JCO: Re: An Encounter with the Blind
Hi Laurie,
Your wrote: "I'm not sure how the Senator intends to victimize the boy,
other than to hijack him so his wife can be impressed. What else do you
think he had in mind?"
The senator tells us the story of the "niger" who played the guitar and
enertained his 18 year old wife. He says, "She likes music, an'
different things, sort of queer people." Then he refers to something bad
that happened, that other blacks had been jealous and "cut him up." The
senator seems to form an idea about the boy right then and quickly
offers to give the boy a ride. On the ride, the senator makes the boy
keep playing the harmonica while he describes his young wife in a very
sexual way. Then he imagines how excited she'll be and says "She'll hug
me hard when she sees who I brought for--" He breaks it off and hopes
the boy didn't catch on, but the boy did catch on. Later the senator
says "I ain't ever had no bad thought on you" but it seems clear to me
that he did, that he had intended the boy to be a sexual toy for his
young wife. JCO doesn't come out and say that, but it seems clear that
she doesn't intend us to trust the senator's words or intentions.
At the end, when the senator drops the knife out the window and the boy
smiles, I thought the boy was smiling because he heard the knife drop
and knew he could retrieve it after the senator left. I thought the
senator left the knife so the boy could carry on his "duty."
I do agree with you, Laurie, that the story seems to be saying that
control is an illusion.
Your description of "Rain" reminds me of the movie "Holy Smoke" starring
Harvey Keitel and Kate Winslet. He comes to save her and she ends up
saving him.
It is interesting how differently each individual interprets her work.
Thanks for your comments.
Jane
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Your wrote: "I'm not sure how the Senator intends to victimize the boy,
other than to hijack him so his wife can be impressed. What else do you
think he had in mind?"
The senator tells us the story of the "niger" who played the guitar and
enertained his 18 year old wife. He says, "She likes music, an'
different things, sort of queer people." Then he refers to something bad
that happened, that other blacks had been jealous and "cut him up." The
senator seems to form an idea about the boy right then and quickly
offers to give the boy a ride. On the ride, the senator makes the boy
keep playing the harmonica while he describes his young wife in a very
sexual way. Then he imagines how excited she'll be and says "She'll hug
me hard when she sees who I brought for--" He breaks it off and hopes
the boy didn't catch on, but the boy did catch on. Later the senator
says "I ain't ever had no bad thought on you" but it seems clear to me
that he did, that he had intended the boy to be a sexual toy for his
young wife. JCO doesn't come out and say that, but it seems clear that
she doesn't intend us to trust the senator's words or intentions.
At the end, when the senator drops the knife out the window and the boy
smiles, I thought the boy was smiling because he heard the knife drop
and knew he could retrieve it after the senator left. I thought the
senator left the knife so the boy could carry on his "duty."
I do agree with you, Laurie, that the story seems to be saying that
control is an illusion.
Your description of "Rain" reminds me of the movie "Holy Smoke" starring
Harvey Keitel and Kate Winslet. He comes to save her and she ends up
saving him.
It is interesting how differently each individual interprets her work.
Thanks for your comments.
Jane
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Tone Clusters: The Joyce Carol Oates discussion group
To send a message to the group, email jco@usfca.edu
To subscribe, email majordomo@usfca.edu: subscribe jco
To unsubscribe, email majordomo@usfca.edu: unsubscribe jco
posted by Admin at
5:48 AM
