The Caretaker by Anthony Doerr

The Caretaker is one of the stories featured in Anthony Doerr’s book “The Shell Collector”.

The Shell Collector by Anthony Doerr is a debut collection of eight wonderful stories. Each focuses on an unlikely modern hero, often it is about a man who cuts himself off from society and detached even from himself. The displacement serves as an impetus to bring him in closer contact with the forces of nature and deeper into his inner self.

Nature is an important part of Doerr’s story. The thick green forests and whispering shores, cold rivers and jungles offer refreshment away from the pressures of contemporary society and popular culture. In their place are starker universal confrontations with fellow man and the self. In fact, Doerr’s stories are full of mythic elements.

The most powerful and haunting tale among the Shell Collector story is “The Caretaker”. This story essays the life of a man named Joseph Saleeby. He is a refugee from the Liberian civil war who loses his mother and his way of life. He survives the terrifying carnage in his homeland and found himself washed upon the shores of Oregon.

Joseph started anew by working as a caretaker for a summer home of rich people who have “something to do with computers,”. But as the days dragged on, he found himself unable to do his job as the millionaire’s houseboy because the horrors he experienced in the civil war prevented him to do so.

Joseph Saleeby is a man drowning in memories of hatcheted limbs and bloody bodies. He is broken, haunted by the violent real-life nightmares that drove him from his home. He witnessed “decapitated children, drugged boys tearing open a pregnant girl, a man hung over a balcony with his severed hands in his mouth” as well as “rape, murder, an infant kicked against a wall, a boy with a clutch of dried ears suspended from his neck”. Such were the images that filled his memory.

One day he found himself confronted by the sight of six beached whales. Joseph witnesses the beaching of five whales on the Oregon coast. In a moving act that stems from guilt and repentance, the refugee buries the hearts of the dead whales. Those gigantic organs though do not seem large enough to cover the broadness of his grief. He compulsively buries the beached whales’ hearts in a brave attempt to lay his own demons to rest. The ritualized burial of the hearts of five beached whales, which were wash up on shore the same way Joseph did, had somehow revived him.

Joseph loses his job. He stays though to cultivate the plot of land on top the hearts. Joseph Saleeby found the peace he sought in hiding, tending a garden fertilized by the huge remains of a beached whale. He befriended the deaf and depressed daughter of the house’s owners. His relationship with the deaf daughter, Belle, is almost telepehatic. He seems to know instantly what is going on with Belle. So much so that he is able to rescue her from suicide.

Together, Joseph and Belle, search for redemption in the garden they cultivated. Their cautious, new friendship formed from the unfortunate circumstance also buoyed them from their inner struggles. His sense of life comes back to him in a dazzling way as he sees his garden germinates: “By mid June the stems of his plants are inches high..the buds have separated into delicate flowers; what looked like a solid green shoot was actually a tightly folded blossom. He feels like shouting with joy”.

Joseph’s psychological self-preservation that comes from burying the hearts of five beached whales becomes complete when he eats a melon grown from the fertilized soil. This is probably the most moving passage of the story.

The story depicts isolation, confrontation with the self and redemption through nature. An interesting moral of the story is that humans can never escape the power of nature — their own or the earth’s — however civilized they may be as depicted by Joseph’s empathy with the beached whales and ensuing bond with Belle.

From the story, it can be gleaned that misfits make the strongest connections because they have to struggle for a sense of identity, empathy, and a common language. Joseph and Belle’s are the misfits. Their friendship stems from their common need to be understood. Inside them are the inner demons they want to get rid of. Both are haunted by a sense of loneliness and isolation in their struggles. And because of their common plight, an instantaneous and silent bond formed between them.

They created the strongest bond out of need not out of luxury. They need each other’s help to be able to direct their path to the right direction. Theirs is a bond formed out of their need to find themselves. They can instant empathize because their experiences teach them to look beyond the façade. They could understand what the other is going through without being told as depicted by the almost telepathic relationship between Joseph and Belle. The language that binds them is the language of the heart which does not really require much expression. A sense of understanding between them suffices.

