Why be Anonymous?

    At the ending of the book, we finally learn the identity of the narrator. Dr. Rieux, the main character of this book, is also the narrator. Now, this isn’t really too much of a shocking revelation. We spend so much time with Rieux and so much detail is put into those scenes, it’s hard to imagine anyone else being the narrator. Possibly if Rieux had some sort of diary, but you would expect the narrator to mention referring to Rieux’s diary if he had one as he did with Tarrou. And I know early in the book, we had our suspicions already that the narrator might be Rieux. But why did we just now learn that he’s the narrator?

    For one, by keeping his identity a secret for most of the book, Rieux could provide a more unbiased narrative by distancing himself. Sure, he did rely a lot on his experiences during the plague, but he also made sure to look at those experiences in the bigger picture and look at the experiences of others in the town of Oran. Of course, he can’t remain fully unbiased (just take a look at his description of Oran at the beginning of the book) but this approach allows for him to lay out his own experiences as just one of the pieces of information in this broader narrative.

    Another possibility was that it would be easier for Rieux to narrate if he distanced himself from the events that he narrates. Because of his role in the plague as a doctor, he most likely has a lot of troubling memories from that time. If he remains an anonymous narrator, he can distance himself more from these past events.

    Also, if we knew that the narrator was a character in the book, that has the potential to be distracting. It would depend on how he would structure it, but considering Rieux is trying to present not just his own experience but others as well, the fact that the narrator is Rieux could become diverting from the actual content of the narration. Sure, over time the reader would become more used to the fact that the narrator is Rieux and Rieux is the narrator, but just remaining anonymous lessen those distractions. Of course, we wondered who the narrator was, but we also knew that the narrator would reveal themselves at some point.

    Or I suppose it could be a combination of these possibilities or none of them. What do you think of Rieux as the narrator? Why do you think he kept his identity a secret?

Delayed Action

    I think that we can all agree that The Plague features quite a few similarities to our present situation. Something that I found particularly interesting was how the authorities remained reluctant to admit that the illness was the plague (despite the evidence shown) and prolonged their actions to try to contain it. On page 50, Dr. Rieux told the group that “there’s a risk that half the population may be wiped out,” yet that does not elicit a true response from the authorities as they still hesitated whether or not what was happening could truly be a plague. At first, they only put up “small official notices…in places where they would not attract much attention” (51). So while they were taking some sort of action, the authorities were very clearly trying to limit the reach of these notices instead of trying to get the public to know what was going on. And these notices merely referred to the plague as a “malignant fever,” which feels like a simplification of the plague (51). I know that they were very hesitant to call it the plague as they did not want to sound the false alarm or even acknowledge that they could be facing a plague in their modern times, but they could have still maybe emphasized the severity of it a bit more. It takes until page 63 for the authorities to “Proclaim a state of plague,” which basically sounds like they’re going to go into some sort of lockdown.

    Now for me, this reminds me of how we later learned in the pandemic that the Trump administration learned of the potential dangers of the coronavirus and really did not implement any regulations in response or inform the public. I’m sure that many of you have seen some of the estimates of how many lives we could have saved if the government had gone into lockdown even just a week earlier. I’m not sure if this will come up later in the book as people look back and think how much different the effects of the plague would have been with a prompter response but it’s an interesting thought. Also, in class we discussed how Oran very much so had a constant routine and schedule to it, so I wonder how they will respond to these new regulations over time. Will they for the most part abide by them and get used to a new normal? Or will they start to rebel over time like some Americans? I definitely can see connections to the beginning of our pandemic and I think it will be interesting how the plague’s later development compares to our experiences.

Jake the Reporter (In Two Ways)

            As we well know at this point, the narrator of The Sun Also Rises is Jake, who I greatly hesitate to call a reliable narrator as shown by his many biases. The first aspect of Jake’s narration I want to look at is his “reporter” narration. At times, Jake seems to be a vessel for the story as he recounts scenes where he was there but not really participating with him saying only one or two words. It’s like he is there to report to us who is doing what and what was said instead of actually being a part of the scene it’s. However, this reporting that he does not remain an unbiased one, as he can’t resist including some snide comments or letting a little bitterness show through (especially on the topic of Cohn). And so while he is kind of acting like a reporter at times, Jake does not seem successful in presenting them transparently.

