Choose a passage from the first 3 chapters that you think is revealing and/or significant.
Consider its relevance to one of the themes or motifs listed below.
Identity Theater/Acting Meritocracy Egalitarianism
Belonging/Exclusion Passing Writing Class & Status
In your blog post be sure to do the following:
1. Center your discussion around the analysis of one particularly dense passage from the first 3 chapters that you thinks connects to one of the themes/motifs above.
2. Articulate a claim that clearly designates a stance or an interpretation about the passage and the theme/motif.
3. Closely analyze the passage--consider diction, figurative language, repetition, syntax or any other devices that apply. Talk about specific details and words in the passage.
4. Make larger connections between textual details and thematic ideas, and/or connections to other parts of the text. Ask, so what does this mean?
5. Write about 300 words.
6. Proofread.
“I thought writing should give me pleasure…”Red Snow,” I called it.”
ReplyDeletePage 36
IDENTITY
I believe that the narrator is still unsure of his own identity, or rather, he doesn’t want to confront it, much less let anyone else see how unsure he is. “Maybe it was good, maybe it was not,” shows the narrator’s uncertainness about the poem he writes that reflects himself. “...only a fragment of a story in broken lines.” I believe the story here refers to himself, and the poem is a fragment of that, broken lines that come together to form his own story; his identity. But then he goes on to say, “I couldn’t tell,” which once again shows the narrator’s uncertainness. “It was too close to home. It was home….” and he recites all the sights and sounds he was familiar with growing up, and how those were the same ones he used in his poem. “I could see myself there, and didn’t want to. Even more, I didn’t want anyone else to.” This line stood out to me, because it shows that the narrator doesn’t just want to hide his identity from everyone else, but himself too. It also makes me curious to know more about his past and why he doesn’t want to go back there. The narrator seems to be very conflicted on who he is. Earlier on in the book, while the narrator is apologizing to Gershon, we learn that his father is Jewish. The narrator says that he could use that to help his case with Gershon, but he then says that he had grown up Catholic, and doesn’t want to belong to that “tribe” (Jews). The narrator knows he has a choice in how he wants to present himself, and he chooses to not be labelled as a Jew. He knows he can choose his public identity, but he still struggles with his private one. The narrator seems like someone who would conform himself to avoid ridicule from his peers. At this point in the book, his private identity seems to be undeveloped, while his public identity is that of a normal, teenage, boy.
Class was a fact. Not just the clothes a boy wore, but how he wore them. How he spent his summers. The sports he knew hot to play. His way of turning cold at the mention of money, or at the spectacle of ambition too nakedly revealed. You felt it as a depth of ease in certain boys, their innate, affable assurance that they would not have to struggle for a place in the world, that it had already been reserved for them; a depth of ease, or in the case of Purcell and a few others, a sullen antipathy toward the padding that hemmed them in and muffled the edges of life. Yet even in the act of kicking against it they were defined by it, and protected by it, and to some extent unconscious of it. Purcell himself had a collection of first editions you’d almost have to own a mine to pay for.
ReplyDeleteThese things I understood instinctively. I never gave them voice, not even within the privacy of my thoughts, precisely because the schools self-conception was itself unspoken and thus inarguable.
(Wolff 15-16).
CLASS & STATUS
I believe this passage shows the motif of class and status because the narrator is discussing the influence economic position has on the boys in his school. In the beginning of this passage, the narrator stresses the fact that class influences everything: from the way a boy appears to the way he acts. Some boys have “a depth of ease” (they believe they are entitled to having the American Dream handed to them). While others (such as Purcell) believe that their privileged life will hinder them from experiencing all the realities of life. The narrator refers to these boys as having a “sullen antipathy”, or a resentful dislike, because they have had all their opportunities given to them. For example, Purcell seems to feel insecure when the topic of wealth comes up. He often depicts these feelings by writing about injustices between the social classes (one time, Purcell writes about a miner who dies in a cave while his boss is relaxing). In contrast, the narrator himself is at the school on a scholarship. He is not as rich as most of the other students, but tries to blend in as much as possible. He states that although the wealthy boys are trying to defy the mainstream distinctions which were prevalent during the 1960s, the fact that they feel they are able to do so shows that they come from a pampered lifestyle. In addition to this, the school believes in the fundamentals of egalitarianism—similar to the beliefs of students like Purcell. However, the narrator knows that in the real world, not everyone is equal. He believes that students like Purcell will never know all the realities of life because they do not understand this fact. For this reason, the narrator keeps these thoughts to himself, thereby creating a public versus a private self. As he tries to make good grades in school, the narrator is “struggling for a place in the world.” With his mother dead and his father out-of-touch, the narrator at times feels isolated from other students. Learning that his father is Jewish puts even more pressure on him. During this time in America, Jews, the poor, and minority demographics were excluded from the American Dream. The narrator continues to hide various aspects of his life (which he feels would hinder his opportunity) in order to achieve a more favorable status and one day move into a higher social class. As he hides facts about himself and his family, the narrator continues to develop a private self which he hides and the public self which he shows the world.
"Our school was proud of its hierarchy of character and deeds. It believed that the system was superior to the one at work outside, and that it would wean us from habits of undue pride and deference. It was a good dream and we tried to live it out, even while knowing that we were actors in a play, and that outside the theatre was a world we would have to reckon with when the curtain closed and the doors were flung open."
