In James Joyce's story "Eveline," the main character, Eveline, experiences a sense of paralysis when faced with the decision to leave her home once and for all. This paralysis ceases when she reaches an epiphany that she can't leave her home, even if it is with the man of her dreams.
Eveline is a nineteen year old girl who is the head of the household. Although her father would be one to argue, Eveline takes care of the house, feeds the children, and makes sure the children get their studies done ever since her mother died. In addition to this, Eveline's father is an angry person. Eveline even says herself that sometimes she feels "in danger of her fathers violence" (38). She feels this way because there is no one left to protect her; she had two older brothers and her mother to protect her before, but both the mother and one of the older brothers are dead, and the other brother is now working away from home and can't protect Eveline daily. No one would blame Eveline from wanting to "run away" from this threatening and stressed lifestyle (37). This option comes upon her when she meets Frank.
Frank is the man of Eveline's dreams. Eveline describes him as "kind, manly, and open hearted" (38). Frank convinces Eveline to run away from her unattractive lifestyle and go with him to his home in Buenos Ayres. When the day finally comes for Eveline and Frank to depart, Eveline freezes at the railing of the ship. She is paralyzed. All Eveline knows is home. Although she is fearful of her father, she knows her father "could be very nice" and would "miss her" if she were to leave (39). This along with the promise she made to her mother on her mother's death bead to "keep the home together" lead Eveline to the epiphany that she couldn't leave home.
One can see a similar type of epiphany dealing with one leaving ones comfort zone for something better in the novel Disgrace. David Lurie is generally accepted as a womanizer in the novel. He moves from woman to woman never completely satisfied and eventually always desiring another. At one point in the novel, however, David Lurie is paralyzed when he comes to the epiphany that he needs no more women. This point emerges when he finds Teresa, a character in an opera he is writing to himself. When he finds her in his mind he is stuck in his house for days writing and singing about her. David Lurie leaves his comfort zone of sleeping with many woman to being happy with only imagining one. This is similar in idea to the "Eveline" epiphany, but opposite in the decision making of the character Eveline (David Lurie leaves whereas Eveline stays).
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Laying Pipes with David Lurie
I went to lay pipes today for the new house and Mr. Lurie was nice enough to help me out. He was worried that he wouldn’t have the expertise to lay the pipes but I told him it was ok; he was only handing me tools anyways. Mr. Lurie is a nice man, a good man, but he can also be a mean man. I know he is just looking out for his daughter but he doesn’t want to look out for anything else at all. He focuses too much on his daughter; he needs to see the greater picture of things sometimes. I knew he was going to ask me about the day Pollux killed the dogs. I know Pollux didn’t know what he was doing. Pollux is too young to understand good from bad still, especially since he has grown up with those crooks. Now that Pollux is in my family I can raise him right. Though he may be a bad boy now, he is only a boy and I can change him to be a man – a good man. As for Mr. Lurie though, he will never see this. He sees Pollux as a black crook and that is all. Mr. Lurie has good intentions about his daughter but he just needs to see the bigger picture.
The above paragraph is the diary entry of Petrus after laying pipes with David Lurie. In this scene, David asks Petrus for the information on this boy Pollux that he saw at Petrus’s house the night before. Petrus responds by saying, “David, it is a hard thing you are saying, that this boy is a thief.” (137) These first words by Petrus show us that Petrus has the opposite opinion of David, therefore, in the diary entry, I tried to emphasize the disconnection between David and Petrus through Petrus saying that David “needs to see the greater picture of things,” which then gives the reader the sense that Petrus is looking down on David.
The passage in the book also talks about how Petrus says that Pollux is too young to “go to jail” (138). Later in the novel we also learn that Pollux is going to be living with and be family of Petrus. I tried to reflect these two things in Petrus’s diary entry by Petrus saying that he can change Pollux from a bad boy to a good man by being a father figure to him. It also shows how Petrus thinks about David not understanding how it is to grow up in East Cape without a proper father figure. Petrus believes he can change this in Pollux, and therefore that is justification enough to him to not let Pollux go to jail.
The above paragraph is the diary entry of Petrus after laying pipes with David Lurie. In this scene, David asks Petrus for the information on this boy Pollux that he saw at Petrus’s house the night before. Petrus responds by saying, “David, it is a hard thing you are saying, that this boy is a thief.” (137) These first words by Petrus show us that Petrus has the opposite opinion of David, therefore, in the diary entry, I tried to emphasize the disconnection between David and Petrus through Petrus saying that David “needs to see the greater picture of things,” which then gives the reader the sense that Petrus is looking down on David.
The passage in the book also talks about how Petrus says that Pollux is too young to “go to jail” (138). Later in the novel we also learn that Pollux is going to be living with and be family of Petrus. I tried to reflect these two things in Petrus’s diary entry by Petrus saying that he can change Pollux from a bad boy to a good man by being a father figure to him. It also shows how Petrus thinks about David not understanding how it is to grow up in East Cape without a proper father figure. Petrus believes he can change this in Pollux, and therefore that is justification enough to him to not let Pollux go to jail.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Changing for Others
The attack on David Lurie and his daughter changes David Lurie from a womanizer who expects to be in control of women to a man that both respects women and allows them to have control over him.
Firstly the attack changes David physically. Before the attack David was a well kept person. David says that old age was getting the better parts of his looks from the days that he could just look at a woman a certain way and they would reply with a similar glance, but as we could see in the novel, David still has his fare share of women. After the attack, however, David’s looks go with his fire that was lit on him. He is stuck with a burnt ear, head wrapped in bandages, and his eyes covered with a patch. This physical transition symbolizes how he is changing with respect to woman.
David’s attitude towards the respect of women also changes. Before the attack David would sleep with any woman he found attractive almost as if women were put on the earth for David. David even says himself he is a “womanizer” (7). Before the attack he also treats women as if they are there to do what he says. We get this from David’s response to the people he sleeps with. He enjoys “passive” women much more than women that have minds of their own (19). After the attack, however, his opinion over woman changes completely since his daughter is rape. He begins to question if what he has done before was rape as well as feeling guilty for what happened with Melanie. He also changes in that, instead of women being there for him, he is there for a woman now. With his daughter being severely depressed, he takes over her daily chores and works for his daughter as if it his purpose.
Through his physical appearance and attitude, David’s idea over women has changed significantly after the attack on his daughter and him.
Firstly the attack changes David physically. Before the attack David was a well kept person. David says that old age was getting the better parts of his looks from the days that he could just look at a woman a certain way and they would reply with a similar glance, but as we could see in the novel, David still has his fare share of women. After the attack, however, David’s looks go with his fire that was lit on him. He is stuck with a burnt ear, head wrapped in bandages, and his eyes covered with a patch. This physical transition symbolizes how he is changing with respect to woman.
David’s attitude towards the respect of women also changes. Before the attack David would sleep with any woman he found attractive almost as if women were put on the earth for David. David even says himself he is a “womanizer” (7). Before the attack he also treats women as if they are there to do what he says. We get this from David’s response to the people he sleeps with. He enjoys “passive” women much more than women that have minds of their own (19). After the attack, however, his opinion over woman changes completely since his daughter is rape. He begins to question if what he has done before was rape as well as feeling guilty for what happened with Melanie. He also changes in that, instead of women being there for him, he is there for a woman now. With his daughter being severely depressed, he takes over her daily chores and works for his daughter as if it his purpose.
Through his physical appearance and attitude, David’s idea over women has changed significantly after the attack on his daughter and him.
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