We also see a different kind of reporter mode when he is alone like on page 38, where he reports in great detail his bank statements. There was a sort of emotionless feel to it, just stating the facts. I mean just reading it sounds very abrupt with the short observations:

            “One was a bank statement. It showed a balance of $2432.60. I got out my check-book and deducted four checks drawn since the first of the month, and discovered I had a balance of $1832.60. I wrote this on the back of the statement.”

            It feels like he is trying to force himself to focus on plain basic facts, anything that wouldn’t cause some sort of an emotional response. We see that he ends up failing when his train of thought on that same page arrives on the topic of Brett (“To hell with you, Lady Ashley”). It seems like from scenes like this one that Jake may have trouble not thinking about Brett, whether positively or negatively. Either way, his emotions always seem to be very strong. Is this reporter way of thinking Jake’s way of trying to avoid thinking about Brett? As shown in this scene, it doesn’t exactly work since his thoughts still made its way to her but it was a way to try and to at least postpone it. And from what we can tell from their very complex relationship, it probably really pains Jake that they can’t be together and so he has to deal with the situation of not being in a relationship with Brett while still (at least that I can tell) loves her. Because of this, it makes sense that he would try to not focus on Brett because that would take a toll on him emotionally.

            So those are the two reporter modes that I saw, with one being much more biased (not the best for being a reporter) but actually is recounting events and the other stating much simpler, basic facts as a way for Jake to cope. It will be interesting to see how Jake’s reporting changes over the course of the story. I have a feeling he will become much more involved in the story than just a reporter.

Sethe and Septimus: Making the Only Choice Possible

    I don’t know how many of you guys were in African American Literature but I know that ever since Nabeel compared Sethe to Septimus in out breakout room, I could not stop thinking about their similarities. Specifically, I’m thinking about the Four Horsemen chapter in comparison to Septimus’s suicide. In both cases, Septimus and Sethe are not wondering what they should do. Instead, they do what they see as the only option in that case. For Sethe, this means killing Beloved and attempting to kill her other children so that they do not have to return to Sweet Home and for Septimus, this means committing suicide as the only way to escape doctors. But at the same time, there is something bigger than the four horsemen and bigger than Holmes that has arrived at their doorsteps. For Sethe, it is really the whole system of oppression that has been present really for her lifetime. Her children were either going to be free or they were going to die because death has more freedom than going back to that slave plantation. For Septimus, it is the societal expectations of masculinity and soldiers that have also been present for most of his life. After experiencing these expectations in his past and being called a coward by these doctors in the present, there is also a sense of oppression in Septimus’s case.

    Something I find interesting that both Morrison and Woolf do it that they allow plenty of time before having these scenes in the novel. In Beloved, we get the sense about something really strange happening in Sethe’s past that made people act weird around her, but I think I can easily say that none of us were expecting her to have killed her child. Instead, Morrison allows us time to appreciate Sethe as a person and see her traumatic past at Sweet Home and to really understand these key things about her before finally showing us this scene. If Morrison had started with the Four Horsemen scene, I think that, at least for me, it would be a lot harder to understand her actions and to connect with her. I know that in class we still struggled with what Sethe did, but at the same time, I feel like we were able to see how she saw that as the only option instead of just writing her off as insane or anything like that.

    Likewise, Woolf allows us to see Septimus for quite a lot during the novel even though he is more of a side character. While we do see that he is suffering from PTSD, we get the sense that in the day that Woolf shows Septimus he is a little bit jumpier and more disconnected than usual from the car backfiring. And even though it is one of his worse days, we do get to see some of his “true self” with the hat scene between him and Lucrezia. We also get insights into his past, narrated by Woolf, which she really didn’t do for any other character. Woolf knew how crucial it was to understand his past to understand his present. We get the sense of how in the past he was seen as not masculine enough and even though he went through the war (which is generally seen as a way to make a man) Holmes and Bradshaw still look at him in the same way, seeing him act in a sort of “hysterical” manner that only women are supposed to act. With his traumatic experiences in the war as well as the experiences as being viewed as a coward and not masculine enough as well as the terror of Holmes shoving his way after Septimus, we can much better understand why he sees suicide as his only choice (even as he sees that "life was good" (146)).