ReplyDeleteThis passage shows the motif of theatre and acting because it's giving a metaphor to the real world being the outside of a theatre and this school being backstage; that prepares the boys for their "performance" (outside world). I think this metaphor personifies the boys as actors, preparing themselves, memorizing lines(lessons), and doing the things they're good at. In this case the narrator is good at writing and he pursues his writing throughout the beginning of this novel, however I think that him being an actor in this play, which is the school, means something more than it does literally. In a way the narrator is not being his true self and is only acting as a fake, practiced character. You can see this in his writing because he never reveals his true self in any of it. That's why he's an "actor in a play", he is being what the school is making him and not just because of the school itself. Another reason of this is the people that reside inside it. There are characters in the book with different backgrounds and history, but the school is making them conform and look the same to the outside eye, making the traits that define them distinguishable to only the boys that go to the school. Another term with theaters is "smoke and mirrors," which I thought went appropriately with the main character and all the boys which are characters of their own, however might be hiding their true selves, for example Bob White, who doesn’t show his Jewish heritage to anyone at school and doesn’t tell anyone he’s a Jew. The only reason these characters are hiding who they are is because they are programmed to only live up to school standards and be successful without thinking about that “static pressure” of being not who they are. There are also the writers that come to the school, which could be seen as "guest stars" in this theatre metaphor.They have already performed in the outside world and have been very successful, the school brings them in to show the students that these people are the people that this place wants to mold them into.
“Then it all came home…a man I’d hoped to study with one day, who might even befriend me.” (pg. 21)
ReplyDeleteIdentity
In this passage, the narrator is finally putting two and two together and realizing why Gershon was so upset at his whistling. I think this realization solidifies Gershon’s identity to the narrator, and shows how he identifies people in general; this is why analyzing this paragraph is so important in order to understand the novel’s take on identity. The narrator says, “As a child of the superior, disgusted, victorious nation I had the usual store of images to go with the words Nazi and Jew, and I was putting Gershon’s face to them even before Dean Makepeace began to tell me what had befallen Gershon and his family…” This shows that the narrator, like all of us, associates certain ideas and images with the words Nazi and Jew, and immediately categorizes Gershon based on those associations. The narrator no longer sees Gershon as just Gershon; he has now identified Gershon as a Jew, and now associates all the stereotypes and his historical knowledge of World War II with the man. Just this one simple realization changes the way the narrator sees someone, and it shows how one’s identity as seen by others can change just by association. Being a Jew doesn’t just classify your belief; it locks you in a narrow perspective of how people see you, and it can be very hard to escape these stereotypes. One can see now why the narrator did not want to identify himself as a Jew; it would unnecessarily put him in a position where he would be looked at differently and stereotyped by people who may or may not know him for who he really is. Just as being black, or being gay, or being a woman has certain associations with identity, being a Jew in this time period, and even today, has a huge influence on your own identity, on the inside and the outside, to yourself and to others—and we can see this here, as the narrator’s main focus of identifying Gershon is not through his actions, or his personality, or even the way he looks; it is simply by the fact that he is a Jew.
"He was a threat.....But there were reasons". pages 14-15
ReplyDeleteThe identity motif is a theme that is regularly shown and developed throughout the book. The narrator says this statement,"He was a threat" when he talks about competing for the chance to meet Robert Frost. This shows a perfect example of him being afraid of a competitor, which connects to a part later in the book when George Kellogg wins instead of the narrator's own poem. He knows George's poem was probably better than his which was the cause of him to feel threatened and jealous but he still acts nice to his so called friend by congratulating him on the win.
"These, then, were the boys who stood between me and Robert Frost". This quote from the book also represents the authors real self, which means he will do anything or act inhuman to others in order to get what he wants. I believe the author knows that he has this real, cruel identity because in the book he uses repetition by saying words like "worry me" or "his attack was broad" that bring up the same idea of him fearing his chances of winning. This passion and "desire" to be writers at the school makes the author bring out his dark side. I think this side of him does not see what is wrong with thinking about the weakness of his competitors.
I got to learn very quickly that the character has this evil self but covers that up with a public or fake image of himself. It makes me wonder which trait will I get to see more of. In this passage, it clearly shows his real identity more than his fake identity with the statement "but I'd read their English papers and Troubadour submissions and seen nothing to worry me except their desire". He says he fears the boys at the school have so much passion for writing that it will be hard for him to win. I feel as if he knows he is being very selfish and cruel, so he puts on a cover and acts nice to his competitors. By the author developing the main character to have this personality, it will create a plot with maybe the other characters finding out the narrators true self.
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ReplyDelete“Other boys must have felt the same intimations. Maybe that was why so many of them wanted to become writers. Maybe it seemed to them, as it did to me, that to be a writer was to escape the problems of blood and class..... Wit, understanding, even courage-but never power.” (Wolff Page 24)
ReplyDeleteMotif: Writing & Class/Status
In this passage the narrator reveals his connection with writing, along with his views on class and status. The Narrator states that “...to be a writer was to escape from the problems of blood and class.” This clearly shows that he himself sees writing as a way to create his own world “outside of the common hierarchy,” along with revealing his displeasure with the social classes in his environment. He is of the opinion that, though the school may believe it is an egalitarian society, it is not.
The narrator explains that he believes power should not be based on privilege, and that writers are provided with their own power and authority over the societies they create. This opinion reveals a lot about the character, it shows that his desire for power and control is caused by a lack thereof in his own reality. This is shown throughout the first few chapters when the narrator reveals his weaker side through the details of his home life. He discusses his dysfunctional home environment along with his damaged father-son relationship. He had no control over how his life was, he was the child and couldn’t change his home environment. Once he left for school, he was thrown into a new situation where once again he lacked control. The narrator is a “scholarship kid”, though the school claims to be an egalitarian society, he knows that no matter what the privileged will remain privileged, and the lower class will remain the lower class. He talks about the competition between his peers, the valued athletes and scholars that are rewarded for their elitism. He makes a good point when he talks about how no matter what hierarchies exist, and once they leave the school and go out into the world they would just conform to societies idea of social class.
Towards the end of the passage the narrator says “I hadn’t heard anyone speak of a writer having power. Truth, yes. Wit, understanding, even courage--but never power.” I found this part quite interesting because he had just explained that people want to be writers to gain their own power, to create their own societies. Not only do they gain power in their own little worlds, but in his school environment in particular, they gain social status. They compete through literature, they are the well respected members of their society. The power that comes with being a writer fuels the entire competition behind the contest to meet with Frost.