Existentialism on “The Sun Also Rises”

Existentialism on “The Sun Also Rises” by Ernest Hemingway.

In Ernest Hemingway`s ”The Sun Also Rises” What is existentialism and how does this philosophy shape The Sun Also Rises? What does existentialism offer to the individual that is seeking answers to the questions of the meaning and purpose of life?

The theory of Existentialism was not in full bloom during the time Ernest Hemingway penned The Sun Also Rises . Therefore it is hard to prove that the story was influenced by any of the existentialist philosophers. Paul Sartre, Martin Heidegger, Karl Jaspers, Alber Camus, and their followers espoused the theory of Existentialism after the World War II.

The Existentialism view maintains that humans exist in a universe that does not have a preconceived design. That our identity is based on choice and we must choose our own system of values and ethics. The Jean-Paul Sartre stressed that, “Existentialism is an attempt to draw all the consequences from a consistent atheist position.” Hemingway though had come up with concepts similar to Existentialism . He created his “nada” concepts in 1930’s where he explained an individual’s actions in a godless world. His “code hero” is a person who acts with grace despite the pressure.

In the novel The Sun Also Rises , the main character, Jake Barnes, was in the middle of struggles on the endless and perplexing questions regarding values and morality. Jake typifies the modern man who is constantly reminded of the aching emptiness inside him as he tried to make sense of the world outside. Due to the need to find the answers to life’s essential questions he is forced to improvise and take decisive actions in order to drive away despair.

At the start of the novel The Sun Also Rises one gets acquainted with the hedonistic lifestyles being led by the main characters. The expatriates in Paris particularly in the Left Bank seem to cope with life by evading work, getting drunk and partying. All of the characters though seemed to indulge in endless pursuit of diversions meant to escape reality. Unknowingly, they dug themselves deeper in despair because they are not confronting the problem but merely masking the emptiness of their lives. This is the kind of crowd Jake Barnes revolves in. Jack’s despair though enabled him to move to take a decisive action.

When Jake introduced Brett to Romero, Jake was aware of the full impact of his actions. This is not only a sign that he gives up Brett but also ends his friendship with Montoya and all links to his past. Admittedly, this is a two-edge sword. It could work to his advantage or not. And he may live to regret this act. But the essence in existentialism is in arriving at a decision and acting on it. Mistakes could be a part of it. Decisions always entail consequences and risks. And Jake, whether he likes it or not, must face this fact.

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

The Inferno is an allegory to Dante’s journey through life towards salvation. It is a story full of symbolisms, from the start to the very end.

The story opens with Dante accompanied by Virgil as they journey through hell. There they meet Charon, the ferryman, at the gates. The symbolisms in the story help present Dante’s ideas in a more convincing and artful way. In “The Inferno” Dante maintains that malice is the root of all evil or sins.

 

We can see this explicitly explained In Canto 11, page 998. This is the point where Virgil begins to explain how one sin can be called by many different names according to what caused the sinner to sin. This is in consonance with Dante’s view of the main problem with sin. All sins corrupt the will and mind of the sinner and leads to other sins. Therefore sin is emotion overpowering will and reason. When Dante says, “Malice is the sin most hated by God” (about line 23), he is referring not just to the souls found in this place, but to any sin at or below this level. In short, malice is the root cause for violence and fraud. It is the venom from which the action stems.

 

This theory is not necessarily similar to how the modern man views sin. We are more inclined to believe that sin stems from various reasons with malice being just one of them. Malice is not the core of evil. For instance, a guy involve in a pyramid scheme is motivated by greed or selfish desires more than malice. His focus is himself and what he wants not others. Dante disagrees with this view by pointing out that malice in this instance still exists and is a primary motive because the sinner’s intention to rob other’s wealth is stronger than his desire to acquire wealth for his use. Therefore, by desiring to deprive others of wealth makes malice the core of his actions.

