Roy Cohn's is by far the most delusional, egocentric, and provocative character featured in Angels in America. The most interesting fact about Roy Cohn is that he is not just some character that was thought up and created by Tony Kushner, he was a real life lawyer who Kushner decided to incorporate into his play. The "real" Roy Cohn was a powerful New York lawyer with ties to the Republican party. He is most famous for his anti-communist investigations, most notably the espionage trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, which explains why Kusher had Ethel visit Roy Cohn in his play.
Ethel's visit to Roy is remarkably brilliant. When Roy sees the figure of Ethel standing in the doorway he first asks "Who the fuck are you, the new nurse?" When he realizes who it is, he states in a strange but unconcerned manner "Aw, fuck, Ethel." It seems that Roy is unfazed by the dead figure from his past that has come to visit him. In fact what is more unusual to me is that when the ghost first came to visit Prior, he was scared and nervous, but when Ethel first visits Roy, he acts like the encounter is no big deal. Roy is by no way scared of Ethel's ghost. He even tries to turn the tables on her ghostly features and insults her. He states "What is this, Ethel, Halloween? You Trying to scare me? Well you're wasting your time! I'm scarier than you any day of the week! So beat it Ethel! BOOO!....I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU OR DEATH OR HELL OR ANYHING(111)!" From this passage, in a sick way I have personally come to the conclude that I believe that Roy Cohn really believes what he is saying. Whether it is the fact that Roy believes that he has liver cancer instead of AIDS, or whether he feels that no man can take away his practice, his ego is able to reign supreme over the facts. I do not feel that in the back of his mind Roy knows that he has AIDS, or that Roy may be in some trouble with the bar association. He really feels that he is God's gift to the rest of us, almost like this is Roy Cohn's world and we all just live in it.
The "real" Roy Cohn died of complications from AIDS on August 2, 1986 at the age of 59. According to Roger Stone, a long time friend and mentor of Roy Cohn, Roy's goal in life was to" die completely broke and owing millions to the I.R.S," a goal in which he was able to accomplish.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Chapters?
Dorothy Allison's Two or Three Things I Know For Sure contains a unique format that is truly different from all other short novels. The book does not contain any chapters or a real sense of structure, and given this, the reading is still able to comfortably flow from one point to another without any confusion, distraction, or a sense of being lost in the pages. Also, without a solid structure, the book is surprisingly a very simple and pleasurable read, regardless of whether it was to contain ninety four or five hundred pages. Dorothy Allison is able to convey her overall message and tell her story literally the way she wants it to be told, and if she feels that she wants it to be done without any chapters or page breaks, then that is a feature that by far sets her novel apart from others.
What Dorothy Allison accomplishes that really sets her novel apart from others can be found in the quotes that she continuously uses throughout Two or Three Things I Know For Sure. In my postings, I briefly explored this unique choice of format. I find that Dorothy Allison's numerous quotes that start with "Two or three things I know for sure..." are almost an insight into her deepest most private feelings that she gratefully shares with her readers, and at the same time, the quotes serve as a break in the story and take on the qualities of a chapter structure. What is most intriguing to me about this is that her quotes correlate to the actual reading, which she is able to do in a most clever manner. Maybe it is just me, but it wasn't until I started this blog that I was able to recognize this characteristic. One of the correlations that I was able to understand can be found early in the reading on page 7. Allison discusses growing up in Greenville, South Carolina, and after giving a brief description, she states that it is the most beautiful place that she had ever seen. She then states that that while Greenville is the most beautiful place that she has ever been, it is also the most terrible. She states that Greenville is a place that she loves just as much as she hates, a place that is vivid in her most wonderful dreams as well as her most terrible nightmares. After this brief section, her quote come into play which totally describes her previous feelings towards Greenville, South Carolina. The quote states "Two or three things I know for sure, and one of them is the way you can both hate and love something you are not sure you understand(7)." Dorothy Allison is able to relate her memories of her hometown in the quote in a most subtle but awe inspiring way. I feel that this choice of style and structure is brilliant, a rare feature that is hardly seen in other novels and it is something that will be sure to remain unique, in that if copied, it will always be known that Dorothy Allison was the originator of this magnificent style of writing.