“Yet it seemed to me that the Jewish boys, even the popular ones, even the athletes, had a subtly charged field around them, an air of apartness. And somehow the feeling must have settled in me that this apartness did not emanate from the boys themselves, from any quality or wish of their own, but from the school-as if some guardian spirit, indifferent to their personal worth, had risen from the fields and walkways and weathered stone to breathe that apartness upon them.
ReplyDeleteThis was no more than a tremor of apprehension, and though I acted on it I did not allow it to occupy my thought. But it never really deserted me. It became a shadow on my faith in the school. Much as I wanted to believe in its egalitarian vision of itself, I never dared put it to the test.” (Wolff 24).
BELONGING/EXCLUSION
This passage shows the motif of belonging/exclusion because the narrator talks about what it is like to be a Jewish boy at his school. He is giving reason to why he does not reveal that he is Jewish to Dean Makepeace or Gershon, and that reason is because he will be excluded. The narrator would have gotten himself out of some trouble if he had told Gershon he was Jewish, then Gershon would know he did not mean to offend him with whistling the Nazi song. By having the narrator not reveal that he is Jewish, it stresses the fact that he will be excluded and how valuable it is to him to belong. He would not even be personally excluded, he would be excluded because he is Jewish and anybody Jewish during the 1960’s would be excluded. Just like blacks in the south, as soon as someone saw their skin color they degraded them to something apart and below them. The author uses repetition and listing to really emphasize that Jewish boys are excluded, “an air of apartness” “even the popular ones, even the athletes”. From reading this short passage the reader understands that the narrator would not be equal to everybody else if they were to find out he is Jewish. The narrator also personifies the school “but from the school-as if some guardian spirit” “Much as I wanted to believe in its egalitarian vision of itself, I never dared put it to the test”. He refers to the school as something that is alive, but also something that is separate from himself. By saying he never dared put it to the test shows that the narrator already excluded himself from the school and thinks of himself as an opposing force to the school.
It is understandable that the narrator does not want to reveal that he is Jewish. He has really never had a sense of belonging, he has a dead mother and his father is not all there. That is why the narrator is so happy that he is at the school, he finally has a sense of belonging and something to work for. “My God! I’m really here!” He does not want to be a step below everybody else, because then he will not be able to succeed like he wants to. The school has an egalitarian vision of itself meaning the belief that all people are fundamentally equal. I think this passage contradicts that claim because Jewish people are not treated equally. If one person thinks that about the school-plenty others probably do too. One of them being Bill White who is also secretly Jewish, and the narrator knows that. From already meeting two people that are hiding their true identities, the reader can infer that there are a lot of other students that are doing that too. This implies that the whole school wants to have a sense of belonging, so everybody creates a public self that fits that mold so they belong. Everybody’s private self is actually who they truly are, but they are afraid to reveal it because of the threat of being excluded.
“The scene with Gershon could be spun into a certain kind of story... I stammered out a final apology and left, taking the stairs at a run as soon as the clicked shut behind me.” (Page 23)
ReplyDeleteBelonging/Exclusion || Identity
This passage in Old School deals with two themes: the theme of belonging/exclusion, which in turn relates to the theme of identity. The narrator makes clear within the passage which ‘groups’ or people he wants and does not want to be associated with, and how his identity must be based on the groups he associates with.
The narrator wishes to associate himself with a specific group or people; he wants to belong to a certain type of people, and befriending Gershon would not help him achieve his goal because of the certain ‘group’ Gershon belongs to. He uses phrases such as “unlucky tribe” in order to imply a group he does not want to be associated with, a group that has negative connotations. These phrases clearly imply the feeling the narrator has for the different groups he can associate with. His diction when describing possibly befriending Gershon is derogatory and shows the narrator's feelings about befriending Gershon. “I’d let Gershon think the worst of me before I would claim any connection to him, or implicate myself in the fate that had beached him in this room.” The narrator does not want any connection with Gershon and that specific group of people because of how he would be perceived and treated. He describes descending to a basement room implying a lowering of class or status. This particular phrasing shows where the narrator’s true intent and ambitions lie: to strive upward in society. To be associated with Gershon would not further that intent, in the narrator’s eyes, but rather obstruct it.
I think what is interesting about this passage is that the narrator addresses what could become a cliché story: the man who becomes a mentor-like father figure in the boy’s life because they share a part of their identity. However, the narrator specifically states that he does not want that sort of education in life. It is understood within the passage that the narrator knows that a fatherly sort of bond with Gershon could offer invaluable knowledge and wisdom that he might not get otherwise in the “snob factory” of his school. Even so, the narrator chooses to forego this opportunity in hope of furthering himself by identifying himself with the “snob factory”. The narrator wants to distance the connection between himself and the Jewish part of his identity, because of the implications that come with it.
Overall, through decisions like this, the narrator is slowly shaping his identity through the groups and people he chooses to identify himself with, as well as the choices he makes. A part of one’s identity is the people that we surround ourselves with, and who we choose to be influenced by. This becomes an important piece of our identity, as we let certain people influence our decisions, the way we act, and eventually how our identity is shaped. In Old School, the narrator chooses to surround himself with a certain type of people and ‘exclude’ certain people in his life, in hopes of creating a specific way that outsiders will perceive him. The types of people and the ‘groups’ that you surround yourself with are a very indicative part of your identity, and the narrator recognizes this and attempts to manipulate it in his favor.
“Class was a fact. Not just the clothes a boy wore, but how he wore them. How he spent his summers. The sports he knew how to play. His way of turning cold at the mention of money, or at the spectacle of ambition too nakedly revealed. You felt it as a depth of ease in certain boys, their innate, affable assurance that they would not have to struggle for a place in the world, that it had already been reserved for them; a depth of ease or, in the case of Purcell and a few others, a sullen antipathy toward the padding that hemmed them in and muffled the edges of life. Yet even in the act of kicking against it they were defined by it, and protected by it, and to some extent unconscious of it. Purcell himself had a collection of first editions you’d almost have to own a mine to pay for.
