Lena vs. Milkman

Right at the end of part one, we enter a scene where Magdalena called Lena is chastising Milkman for ruining Corinthians' relationship. This is the first time she has ever stood up for herself, or at least it seems to be. We have always seen Lena and Corinthians as quiet background characters, the neutral sisters who spend their days making roses and cleaning the house. However, we finally see Corinthians liberating herself as she finds herself a job and a lover. As soon as that is stripped away from her, Lena also has a moment of liberation where she finally speaks her mind to Milkman. In this scene, I find myself siding with Lena. While we have additional information from Milkman about his intentions, clearly the man Corinthians is seeing is one of the Seven Days, Lena still provides a strong argument saying that Milkman never cared before, so why should he care now? Milkman may have the best of intentions, but what has caused him to change them? Does he really sincerely care about Corinthians' well-being, or does he simply want to see his mother and sisters confined to the house, the way he has always seen them? He's extremely hypocritical in separating Corinthians and her new found lover because said man is part of the Seven Days. His best friend is part of the Days and he has no intention of separating himself from Guitar. In this situation, Milkman's logic and supposed care is extremely flawed.

Another question to be brought up in this scene has to do with Milkman's absorbency. He takes Lena's advice and leaves, but does he actually listen to it? The last few sentences of part one read "Milkman turned and walked across the room. It was good advice, he thought. Why not take it? He closed the door.". This casual attitude he exudes makes me believe that he is only taking the last part of Lena's advice into consideration, not her entire argument. All of her words go in one ear and out the other, and he only hears the "you need to leave" part. So while it may seem like Milkman has the best of intentions Corinthians' for and is taking Lena's advice, he is only thinking of himself and what is best for him.

Open Genre Project

"Where words fail, music speaks." -Hans Christian Anderson

"Music is a moral law. It gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, gaiety and life to everything. It is the essence of order, and leads to all that is good, just, and beautiful, of which it is the invisible, but nevertheless dazzling, passionate, and eternal form." -Unknown (attributed to Plato)

For my Open Genre Project, I decided to make playlists for each main character of the books we've discussed in class, reflecting each character's thoughts, emotions, or circumstances. Each compilation has 10 tracks that came to my mind whilst reviewing each book. Enjoy!

The first book we read for this class was The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker, whose main character, Howie, has an extremely positive and appreciative approach to life. This playlist contains almost obnoxiously happy songs, reflecting Howie's character.

Howie:

The next character we critiqued was Mrs. Dalloway, a British woman stuck in her past between two lovers. Presently, she is married to a member of British Parliament, and plasters a mask of contentment on to hide her nostalgia each day. She just can't forget her past, constantly thinking about the time when she had relative freedom.

Mrs. Dalloway:

This playlist focuses on Jake Barnes' pain as he realizes he can never be with the woman he loves. Jake also pulls a disguise of happiness as he goes about Paris and Spain, partying, having fun, being strung along by Brett, and hiding his suffering.

Jake:

Our next character is Gregor Samsa, a hardworking son-turned-cockroach with family problems. He becomes increasingly more insectoid, losing his humanity, and will eventually die.

Gregor:

In a previous blog post, I had discussed songs written about The Stranger, particularly Bohemian Rhapsody and Killing an Arab. This playlist has songs based off of Camus' book, as well as songs that explore themes of existentialism.

Meursault:

Antoinette Cosway, after a disruptive childhood and marriage, becomes an oppressed madwoman in the attic of her husband, Edward Rochester. This playlist has dark themes of being thrown away, inescapable oppression, and some rebellion.

Antoinette:

Our last character is Milkman Dead, a man who still acts like a teenaged boy. He takes all of the love offered by his family and people around him never reciprocating it. For much of his life, he has never left his hometown, but feels out of place there, despite partying all the time and having some close friends. Even as a thirty year old man, he spends most of his time smoking, drinking, and having sex, activities usually ascribed to a younger man.

Milkman: