he does. There is nothing compelling Jewel and there is no reason why he can't leave. He stays because he still wants to help his family even if some know that he is not exactly blood.

Is Darl Crazy?

    At the end of Faulkners amazing tale, As I Lay Dying, we are made aware of the fact that Darl may be a little off his rocker. This may or may not come as a shock to most readers but, nevertheless, it puts all of the story at risk. We are given most of this novel from Darl's point of view and it is a little more than disconcerting to find out that the source of information may be clinically insane. Some do not think he is insane however. Cash believes that it's about how people view you. Darl may not be crazy, just misunderstood.
    Let's just say that Darl is crazy. He imagines things that can't happen and can tell you what is going on in a place miles away. There never is a moment where any of the other narrations discount Darl's account of things going on though. Darl will talk about vultures following their caravan and then a few chapters later you will see Vardaman scaring them off. Darl knows of Dewey Dell's pregnancy and even that Jewel is only his half brother. These facts are all confirmed in other chapters from other characters perspective. So even if Darl is crazy he is not totally out of it. As described by Anse and so many others, he is just "queer". Cora even says he just needs a wife and he will be fine. There is no reason anyone should think that he is completely out of his gourd.
    The only time I ever question his sanity is after he is captured and he begins to talk in the first and third person and things just become all out of whack. The only thing I can see to be the true reason he is acting like this is because he is completely drugged up. Much like One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, I think that it is not Darl's fault that he is acting crazy. There are many arguments for both sides but I feel like I can still believe his sections in the novel and find them credible.

Odysseus: Hero or Anti-Hero?

While discussing The Odyssey in class, we have already come to a slight break in the class of those who view him as a hero and those who view him as an anti-hero. Claire's point in class really brought this home to me and why I loved Odysseus's character. It's largely due to the fact of how unheroic he acts. In the standard archetype the hero is humble. Odysseus shows time and time again how he has to beat people in every way. When asked to play in games by Laodamas and Broadsea he declines but after a few insults his spirits are high and he decides, not only to talk back, but to also show them up (8. 190-215). This is not the kind of hero we would expect from an epic poem. We would expect someone who would have calmly talked down the men and declined their offer. Not someone who took pleasure in embarrassing them in front of all their people verbally and physically. This is not the only time that Odysseus hot headedness has got the better of him. While escaping from Polyphemus' Odysseus has the audacity to yell and taunt at the blinded giant from his boat (9. 558-562). It seems like such a human thing to do and not so much of a trait of a hero. You would have thought Odysseus would have been happy just getting away but that was not enough for him. He had to rub it in. Even his crew mates try and calm him so Polyphemus is not able to kill them all (9. 549). It just goes to show Odysseus' is very brash and not at all humble. Odysseus may not be a very conventional hero but that is what strikes me as one of the most interesting parts of The Odyssey. Odysseus is a very modern character and is really quite complex. It seems like he is more human than most characters that are on journey's such as these. Don't get me wrong, I love Edgar Rice Burroughs esque heroes. The larger than life and impossibly impeccable characters. Odysseus is simply not that. He is a man with the help from a Goddess. I think Odysseus being a hero or anti-hero is still completely up to interpretation but I thought I would just share a few points that I find interesting.

Musicians as Hereos

I've been thinking a lot about who my hero's are due to college essays and preparing for ACT's. While I'm thinking of these questions I usually can only think of musicians which I do't find that strange. I have grown up with music being a very integral part of my life. I was listening to Green Day by preschool and now clamor to anything I find good or interesting. Most people can attest to the fact that I always am wearing headphones or ear buds while walking around the hallways in school. Music is really important to me so naturally my hero will probably be a musician. While I was thinking of who to list I began to realize how ridiculous it was that a musician would be my hero. Some of these guys (or gals) never finished high school or were drug addicts. If they weren't musicians I would not even talk about them let alone call one of them my hero. Why is it that when someone does something we, as a society, deem worth paying attention we basically forget about everything that came before. This kind of ties back to he first week when we were talking about hero's and Isaak mentioned football players. He even said he realized some of these people were awful. They beat women and some are accused of murder but we still look up to them. It makes it difficult to answer such a basic question of who your hero is because everyone has a past. Some of the things you may never want to associate yourself with but these essays almost force it onto you like it is mandatory to have a hero. or now I will stick with a musician who may have dropped out in 8th grade and is a drug addict. They make good music so that makes up for their downfalls.

Love At First Curse

In Book 10 of The Odyssey, Odysseus and friends end up on the island of Aeaea (Pronounced A-E-uh). From there some of his men are turned to pigs by this witch named Circe. So we automatically hate her. Hermes rolls up and basically says"The only way to stop her is to act like you're gonna have sex. Then, BAM! Hit her with this poison. And also heres the stuff so you don't become a pig." So Odysseus strolls in and asks for his people. She tries to transform but she fails. She thinks this is hot or something and asks for him to have sex. Odysseus says yes and is about to do the deed when he basically has a meltdown and is crying and stuff. Now, I was very confused because I thought Odysseus was supposed to be all manly but this was totally not cool. Circe finds pity and basically falls for him and Odysseus doesn't need to use the poison. I feel like Odysseus should not have just disregarded a god and got this crazy witch to fall in love with him. It just seems very strange but it may get sorted out in later books.