ReplyDeleteThese things I understood instinctively. I never gave them voice, not even within the privacy of my thoughts, precisely because the school’s self-conception was itself unspoken and thus inarguable.” (15-160)
Belonging/Exclusion
In this passage the narrator is describing an unspoken truth that everyone is aware of. The subconscious altering of one’s behaviour to match the ones around it. The narrator is exploring the prospect of belonging and how wealth affects it. The narrator specifically talks about Purcell and his expensive collection of novels, and how this possession gives away parts of his place in the world. This passage is about the importance of belonging.
The narrator gives away a negative attitude to boys who seem to automatically fit in, this evident in the use of personification of their belonging. The narrator says that it hemms them the safety of the world and muffles the edges of life. This statement is similar to saying rich people have it easy, or don’t experience the real world, etc.
When the narrator says, “class was a fact,” he is making it known that they don’t even try to hide their prejudice towards the lower class. The narrator is trying to make a close connection with the reader, made clear by his use of the 2nd person view in the line, “You felt it as a depth of ease…” I think that this is the author trying to make the reader remember what it’s like trying to fit in.
The narrator says that no matter what you can not fight against your place in the world. The narrator uses strong and extreme verbs to convey how hopeless it is to try to change your place in the world. “Even in the act of kicking against it they were defined by it,” The narrator is portraying belonging as a physical fight and struggle.
Overall the narrator is saying that belonging is indescribably important, but despite that, it is impossible to change. The narrator is dipping into the idea of fake or public identity, and the things the boys outwardly change about themselves to fit in.
Alex Koudal
ReplyDeleteIdentity
“The story sounded incredible to me……. I thought I held the trump card, and my refusal to play it amounted to a deception.” Page 22- 23
Throughout the book, the author, while continuing the plot, always is developing the main character’s identity. The main character is always suspicious of his own true identity and occasionally tries to console himself as a person he isn’t. In this passage, he relentlessly tries to convince Gershon of his innocence when he whistled to a tune created by the Nazi’s. Gershon and his family so happens to be victims of the Holocaust and in no way could the main character have known this at the time. After the narrator realizes the crimes he has committed and tries to give his condolences to Gershon, he wonders if he could explain his Jewish lineage to Gershon then maybe he would forgive him. Although his father is Jewish, he was born and raised as a Catholic and he knows very little of the systematics of Judaism. He is trying to portray that he has experienced what Gershon went through by saying he is of the same religion which is false. Although he never used this piece of evidence to get his point across of his innocence, the fact that he considered this as an option to display what would have been a false identity and background of himself shows that he is insecure of who he truly is and he shows this even further throughout the book. Besides the fact that he decided to not use that argument with Gershon, he was afraid to tell Dean Makepeace either what his true heritage was through his father, saying that he doesn’t know fully whether or not his father is jewish, which portrays his insecurity once again of his background and/or his identity.
Identity
ReplyDelete“Ours was not a snobbish school, or so it believed and we made it as true as we could… The school liked it wrestlers and football players but also its cutthroat debaters and brilliant scholars, its singers and chess champs, its cheerleaders and actors and musicians and wits, and, not least of all, its scribblers.” (Wolff, pg 3-4)
In this passage the narrator discusses the atmosphere that surrounds the school. It is almost like communism in an aspect as everyone is equal to start out, no matter if one came from rich or poor backgrounds, at this school one did not share the background as part of their identity
. As we see with the narrator finding out the Bill is Jewish and that narrators hidden thoughts, classmates does not pry information from students about their previous identities. It is as if there is a silent understanding that no one asks about anothers economic standing and in turn, no one gloats about their riches. One’s identity was formed by his actions and abilities while at the school, for example a scholarship student could be a football player or an actor and would not be defined by his scholarship, but by his ability to achieve in his unique interest. Through this passage in the opening of the book the reader is able to see the author begin to struggle with this notion of the meritocracy and how it has changed his identity in a way that most likely affected more boys than just himself. It shows that there are many of these multi-faceted boys such as Bill living in the world of conformity and secrecy of true identity which they are scared to express in a school that is mostly uniform and much like a conformist society. It shows that people who had previously established identities with their rich families had much to lose if their true identity was exposed and therefore kept their riches, and therefore part of their identity under wraps in fear of losing more than they could gain.
Through his expanse detail of the activities one could partake in, and then form their identities through the author shows just how important it was to blaze ones own path at the school to be recognized by. It was a new chance for some boys to change themselves and for some boys, maybe even for the narrator, it forced them to act as people that they weren’t, losing their identities in the process. In such a school set in stone it really puts into perspective the time period and possible repercussions from straying from the return to normality, sometimes having to sacrifice and integral part of one’s identity to truly fit in with the standards of society. Perhaps this whole school is a metaphor for what life was really like during the 60’s when many had to conform to stay afloat in society.
Page 19
ReplyDelete(Narrator) “Dean Makepeace said all this calmly enough, but I wilted under his gaze. He wasn’t angry. Anger, which I knew to be transient and generally theater, I was used to and could easily bear. What I saw was dislike, which can’t be shrugged off, which abides.”
In this part of the book, the narrator is being scolded for a reason he doesn’t know yet. He senses a tone in the Dean’s voice that isn’t comforting, a tone that stuck with him and couldn’t be shaken off. The motif being used here is theater/acting. The narrator describes the emotion anger as transient and generally theater. The word transient means impermanent, lasting for only a short time. And by saying that it is generally theater, he is saying that it is meant to have a dramatic impact, that it isn’t totally real. This means that the Dean wasn’t putting on an act just to scare the narrator, he was genuinely disappointed with how the narrator acted. The narrator felt dislike and it was discomforting to him. Because all the boys seem to act like each other, they’re all relatively pleasant. So when the narrator performed the act that he did to Gershon, the Dean was really not happy. And when the narrator realized that the Dean was actually showing dislike to him, he didn’t understand why, he believed he had no reason to be disliked because he blended in just like everyone else. I feel that theater/acting is a big motif shown throughout the book that we have read so far because it’s like the boys are all acting in front of each other. Specifically in this scene we find out that the narrator is there on a scholarship. So if he doesn’t keep his grades up or if he misbehaves he could be stripped of his scholarship. If I were to put myself in his position, I would want to act quiet and kind and blend in with everyone else. I wouldn’t want to stand out so I would act as if I was just like everyone else. This is how I think the narrator is acting. So when he was called in on his behavior to the Dean’s office, it’s understandable why he was so scared. And when he cried after the Dean told him what he did and that he had to apologize, his tears could have been of relief. He might have been crying tears of happiness because he thought he was going to get a harsher punishment. This is why I believe the motif acting/theater plays a big role in this book and this scene in particular.
