Housekeeping was a really nice novel to read. In the end, one question was asked in class: has Ruth come of age? This question brought varied responses, so let me add to this my perception. I strongly believe that Ruth has come of age. I mentioned in class as well that the goal of a human being is to be happy. Think about it, someway or another, in the end what we’re looking for is happiness. There are many guides (like your parents, teachers, school, books), and there are many paths to choose from. You don’t like a path, you can pave your own. Whatever makes you happy, whatever makes you content. Sure, there are boundaries, but as an old Indian proverb states “boundaries are made so that they can one day be broken” (Bhagavad Gita). Ruth saw a path in Sylvie, a path to salvation, and she choose to walk on it. And as we see in the last chapter, she is very happy where she’s at. She loves being a hidden part of society, someone that nobody knows anything about. We can’t be the ones to judge that. We can’t say that just because we feel that a path is wrong. The only time that I would complain would be if the chosen path were to cause excruciating harm to others. Harming others for your own benefits is my boundary, and I believe that if you cross that boundary, then you haven’t come of age. What I’m trying to say is that there’s nothing wrong with what Ruth and Sylvie are doing. They are peacefully living their lives, which is why I can say that Ruth has come of age. Sadness, happiness, being emotional, those are all parts of life.
Secondly, I want to talk about Black Swan Green. We haven’t actually spent a lot of time on the novel, but it is turning into a darn good book to read. Alongside Catcher, this is a book where I’m having a hard time keeping the book down. I want to keep reading and find out what’s beyond the horizon (I kind of have already done that...so I will try not to mention any plot details). My favorite part about the book is the protagonist: Jason. I like him because I can connect to him. Jason changes the way he depicts himself to literally everyone -- and that’s true with me on so many levels. Because I’m around so many different people, constantly, I have to change myself. Sure, I am myself at base level, but around certain people, I have to change certain perspectives (This is also why I love doing Model UN --I often have to represent and debate for positions that I don’t actually believe in…). I truly am looking forward to the rest of this book.
One last thing I wanted to state before I wrap this up. Just something small I’ve noticed. Have you noticed how in EACH of the books we’ve read so far, all the protagonists are interested in English or Literature? Stephen Dedalus likes poems, Holden’s a great writer, Esther writes poems, and Jason’s a poet too… Isn’t that kinda cool?
Wednesdsay, April 8th
I'm not sure we get a full enough picture of Ruth to determine if she came of age. I see the flight from Fingerbone (that Ruth as well as all of Sylvia's children did) as a reaction from a situation that makes them unhappy rather than a coming of age in and of itself (though it may be a part of that coming of age). We don't get to see how Ruth really deals with her new transient life in the same way we see Sylvie deal with it.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe coming of age is simply realizing that you should do what you want (whatever makes you happy), and in that case, like you point out, Ruth has come of age.
I don't know.
Thought provoking post!
I really like the last bit of your post (the rest is interesting as well but I especially like the last part). I'm not sure what the significance of this is-- maybe some characteristic that artists/poets/authors all have make their coming of age stories more complex or better to analyze or more unique? I'm not sure but I very much like this connection.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Ruth has come of age. There are several moments where she even acknowledges changes happening inside her mind that make her more suited to a lifestyle. On your mention of most protagonists having something to with literature of some kind, I think it's because when writing these novels about childhood t he easiest thing to do is draw from experience.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's probably it. Since the authors are writing these novels from experience, some of their personalities are reflected in their main characters.
DeleteIt is interesting how Jason shows himself changing himself for other people all of the time.However, unlike some of the other characters like Holden, he does not seem to have a problem with it. The only thing he has really complained about so far is hangman, which does not appear to be a product of society.
ReplyDeleteAs for the fact that so many of the protagonists/narrators in these novels are into writing, poetry, English-class stuff, it is kind of a striking coincidence. One simple answer might be that, as I noted on the first-day handout, coming-of-age books tend to be pretty personal works, and all of the people who wrote them grew up to be writers. I don't necessarily think that writers experience more rich or poignant coming-of-age experiences, but maybe they're more conscious of the process, or of the self as a work in progress, and they certainly would seem more inclined to try to make something out of that process--to try and capture it and express it and explore it in words.
ReplyDelete