What Dorothy Allison accomplishes that really sets her novel apart from others can be found in the quotes that she continuously uses throughout Two or Three Things I Know For Sure. In my postings, I briefly explored this unique choice of format. I find that Dorothy Allison's numerous quotes that start with "Two or three things I know for sure..." are almost an insight into her deepest most private feelings that she gratefully shares with her readers, and at the same time, the quotes serve as a break in the story and take on the qualities of a chapter structure. What is most intriguing to me about this is that her quotes correlate to the actual reading, which she is able to do in a most clever manner. Maybe it is just me, but it wasn't until I started this blog that I was able to recognize this characteristic. One of the correlations that I was able to understand can be found early in the reading on page 7. Allison discusses growing up in Greenville, South Carolina, and after giving a brief description, she states that it is the most beautiful place that she had ever seen. She then states that that while Greenville is the most beautiful place that she has ever been, it is also the most terrible. She states that Greenville is a place that she loves just as much as she hates, a place that is vivid in her most wonderful dreams as well as her most terrible nightmares. After this brief section, her quote come into play which totally describes her previous feelings towards Greenville, South Carolina. The quote states "Two or three things I know for sure, and one of them is the way you can both hate and love something you are not sure you understand(7)." Dorothy Allison is able to relate her memories of her hometown in the quote in a most subtle but awe inspiring way. I feel that this choice of style and structure is brilliant, a rare feature that is hardly seen in other novels and it is something that will be sure to remain unique, in that if copied, it will always be known that Dorothy Allison was the originator of this magnificent style of writing.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Visualization
It is said that the book is always better than the movie. This is true when a writer can enable a reader of their work to visualize what they are reading so that they are they can see the story unfold the same as watching a film. Even though there was no movie made of Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony, the descriptive style of writing she used painted a picture that is more clear than any movie screen. The best feature of reading a novel that is so visual and descriptive like Ceremony, is that the reader is able to put the picture into their own terms, the way that they want to visualize it. The writer is only a tool that enhances these visions, and it is up to the reader to interpret them the way that they see best fit.
In all honesty, the theme and plot of Ceremony just did not grab my attention the way that I would of liked it to. It is not to say that I did not enjoy reading the novel, but Ceremony is not a book that will be on my all time favorite list. This is true for all novels, in that every book that is written may not be favored by every individual, but the aspect of the book that actually did grab my attention was Silko's style of writing. Her descriptive style of writing enhanced my opinion's towards the novel and it made the reading more enjoyable. Sliko is by far an amazingly talented individual when it comes to writing, and while I may not of favored her story, her style of writing and the details that went into it will put her on my all time favorite list of writers for sure.
In Ceremony, Silko is able to portray a seemingly subtle event and in the process create a visual image for the reader to interpret. There is a scene in Ceremony where Josiah goes to meet the Night Swan to thank her for informing him about the deal with the cattle. When Josiah first approaches the Night Swan, Silko's descriptive visual writing allows me as a reader, to only picture the scene in great detail, but create a unique image in my mind relating to the Night Swan and how I interpret her character and the scence that is unfolding. When Josiah arrives Silko writes "She was sitting in the shade on her wicker chair; her eyes were closed and her face was relaxed. He liked to look at the way her light brown skin had wrinkled at the corners of her eyes and her mouth, from too much laughing she liked to say....Josiah could not remember ever seeing her before, but there was something in her hazel brown eyes that made him believe her. He sat on the straight-back chair beside her and looked over at the big cottonwood that grew next to the porch, its branched sweeping and wide, hiding a portion of the northeast sky(75). What I enjoy most about Silko's writing is that she is able to describe a scene without getting too specific about the actual features of a character, like what he or she may be wearing or the colors of their clothes. Silko hardly describes the features of Tayo and his friends, but she is able to give enough information in order to let the reader come up with their own idea of how they may or may not look. Early in the book when Tayo and his friends arrive at the bar, Silko does another great job in building the overall atmosphere of the bar, even if it is not a pleasant one. She writes "The bar did'nt change; whatever the color of the walls, they were always dirty, dark grime of stale beer and cigarette smoke; it always smelled the same too, a lingering odor of urine and vomit. Even the light bulb above the pool table shined dim soiled light(46)." While Silko may not go into great detail on the colors of the pool table, the finish of the wood, or the music that is playing in the background, she provides enough to the reader to allow them to paint their own picture with the information that is being presented to them, which is the feature of her writing that I admire the most, and it is what sets her style apart from other accomplished writers.
In all honesty, the theme and plot of Ceremony just did not grab my attention the way that I would of liked it to. It is not to say that I did not enjoy reading the novel, but Ceremony is not a book that will be on my all time favorite list. This is true for all novels, in that every book that is written may not be favored by every individual, but the aspect of the book that actually did grab my attention was Silko's style of writing. Her descriptive style of writing enhanced my opinion's towards the novel and it made the reading more enjoyable. Sliko is by far an amazingly talented individual when it comes to writing, and while I may not of favored her story, her style of writing and the details that went into it will put her on my all time favorite list of writers for sure.