“Purcell came from a rich, social family, but you wouldn't have guessed it from his stories and poems; or maybe you would...husbands and sons slaughtered.” (13)
ReplyDeleteCLASS & STATUS
In this passage, the narrator is describing Jeff Purcell and what he writes about. The book is set at a boys private school, so many of the characters are wealthy and are high on a social hierarchy. The narrator gives a summary on a ballad Purcell once wrote. It was about a miner who was sent to “perish in a cave,” or suffer death in a cave, while the owner of the mine “ hand feeds filet mignon to his hunting dogs.” This ballad shows that Purcell notices the different social classes, but doesn’t tell how he feels about it, or which side he favors. The narrator shows that you can interpret Purcell’s writing in different ways by saying “you wouldn’t have guessed it from his stories and poems,” he continues, “or maybe you would.” From reading Purcell’s writing you could determine his point of view about the issue in two ways. While you’re reading the passage, it may seem at first that he feels more sorry for the miners and people at the bottom of the social classes by his use of his words “deep into the earth” and “perish in a cave-in.” Purcell uses very dark words to show the emotion and empathy for these people. When you continue to read further, he says that while the miners are working to their death, the mine owner “hand-feeds filet mignon to his hunting dogs.” We know that Purcell is wealthy and that he has grown up around wealthy people, so just knowing his background may influence you to understand this passage as a way of him mocking the poor. If you were not as rich and wealthy as Purcell and you were reading this, you may feel like he makes the mine owner’s life seem pampered and better than the miner’s. Where people sit on the social hierarchy could possibly have an effect on how they interpret his passage.
“And meanwhile, absent….valued nothing you hadn’t done for yourself.” (Wolff 4)
ReplyDeleteThese lines along with a few other pieces of information later in the book give a clear theme of meritocracy, which ties in with social status and treatment as an individual in the school. In this passage, the narrator talks about how even though there are all sorts of people from different backgrounds in their school, whether rich or poor, they are still given the honor and praise based on their ability. He is implying that even though someone may be poor or just in a lower social class, as long as they have done something with honest hard work, they are valued for it. It also shows how their school runs on the terms of meritocracy. Meritocracy closely ties in with social class. Writing and hard work achieved through ability is something that brings up one’s social status as the narrator clearly implies through the ways he and the other characters think and the way they fight to have a conversation with Robert Frost later in the book. Since there are not any girls in the school to fight for and show off their talents, it’s each and every individual’s hard work and creativity which separates them and makes them superior or inferior. Being a great writer in their school also means that their talent will be showcased in their school newspaper and recognized by everyone. I think that this “fame” is what causes them to move up in the social ladder and allow better treatment by other individuals. Although there is a section in the book where the narrator talks about other ways social status is shown such as the way they dress or the clothes they wear (Wolff- 15-16), each student’s skill and capability ultimately determines how they will be treated.
Ankur Singh
ReplyDeletePassage- p.22-23
"Again it occurred to me- neither to be asserted nor denied"
Themes/motifs: Identity/Class and Status/Belonging and Exclusion
Here the narrator is explaining about the time when he went to apologize to Gershon for making fun of his Jewish faith. I feel like the narrator here is aware that a part of his public identity involves him being recognized as a boy of the Catholic faith. But does not know how go about his personal identity in regards to his religious background, due to his lack of confidence in himself and his unwillingness to accept his Jewish background. Which is proved when the narrator states: “I could tell him that my own father was Jewish. This was true, though he himself never mentioned the fact, not even to me, his only child.”, and when the narrator says: “If I’d learned that my father was descended from Southern Baptist, would that make me a Southern Baptist? No. I would still be the boy I’d been the day before I came into this knowledge. The same with his Jewish ancestry. It was a fact but not a defining fact, neither to be asserted nor denied.” As in the first piece of textual evidence the narrator brings his emotional background into context, with appeals to pathos. As the narrator is explaining to the reader that if his father could not mutter up the confidence to tell his son that he was Jew. How could he tell the world and himself that he was Jewish. As his father, could not(tell the world, and his own son), most-likely due to the persecution of Jews during this time period, the unfair advantages and opportunities Jewish people in America were granted, and along with how Jewish people felt non-confident in expressing their faith. This relates to when the narrator writes the firefighter poem, in which the firefighter is supposed to symbolize the boy’s father. As in the poem the firefighters son looks as this father with “coldness and disdain.”(Page 36) The narrator being the son shows the narrator often looked at his father with a feeling that he meant nothing to his father, which causes him to question his personal identity as, he does not know if he should associate himself with his father’s religious background, and also due to the fact that Jews were not considered highly in society in America during this time period. In the second piece of textual evidence provided, the narrator uses the word: define, to show how his father’s Jewish ancestry does not identity his public identity, as by telling the reader that he is part Jewish is a fact. The narrator shows how he being partially Jewish is true. And then by placing the word: define, right after he states this. He shows that people do not associate him with being Jewish, which is not to be asked about, and analyzed. Which the narrator is perfectly fine with, due to the benefits of being a pure-only Catholic boy in America during this time period.