    I’m now realizing how long this is so I think I will stop my blog here. Do you guys see these connections? Do you see more connections between Sethe and Septimus and how Woolf and Morrison set these scenes up? These were just some of the first things that came to my mind and I think there is still plenty more parallels there.

Time Keeps Ticking

    One thing that I have noticed when reading Mrs. Dalloway is all of the smooth transitions. If I get distracted for one moment, I look at where I’m reading and wonder who this new character is and how we got there. I find this somewhat surprising considering that each person we go to in this narrative, we see inside their head, and I would think that going from one mind to another would be somewhat jarring. However, Woolf makes it so that the jump from person to person isn’t harsh or sudden. Instead, she always makes a connection between characters, whether it’s the motorcar, the airplane, or just some brief interaction or thought connecting characters together. I think for me, I found the motorcar and airplane scenes to be an interesting connection point. It kind of felt natural how Woolf transitioned through all those characters quickly as people do tend to voice their opinions to each other when something strange or interesting happens and the airplane makes it so that all of those expressions and thoughts could be linked together. Even when it comes back to Mrs. Dalloway after her walk home, it flows well due to her asking “What are they looking at?”, bridging the people, who looking at the plane that connected them to the others watching the plane, to Mrs. Dalloway.

    But something else that Woolf does that really allows the novel to flow is the passage of time. Instead of going back and recapping her walk home, which could have contained interesting thoughts and interactions from Mrs. Dalloway, Woolf keeps the novel moving with time. So, while Mrs. Dalloway is reflecting in her room, I’m sure the people who were watching the plane are still out there discussing it, but Woolf leaves them behind and doesn’t return later. It’s really interesting to think how carefully Woolf would have to plan these events, making certain things, like the plane and motorcar, are there to connect people for these transitions to occur, as well as choosing who she will follow at what time, and how she will eventually connect to them. I think part of this effect of weaving in and out of people’s minds is that it leaves you wondering what these people are doing after you have left them or have temporarily gone out of their thoughts. For example, I wonder what Mrs. Dalloway was doing that whole section where we were primarily following Peter, or even what Scrope Purvis is up to. And I feel like that’s a sense that we sort of get in life after we have seen somebody during the day and later kind of wonder what they are doing at this moment, but Woolf makes this effect even greater by giving us a glimpse into the minds of these people, which we don’t get in real life. As more and more characters get introduced and get more time in the novel, I wonder how Woolf will balance it all. With Mrs. Dalloway, Peter, Septimus, and Lucrezia, it will definitely be interesting how the narrative is balanced because, in this novel, time keeps ticking.

The Art Gallery of Trivial Items

     “Right when I suddenly had more blue sky in front of me than green truck, I remembered that when I was little I used to be very interested in the fact that anything, no matter how rough, rusted, dirty, or otherwise discredited it was, looked good if you set it down on a stretch of white cloth or any kind of clean background.” (38)

    In class, we have talked about “clean background” trick that Howie mentions in this scene. As we discussed before, this concept could be seen as the whole basis of the book because of how Howie looks at each item so closely, almost as if removing it from the world and putting it against a clean background. Having a clean background makes items look better, and in The Mezzanine, even makes it seem like a work of art. Howie is amazed by the items he investigates in his mind, almost like someone at an art gallery.

    Now, having thought about this, I can see all the more clearly as to why Howie would be triggered by Aurelius. I could already understand somewhat as I read the scene as to why Howie reacted the way he did because we already talked about his interest in these trivial, day-to-day items. However, now it is clear that he isn’t just intrigued by them, he sees them as works of art. He looks at a straw and can easily visualize all the work that went into creating an item that most people don’t even give a second glance at. Even with items he doesn’t like, such as the hot air dryer, Howie understands the process of its creation even if he doesn’t approve of it. He’s almost an art critic at times.

    But like art, the triviality of these objects is subjective. Howie tries to get us to appreciate the art he sees, but it doesn’t always work. After all, we are all different individuals and art always presents an array of responses. Some people love a certain piece while others absolutely despise it. However, I do find that some of his metaphors and descriptions do catch my attention and I begin to rethink how I looked at certain items before. But the same items do not attract the same people, which has been evident in class discussion, with some of us getting intrigued by a particular item while others not really getting into it. I don’t know, I thought that it was kind of interesting on how Howie viewed the world in this way. Is anyone else seeing this?

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