In Ceremony, Silko is able to portray a seemingly subtle event and in the process create a visual image for the reader to interpret. There is a scene in Ceremony where Josiah goes to meet the Night Swan to thank her for informing him about the deal with the cattle. When Josiah first approaches the Night Swan, Silko's descriptive visual writing allows me as a reader, to only picture the scene in great detail, but create a unique image in my mind relating to the Night Swan and how I interpret her character and the scence that is unfolding. When Josiah arrives Silko writes "She was sitting in the shade on her wicker chair; her eyes were closed and her face was relaxed. He liked to look at the way her light brown skin had wrinkled at the corners of her eyes and her mouth, from too much laughing she liked to say....Josiah could not remember ever seeing her before, but there was something in her hazel brown eyes that made him believe her. He sat on the straight-back chair beside her and looked over at the big cottonwood that grew next to the porch, its branched sweeping and wide, hiding a portion of the northeast sky(75). What I enjoy most about Silko's writing is that she is able to describe a scene without getting too specific about the actual features of a character, like what he or she may be wearing or the colors of their clothes. Silko hardly describes the features of Tayo and his friends, but she is able to give enough information in order to let the reader come up with their own idea of how they may or may not look. Early in the book when Tayo and his friends arrive at the bar, Silko does another great job in building the overall atmosphere of the bar, even if it is not a pleasant one. She writes "The bar did'nt change; whatever the color of the walls, they were always dirty, dark grime of stale beer and cigarette smoke; it always smelled the same too, a lingering odor of urine and vomit. Even the light bulb above the pool table shined dim soiled light(46)." While Silko may not go into great detail on the colors of the pool table, the finish of the wood, or the music that is playing in the background, she provides enough to the reader to allow them to paint their own picture with the information that is being presented to them, which is the feature of her writing that I admire the most, and it is what sets her style apart from other accomplished writers.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
The Big Yellow Bird
One aspect of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood that was not fully discussed was the recurring "big yellow bird" that Perry Smith had seen in his dreams. There were only vague references given to these dreams that Perry was having, but I feel that even though Capote used a factual style of writing, there was a symbolic message that was derived from this bird. When I was reading the book, every time the bird was mentioned, I took note of the page on which on which the bird came back into effect, and I knew that this was something that I wanted to take into further consideration. What was the significance of the "big yellow bird," and what did it symbolize?
The first time the bird is mentioned in the text takes place during a conversation with Perry and Dick. Perry had been talking to Dick about fate and how life tends to unfold the way that it is supposed to. Perry talks about a dream that he had been having since he was a child. In the dream he is in the jungles of Africa, where there is a tree that is beautiful in form, but has an unpleasant smell. Instead of bearing fruit, the tree is littered with diamonds. Perry states that he is afraid to pick the diamonds from the tree because of a snake that is guarding the diamonds. He then states that he is more concerned about getting the diamonds, than getting bitten by the snake. His ambition to retrieve the diamonds comes to no avail; the snake takes hold of him and crushes his legs before swallowing him whole. Dick was uninterested by the story, so Perry relives the rest of it in his mind. He relives the beginnings of the "towering yellow bird." One particular event that he remembers was from the days that he was living in the orphanage with the nuns who used to torment him. After the nuns gave him a beating, the bird appeared while he slept and proceeded to slaughter the nuns and whisk Perry away to paradise(92-93).
What is interesting about the bird in Perry's dreams was that the bird's role in Perry's fantasy changed throughout the book. Originally the bird is his savior, a protector from evil that came to Perry during his darkest times. He states that the finale of the story he told Dick was "a source of private joy(92)." What is most interesting to me about the "big yellow bird" is that he did not fantasize about it. The bird came to him in his sub-conscience while he was sleeping. The bird was not something that came only when he wanted it to. He described the bird as being "taller than Jesus, yellow like a sunflower." Although I do not feel that the bird symbolized Jesus, I feel that the bird was a gift that was bestowed into Perry's psyche. The bird was his mind's way of escaping from the things that he feared. Not only escaping from his fear, but from reality as well. The reality that he was in a place that he had no control over; an orphanage that he was constantly abused in. The bird gave Perry protection and the hope that someday things would change and he would be in a better place.