“You boys know what tropism is, it's what makes a plant grow toward the light. Everything aspires to the light. You don't have to chase down a fly to get rid of it - you just darken the room, leave a crack of light in a window, and out he goes. Works every time. We all have that instinct, that aspiration. Science can't dim that. All science can do is turn out the false lights so the true light can get us home.”(Wolff 52)
ReplyDeletePassing/Egalitarian/Identity
In this passage, Robert Frost responds to Mr. Ramsey’s bombastic explanation on how modern consciousness becomes swayed by current events that seems inconspicuous in our daily lives. In botany, plants grow towards the light to receive the most amount of sunlight, thus every plant grows towards the same direction. Frost directly contradicts Mr. Ramsey’s point by explaining how a dark room with a small crack for light to enter would makes the plants grow naturally towards the light. You don’t need to direct or control the plant to grow towards light, but let it grow without external influence(naturally). He continues his point by saying that science only eliminates the wrong path that would not lead us to our goals.
Frost suggests that our consciousness already has a fate to follow by incorporating science into his response. We all strive to become good by following the right path but on the contrary to many beliefs, Frost claims that our growth cannot easily be altered. If you leave a plant in a darkened room, it will fight to survive by growing towards light. Plants also have an instinct to aspire and become great(grow) just like us. Many sub branches in Christianity that believes in predestination or their fate is already sealed by Christ. You cannot change your fate but just accept them with love or animosity. Through the analysis of scientific variables, Frost may be an egalitarian despite his response to Mr. Ramsey in a condescending tone. If you place two of the same plants and held the independent variables constant, both plant should grow towards the light at the same speed. When you want to perform an accurate experiment, you need a controlled variable for the results to be valid. For instance, to find the growth of two identical plants, you need to provide both plants with the same amount of light or one of the plant will have an unfair advantage which is the opposite of an egalitarian belief. In an experiment there are sometimes outliers despite receiving an equal amount of something, was an eccentric phenomenon. These outliers which the narrator seems to be pursing by avoiding conformities, build his identity from himself instead of conforming to outside sources. We should not rely heavily on science because it doesn’t guide us towards the right direction. I found it amusing and unsurprising how an english poet would renounce science as a feeble source for direction because as a person fascinated by english, his trust or skill with science/math may be frail.
By expressing one of his beliefs, Frost is providing all the boys with another viewpoint on their development at school. By accentuating their growth towards “light” to be inevitable despite setbacks, he shows that the boys don’t need to sacrifice a part of themselves to fit at school. A fake identity does not have to be forged in order to find success at the school.
“So we had fair warning and plenty of it...but when I took that first deep drag I went dizzy with pleasure, not least the pleasure of getting away with it one more time.” -Pg. 30
ReplyDeleteIDENTITY
One of the main problems that the narrator has is being at odds with his naturally ingrained identity and the identity that he tries to force himself into. This passage shows that idea differently than in many other parts of the book, for usually the narrator is trying to force himself into an identity that conforms with his peers, but in this scene he is trying to keep his true identity alive through acts of defiance. These acts, of course, are that he is smoking against the rules of the school.
In the second sentence, the main character calls his smoking an obsession, saying that it had turned into one since joining the school. This goes to show how conformist and unrelenting the school is, because it pushes the main character to maintain some sense of his own identity. In order to do so he turns to smoking. This is addressed again in the next sentence where his addiction is said to be less for the cigarettes than for the “all-or-nothing struggle to maintain a habit in the face of unceasing official vigilance.” The usage of the word all-or-nothing shows just how desperate the narrator is to maintain some sense of his true identity because it shows that the risks are so great (immediate expulsion). Because the risks are so great, it is obvious that the reward of keeping some semblance of his self must be important.
The message in this passage of maintaining one’s personal identity is an important one. While people so often worry about conforming to fit in with those around them, it can sometimes be too easy to lose sight of who you think you are.
WRITING
ReplyDelete"...it had evolved into something less honest. I wanted to be taken for Sam by my schoolmates, who knew nothing of my life back in Seattle." -pg 32
The narrator gives us hints to all of his insecurities and shows a side to us that he dosen't show to his classmates. He gives us this little tigbit of his thoughts that shows us the base of his personality and how the story will play out for him in this one quote. The writer's reason for loving writing as much as he does, and the motivation he has to win the frost competition in the story is not like the other class mates. The narrator escapes himself when he writes and leaves what he thinks of himself and illustrates in his mind what he truly wants to be, what he wants to be viewed as. The writing motif is carried out again when we see this unexpected writing from the narrator, after he sees something that reminds him of his childhood. The narrator begins to write about his self, rather then writing about his dream self that he successively does. The narrator finishes his poem, and begins to hate writing slowly as he writes about himself. He hated seing a refelction of himself in his writing and hated to face his past, he states "I could see myself there and didnt want to. Even more i didnt want anyone else to."(pg.36)
"has that ever happaned to you-someone you're writing about suddenley becomes real?
now and then
"She became very real to me. This will sound strange, but I knew her."(pg 42)
George has related to the narrator in many ways when he delivers his poem as well. George escapes his loneliness and creates this dream girl that he desires in real life. by George saying he knows her, it shows the need for George to want to know her for her to be real.
The writing motif/claim is carried out through this whole novel by descrbing how writing is an escape for the narrator and the students reality.
- Samantha Bobbio
Motif Blog
ReplyDeleteWriting, poetry and writers is a big part of the boys in Old School’s life. Since the boys have barely anything else in life to do or focus on.
“And I cared just as much as anyone...I read about writers”
Not only do the boys focus on their own writing, but they are interested in the writers they read as well. They all had a favorite writer, which they probably modeled a lot of their work off of. They all seemed to fall had fallen in love with a writer when they were younger. They also seem to live for writing, especially when it comes to the competitions. Most of the book that we have read has been revolved around the boys work and poetry. All the boys want their work to be published and seen by the famous author. Since they are so obsessed with making their work perfect, they lose sleep at night. “While my roommate muttered in his dreams I bent over the pages and read piece after piece”. At some times you can’t really tell if the boys are writing because they love it or if they just write to stay in the school. This brings up the question do they eventually learn to love it, especially because this is what they’re doing all the time? Or do some of them just get sick of it? The narrator has a scholarship, and can’t act out, as we learned in the second and third chapters. If he stops performing in the writing aspect of school, is this just as bad as acting out? The school does seem very strict about its kids and there doesn’t seem like there is much time to goof around or have any fun.
“Rhyme is bull____. Rhyme says that everything works out in the end. All harmony and order. When I see a rhyme in a poem, I know I’m being lied to. Go ahead, laugh! It’s true---rhyme’s a completely bankrupt device” (Wolff 44).
ReplyDeleteTheme: Writing
In this following passage, the narrator is expressing his opinions on rhymes and their significance. Therefore this passage is connecting to the theme of writing. Writing itself is quite important to this book because the boys in this academy are competing against one another based on their individual writing skills. This passage shows a great example of how competitive and opinionated some of the writers are at this academy. The narrator has a different set of ideals and opinions of writing a poem than George Kellogg. The narrator is developing his personal tastes in writing and brings clarity to the readers of his preferred style of poetry. The narrator first starts off the passage by making a very strong comment towards rhymes. He is being very straightforward, this statement clearly lays out his claim on using rhymes in a poem. This is revealing the narrator’s personality by showing his boldness in speaking of what his beliefs are regardless of the opinions of others. He accuses that rhyming is a tool that writers use to lie at the readers. Everything seems so perfect and harmonious in a poem with rhymes however, it lacks deeper thinking and true meaning. According to the narrator, rhymes are used in a poem to add some misleading sense of order and patterns to outwit the reader. The narrator perceives rhyming as a tool to create a superficial image of the poem in a deceiving way. Poems are used to express an image, idea or emotion using words in a well fashioned manner to convey the message to the reader. Rhymes however disrupt that flow and causes trickery in the reader’s mind according to the narrator. The narrator also uses a metaphor and compares rhyming to a bankrupt device. The narrator is implying that using rhymes is a cheap thing to use that seems to be worthless in poems. Rhymes are appealing to readers with a superficial reason rather than a more deep connection or meaning. The narrator thinks that poems should invoke an individual's mind with true meaning and make a reader think and recall about the poem to compare it with their own lives. The narrator also finds it amusing when he sees a rhyme used because he know’s the writer of that poem is trying to deceive the reader. The narrator has a strong hatred against rhymes and this obviously will be argued by other fellow writers. This may cause some tension within his peers and may possibly prove to make future competitions more fierce and competitive. The narrator seems sort of baffled and maddened because he got beat in this competition with a poem that contains rhymes which he very much hates. These strong feelings caused by styles of writing may start an interesting conflict that may occur in the future of this book.
Identity
ReplyDelete“Other boys must have felt the same intimations. Maybe that was why so many of them wanted to become writers. Maybe it seemed to them, as it did to me, that to be a writer was to escape the problems of blood and class. Writers formed a society of their own outside the common hierarchy. This gave them a power not conferred by privilege-the power to create images of the system they stood apart from, and therefore to judge it.” (Wolff , page 24)
This passage discusses the narrator’s struggle with his identity. It is ironic that the author never gives the narrator a name. Immediately, the narrator has begun to reveal himself to the reader. The reader has learned that the narrator is a student at an elite prep school. He is complicated and he faces many struggles. He is proud and at the same time he is intimidated by the other students. He desperately wants to fit-in with the other students. As a result, he chooses to hide parts of who he is. He is not lying, however he is not telling his whole truth. But he struggles academically, and he senses an attitude of anti-Semitism and he does not admit to anyone that his father is Jewish. The narrator is an outsider, who is forced to live in an environment where he does not fit in and he faces many challenges because of it. He writes because he craves external validation. The narrator feels like if he writes he can, “escape the problems of blood and class.” So he chooses to abandon his identity and escape social pressures.
I believe that the choices we make define who we are. The narrator desperately wants to fit in, however in his attempt to hide his identity he fails and ironically he reveals himself. For example, the narrator states that he would not hesitate to lie or pretend to be someone else to have the opportunity to meet Robert Frost. The narrator does not tell anyone his father is Jewish. Another example of the narrator concealing his identity is not sharing the poem he wrote after the fire, and he also keeps a secret stash of cigarettes. The narrator decides how to present himself, and he carefully chooses not to share specific things about himself. Is he lying or is not telling the truth?
Egalitarianism
ReplyDelete“It believed that this system was superior to the one at work outside, and that it would wean us from habits of undue pride and deference.”(15 Wolff). “Much as I wanted to believe in its egalitarian vision of itself, I never dared not put it to the test”(24 Wolff).
This school is strange because of the mix of characters and how they contribute to school vision of egalitarianism. The narrator see in the first chapter the divisions in the school. The unspoken exclusion of the Jewish community on campus. He notices the subtle exclusion of even the most popular of them. The narrator realizes this in Gershon basement when they can hear a party upstairs. Gershon who is a “handy man as much as a student and will have to clean that up. It’s not entirely the fault of the students and teachers, however much a group strives to to be equal some always end up on top. The reason why the teachers and students are at fault is because they are bringing in their preconceived ideas. That excludes Jews without any explanation or a reason why. There is no dialogue at all in this school or the society of the time for that matter about the different treatment of Jews, as well as those who are less wealthy and, those that are more wealthy. Purcell for example writes about wealth inequality and finds no response and feels guilty and feels the need to hide his class and status. Where as the narrator hides the fact that he can only afford to go here because he is on a scholarship. He see that as a embarrassment and I think that if they started communicating with each other it could be an egalitarian environment but, to much separates them from each other. Their pride, their constant competitions over everything, and their attachment to their own public imagine. Puts them off from talking to each other and learning who they are. The author perception of what friends are is so very skewed you wonder if all the other boys see them in that way. Maybe as the story progresses and we get further into the sixties characters will change and become more open, if that happened the school might actually have a chance at being an egalitarian environment; but before that the school must accept that currently it is not a egalitarian environment.