Malice is blamed for man’s failures. And the damned souls in Dante’s The Inferno are grouped according to the degree of malice with which they committed sin. The symbolisms help Dante’s “The Inferno” presents his ideas on the startling reality in a creative way:

Charon the Ferryman of the Dead from Canto 3 (lines 81-4, bottom of page 977). “‘Woe to you depraved souls! Bury/here and forever all hope of Paradise:/I come to lead you to the other shore,/into eternal dark, into fire and ice.’” This symbolism refers to the nature of sin itself and not to any specific sins. Sin separates us from other people. Fire and ice are the effects of sin which could cause anger or being ostracized.

A peculiar detail of Charon’s appearance: “The steersman…wore a wheel of flame around each eye” (about line 95, top of page 978). Flame symbolizes intense feelings or being in a state of hell.

About line 127: “most of the souls of the damned in twilight”. “Souls of the damned in twilight” means that though they exist their souls are really empty. Being punished and doing the same thing over and over again

The lines about the Gluttons – page 988, about lines 35-8: “We made our way across the sodden mess / of souls the rain beat down, and when our steps / fell on a body, they sank through emptiness. / All those illusions of being seemed to lie / drowned in the slush.” These lines pertain to the facts that people who are the “fattest” are the least substantial which means appearances can be deceiving. Substance is found within the person not on the appearance.

Canto 11, page 998: Virgil explains how one sin can be called by many different names according to what caused the sinner to sin. This is in consonance with his view of the main problem with sin. All sins corrupt the will and mind of the sinner and leads to other sins. When Dante says, “Malice is the sin most hated by God” (about line 23), he is referring not just to the souls found in this place, but to any sin at or below this level. In short, malice is the cause for violence and fraud.

This theory is not necessarily similar to the modern view. Some people’s actions do not stem from malice. For instance, a guy involve in a pyramid scheme is motivated by greed more than malice. His focus is himself and what he wants not others. Dante disagrees with this view by saying that malice in this instance still exists and is a primary motive because the sinner’s intention to rob other’s wealth is stronger than his desire to acquire wealth for his use. Therefore, by desiring to deprive others of wealth makes malice the core of his actions.

Tyrants and Murderers of Canto 12 as Dante depicts them are a washed in a river of boiling blood guarded by the mythical creatures Centaurs. The souls in this place commit murder due to malice, not because of a desire for personal gain. Or, in another way, it can be said that all desire for personal gain is malice toward others.

An interesting comment made by one of the Centaurs, Chiron to other centaurs (page 1003 about lines 80-3) as he sees Dante goes, “Have you noticed/how the one who walks behind moves what he touches? That is not how the dead go.” The symbol of this line pertains to the capacity of the living to influence everything about him. The dead sensing life is moved towards it.

The Harpies lines 13-15 of Canto 13 are the perfect creatures to guard and torture the suicides in the Wood of Suicides. This is because the Harpies represent the attitude that causes people to commit suicide. The physical traits of the Harpies symbolize his attitude. “Wide wings” symbolize an overpowering sense of sadness. “Clawed feet” suggest danger or a fearful grip. “Huge bellies” suggest laziness or the lack of will to do things.

The creatures of Cantos 13 & 14 -Suicides, Blasphemers, Sodomites, and Usurers-are not people condemned at all in modern society, but Dante finds them loathsome as attested by the place he assigns them.  The most famous people in Cocytus are Count Ugolino and Archbishop Ruggieri, whose gruesome story makes up Canto 33.

Historical accounts inform us that Ugolino was captured and put to death by Ruggieri. The manner with which he perished was so cruel that Dante deemed it best to tell the world the tragic story.

Ugolino was imprisoned for several months with his four young sons. One day, the doors of the tower were nailed shut. And all four of his sons died due to extreme hunger. In hell, Ugolino is eating and gnawing at Ruggeri’s flesh. This punishment is in consonance with “little Anselmo’s” request to his father: “Thou didst clothe us with this wretched flesh, and it would be less painful if you eat of us.” Ugolino cannot abide by his son’s request and eat their flesh. As he sees each child die one by one he was quoted to have said, “starvation did what grieving could not do.” Ugolino died. In Hell, he was punished by savagely feasting on Ruggieri’s flesh for eternity.