Perry states that as time went on the bird would save him from almost everything in his life that bothered him. The bird then became more of his avenger than his savior. It would seek vengeance toward any one who had ever done him wrong; his father, his siblings, an army sergeant. It is not until Perry goes to jail, that the purpose of the bird changes yet again. The bird is still his savior, but its meaning takes on a much greater importance. To Perry, the bird symbolized freedom, another motif that is continuously recurring throughout the novel. Freedom has great importance to both Dick and Perry, whether it is the freedom of not being incarcerated any more, or the freedom of being on the road and traveling from state to state, city to city, and the freedom that they lose when they know that they are going back to jail for good. Not only did the bird give Perry a sense of escape from reality, it made him feel superior. Considering that he referred to the bird as a "she," the bird was almost like the motherly figure that was missing from his life all along. When he was in jail, Perry knew that he would never be truly free, but the bird gave him promise, if only for a short moment. He stated while in jail "She lifted me, I could have been light as a mouse, we went up, up, I could see the square below, men running, yelling, the sheriff shooting at us, everybody sore as hell because I was free, I was flying, I was better than any of them(266)."
The "big yellow bird" played an important role in this book. Although it took on many different meanings, it was mostly a symbol of hope for Perry. While some may feel that the bird symbolized Jesus, I do not think that Jesus would savage brutalize nuns and all of the other people who negatively affected Perry's life. While in jail the "big yellow bird" was Perry's last thing that he could hold on to. Something that no one could ever take from him, and what is sad to me is that given the brutality of his crimes, after he was hung, paradise was not where he would be spending the rest of eternity.
The first time the bird is mentioned in the text takes place during a conversation with Perry and Dick. Perry had been talking to Dick about fate and how life tends to unfold the way that it is supposed to. Perry talks about a dream that he had been having since he was a child. In the dream he is in the jungles of Africa, where there is a tree that is beautiful in form, but has an unpleasant smell. Instead of bearing fruit, the tree is littered with diamonds. Perry states that he is afraid to pick the diamonds from the tree because of a snake that is guarding the diamonds. He then states that he is more concerned about getting the diamonds, than getting bitten by the snake. His ambition to retrieve the diamonds comes to no avail; the snake takes hold of him and crushes his legs before swallowing him whole. Dick was uninterested by the story, so Perry relives the rest of it in his mind. He relives the beginnings of the "towering yellow bird." One particular event that he remembers was from the days that he was living in the orphanage with the nuns who used to torment him. After the nuns gave him a beating, the bird appeared while he slept and proceeded to slaughter the nuns and whisk Perry away to paradise(92-93).
What is interesting about the bird in Perry's dreams was that the bird's role in Perry's fantasy changed throughout the book. Originally the bird is his savior, a protector from evil that came to Perry during his darkest times. He states that the finale of the story he told Dick was "a source of private joy(92)." What is most interesting to me about the "big yellow bird" is that he did not fantasize about it. The bird came to him in his sub-conscience while he was sleeping. The bird was not something that came only when he wanted it to. He described the bird as being "taller than Jesus, yellow like a sunflower." Although I do not feel that the bird symbolized Jesus, I feel that the bird was a gift that was bestowed into Perry's psyche. The bird was his mind's way of escaping from the things that he feared. Not only escaping from his fear, but from reality as well. The reality that he was in a place that he had no control over; an orphanage that he was constantly abused in. The bird gave Perry protection and the hope that someday things would change and he would be in a better place.
Perry states that as time went on the bird would save him from almost everything in his life that bothered him. The bird then became more of his avenger than his savior. It would seek vengeance toward any one who had ever done him wrong; his father, his siblings, an army sergeant. It is not until Perry goes to jail, that the purpose of the bird changes yet again. The bird is still his savior, but its meaning takes on a much greater importance. To Perry, the bird symbolized freedom, another motif that is continuously recurring throughout the novel. Freedom has great importance to both Dick and Perry, whether it is the freedom of not being incarcerated any more, or the freedom of being on the road and traveling from state to state, city to city, and the freedom that they lose when they know that they are going back to jail for good. Not only did the bird give Perry a sense of escape from reality, it made him feel superior. Considering that he referred to the bird as a "she," the bird was almost like the motherly figure that was missing from his life all along. When he was in jail, Perry knew that he would never be truly free, but the bird gave him promise, if only for a short moment. He stated while in jail "She lifted me, I could have been light as a mouse, we went up, up, I could see the square below, men running, yelling, the sheriff shooting at us, everybody sore as hell because I was free, I was flying, I was better than any of them(266)."
The "big yellow bird" played an important role in this book. Although it took on many different meanings, it was mostly a symbol of hope for Perry. While some may feel that the bird symbolized Jesus, I do not think that Jesus would savage brutalize nuns and all of the other people who negatively affected Perry's life. While in jail the "big yellow bird" was Perry's last thing that he could hold on to. Something that no one could ever take from him, and what is sad to me is that given the brutality of his crimes, after he was hung, paradise was not where he would be spending the rest of eternity.
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