“I could tell him that my own father was Jewish. This was true, though he himself never mentioned the fact, not even to me, his only child. My mother had told me only a year before, not long before she did, and I had no idea what it should mean to me.“ (Wolff, 22-23)
ReplyDeleteIdentity
This passages is taken out of a section which the unnamed narrator is trying to make amends for the unfortunate misunderstanding with the school janitor, Gershon. While doing this the narrator tries to find ways to connect with Gershon to open up a dialogue to be able to explain himself. This is where it is brought up to the audience that the narrator’s father was Jewish just like Gershon, but his father keeped it a secret instead of sharing it. This brings up the question whether or not it is part of the narrator identity since he does come from a Jewish heritage but it has not affected him in any way. I believe that while the narrator's father comes from a background of Judaism this does not affect the narrators personal identity since he was never truly introduced to it. Before it is debated further on whether or not the author is “Jewish” or not the question needs to be asked, “What is identity and how is it created?”. Personally I believe that identity is something that is created through our experiences, where we come from, our reaction to certain events, but unfortunately it is very hard to deny that race plays a big part in the creation of a persons identity. This being said looking at this from a historical perspective the Jewish population was looked at more of a race than a religion at the time. With this idea it could be argued that the narrator is Jewish though the relationship of his race from his father, even though he just was not brought up to learn that actual religion. It is very debatable over whether or not the author is or is not affected by the Jewish side of his family but it all depends on the speaker perspective on identity.
“The atmosphere of our school crackled with sexual static… when the curtains closed and the doors were flung open” (Wolff 15)
ReplyDeleteMeritocracy: The passage depicts the relevance of personal merit to social status in the school, and how it correlates to the world outside.
In this passage, the narrator describes how the absence of females around post pubescent boys directs their focus and, more importantly, competition, towards academics, sports, or other types of achievements. He says, “The absence of an actual girl to compete for meant that every other prize became feminized.” By this he did not mean that the prize had literal feminine characteristics, but, rather demeaningly, equates winning a woman to winning this academic or athletic honor. The narrator explains that for these honors they would “[crack their] heads together like mountain rams. Male mountain rams, known for their large, curled horns, fight other males by clashing their heads together, in order to gain mating rights or dominance. In this context, he must be referring to the latter, dominance being in merit. Hence we see the foundations of a meritocracy, where one’s personal achievements are more highly valued than their physical appearance or material possessions. “Our school was proud of its hierarchy of character and deeds,” he says, referring to this system.
The concept of meritocracy is not unique to this school. Around this time period, we also see the rise of the idea of social Darwinism. This concept applies Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection to social status and wealth. It states that those who work hard and accomplish things deserve to be at the high status that they are at, for it was their own intellect that put them there. And the same applies to those living in lower classes. One could say meritocracy is simply a more academically- oriented version of social Darwinism.
If we were to base our interpretations on this, we’d see that the narrator is conflicting with the time period where he says, “It believed that this system was superior to the one at work outside, and that it would wean us from habits of undue pride and deference.” Because, really, the systems would be very similar both inside and outside their world, neither superior to one another (although there is dispute on whether the ideas of social Darwinism can be associated with pride and/or deference).
Also during this time period, we see the rise of the extrovert ideal, the preference for more outgoing people, who would make much better salespeople (especially important with the developing industries), entertainers, and other occupations of the sort. Now in the little world of their school, introverts tended to be more highly valued because of their thoughtfulness and focus. These characteristics made them ideal for the meritocracy. So, while the school encourages people to act more introverted, the world outside encourages extraversion.
If we were to base our interpretations on this, we’d see that neither is really superior, so the narrator is once again conflicting. But he says, “It was a good dream, and we tried to live it out, even while knowing that we were actors in a play, and that outside the theater was a world we would have to reckon with when the curtains closed and the doors flung open,” this may imply that he knows that the world outside their bubble is much different from what they have been prepared for. Here he uses metaphor to compare their lives to a theater performance.
Overall, though we can understand the systems of social organization within the school, it is hard to determine how they compare to the outside world, and whether or not the school is truly preparing the students for it.
Identity
ReplyDelete“I started a new poem that night...even more, I didn’t want anyone else to.” p.35-36
This passage touches upon the motif of identity and how the narrator perceives himself. The narrator talks about his classmates, and how they must all look the same to outsiders, in this case firemen who came to stop a school fire. He describes how the way they dress, the way they wear their hair, their stance makes them all look alike, with only a little variation here and there, such as a pair of shoes or a turtleneck, differences only perceptible to those inside this secluded group. This is an example of the boys’ loss of identity, because they are all identical, there is no individuality, and the narrator realizes this, which makes it even more saddening. Another example of identity appears later on in the passage, when we hear about a poem the author wrote following the incident, regarding a fireman the morning after a fire, who comes home exhausted to a house that’s dirty, smells bad, and a son who disdains him. It is such a striking scene because it has a ring of truth, and as the reader you realize that this is much more tangible than what the narrator had previously wrote. You suspect it is actually a glimpse into the narrator’s life, indeed, the narrator admits that this particular picture is actually an accurate rendition of his own home, which is why he does not submit it to the writing contest. He does not want this part of his true identity revealed, it is too close to the truth, and he specifically mentions, “I could see myself there, and didn’t want to. Even more, I didn’t want anyone else to.” In this sentence, the narrator is shying away from the truth of his own past, part of who he really is. He is afraid to disclose real information about himself to others at the school, because he does not want to be identified as the kid from a poor house in Seattle who treated his father with coldness and disdain, even though he could see it hurt him. He wants to forget about those repetitive days where time seemed to tick by so slowly and that feeling of confinement. The narrator seems to have tried very hard to suppress his old identity and succeeded in building a new one for himself at the school that is vague and doesn’t convey any of his background, of his life prior to transferring, and that is how he wants to keep it, because otherwise his efforts would all have been for nothing.