Ugolino when he was alive betrayed his own party to Ruggieri. Hence, the punishment meted to him in hell. In hell, Ugolino was presented as the victim of Ruggieri. He is both the target of divine justice and the instrument of it, when he punishes Ruggieri.

In Canto 34, the souls of those who betrayed their masters at the bottom of hell – Judas, Brutus, Cassius. They are they frozen in twisted postures to represent the sins they committed which is the ultimate sin of malice.

The image of Satan is quite a surprise. He is depicted to have three faces, which symbolizes the distortion of the Holy Trinity. Dante says that Satan looks ugly despite the fact the he was once an angel, beautiful to look at. Satan seems less powerful than the usual ideas woven about him. He is depicted as dumb and roaring, trapped in the ice, punished just like the other sinners.

Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a wonderful story about life, struggles, faith and love. 
Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a story full of metaphors. One has to dig deeper in order to understand what the story presents. This story is influenced by Puritan religion. The forest symbolizes man’s journey into his inner self.  

At the start of the story we find Young Goodman Brown being asked by his wife not to go on his ‘errand’.  Goodman Brown is torn between leaving and staying. In the end, he chose to leave because this is the last time he would part with his wife.  After this errand, he would ‘cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven’. He feels justified for leaving his wife one last time.  This could also mean that he is referring not only to leaving ‘Faith’ his wife but also ‘faith in God’.  

Through the covenant Goodman has made with the Devil, he has agreed to leave his wife, Faith, and walk through the forest with the Devil for one night as the Devil attempts to convert Goodman from Christianity. Goodman enters into this with great resolve that his survival and test of faith will not change.

When Goodman finally sees the devil he told him ‘Faith kept me back awhile.’ Again, this could mean literally his wife ‘Faith’ or figuratively ‘his faith in God’.

Goodman Brown and the devil met Goody Cloyse walking alone in the forest. In a way, Goody Cloyse who ‘taught him his catechism in youth, and was still his moral and spiritual adviser’ harms his faith as he learns that even Goody Cloyse is a member of the devil’s growing clan. And she committed sins which she hides under her pretensions to be holy.

He blames the Goody Cloyse for befriending the devil. What Goodman Brown does not realize though is that he is guilty of the same crime he charges Goody Cloyse with.  

Brown again told the devil that he would not continue with his errand.  He told the devil that even though his teacher, Goody Cloyse, is not going to heaven that is not reason enough for him to quit on his dear Faith and pursue her.  After he said this the devil gave Goodman Brown his staff to guide him out of the forest and left.

Goodman Brown applauded his efforts for resisting the devil. He is looking forward to go home. He is filled with joy knowing he overcomes the devil and he would be seeing Faith again. But he hears the voices of the minister and Deacon Gookin talking about ‘a goodly young woman to be taken in to communion’ that night during the meeting. Brown wonders if they are referring to his beloved Faith.

Brown suddenly weakens.  His faith begins to waiver at the thought that he could be losing Faith to the devil. Goodman Brown falls to the ground and he wondered aloud ‘whether there really was a Heaven above him’.  Despite his struggles in his faith, he said that "With Heaven above, and Faith below, I will yet stand firm against the devil!" Brown promises to keep his faith even though he knows that he could be losing his wife to the devil.

Goodman hears voices. Then he hears Faith’s voice.  A pink ribbon similar to what Faith was wearing before he left flies past Goodman and he grabs it.  At this point, he is losing his faith in the world and said that he could find no good on earth.

Brown comes to the ceremony and sees the devil worshippers.  He sees a number of people whom he thought to be pious and God-fearing in the congregation.  He recognizes them.  He does not see Faith though and it brings some hope in his heart.

This part is a turning point for Goodman Brown because he hopes not to live alone in the community of unbelievers. With Faith by his side, he could surmount this obstacle.  Although what Goodman Brown fails to realize is that he is already a part of this community he doesn’t like.  If Faith was not there, then he need not be alone in his faith. Hope can be looked at as a part of what is known as the  "the Christian triptych".

The Christian triptych is made up of faith, hope and love. The third part of the triptych which is absent in the entire story is love. If Brown only had "love" in his heart, then he would have found a way to tackle his problem. Love is the medicine that would have enable him to survive without deep sadness due to what he knows when he returned to Salem.

The ceremony started and the converts are brought forward.  Goodman Brown steps forward with them.  Goodman Brown seems to have no will of his own as he joins the service of converts.  The leader said that the members of the congregation are believed to be righteous, honest and incorruptible.  Yet they commit secret evil deeds.  

Goodman Brown finds himself facing Faith.  Then the leader said that evil is man’s natural state. He welcomes the convert. Then dips his hand in the rock and draw liquid and put it on the convert’s forehead to baptize them.  Brown is able to come back to his senses just in time and shouts "Faith! Faith! Look up to Heaven and resist the wicked one!" The ceremony ends and sees that he is alone. So he presumes that his wife joined the community of non-believers. This means he is the only one left in his faith.

The depth of his faith is though fairly easily uprooted. Goodman’s faith begins to crumble because his Achilles heel was the pride he had in believing he was a pious man. His faith was never based on an internal relationship with God; instead, his faith was mirrored and reflected by the community he revered. As those around him showed their true following, Goodman lost all faith, and became empty.

At the end of the story, Goodman Brown returns to Salem. But he is not the same man. After witnessing the ceremony, he feels like an outsider.  His sense of self-righteousness is so strong that he takes a child away from Goody Cloyse as she blesses the child. And when he sees Faith he just ignores her even though she is very excited upon seeing him. Despite the fact that he himself attended the devil’s service, still he believes himself better than everyone.

Goodman Brown ends up a broken man. He was never able to relate well to the community again after what happened. And he spends the rest of his life in misery.

He did not actually convert to a non-believer as others had done. But still, he chooses an equally dangerous path. By losing his faith in everything even in his loved ones, Goodman merely exists and not lives. He believes that faith has failed him and he turns his anger to the world. He sees everything as evil and not worthy of his trust even his new bride.

What happened in his journey changed his outlook for the worst. Also, he chose to judge people instead of love them faults and all. The Bible tells us that it isn’t enough to have faith to be able to live life. Hope and love are necessary ingredients in a fulfilled, happy life. Goodman Brown lives on faith alone. And his lack of faith quashed what little hope he has. His biggest loss is his inability to love. Because he distances himself from others and judge them, he fails to see them as individuals worthy of his love. Love the sinner, hate their sins. That is the core of Christian religion.  


And because Goodman Brown fails to grasp the importance of love above all, he fails to live meaningfully. He ends up a failure. He dies alone and lonely. Goodman Brown was buried with "no hopeful verse upon his tombstone; for his dying hour was gloom."

Doe Season by Kaplan: A Review

Kaplan’s ”Doe Season” is about self-discovery and acceptance.

Doe Season’s protagonist is a nine-year old girl named Andrea. ‘Doe Season’ is a story of Andrea who does want to be a woman. She believes the man’s world is more wonderful. She dreads the changes she needs to go through to become a woman. Her father supports her desire by calling her Andy and encourages her to do manly things. Andy desires to be a part of man’s world but somehow in the end, she realizes she cannot escape reality that she is a female and she should not try to be someone she is not.

In “Doe Season”, Andrea wants to become accepted in the all-male group she hangs out with. Yet, she feels alienated and lonely because she seems to be the odd one out in the group. This alienation is noticeable at the start of the story when she expresses her dislike for Mac. Mac teases and pulls pranks on her. She believes Mac is stupid. This shows Andrea’s feminine side which she tries hard to conceal.

Another instance in “Doe Season” when Andrea feels alienated was the men are talking about deer. She comments that she sees a deer behind their house. Charlie Spoon reasons it is because deer instinctively know when the hunting season is. Then they all laugh about which makes Andrea confused. The whole conversation about deer makes her feel out of place.

The primary concept of the story revolves around Andrea’s relationship with his father. Andy wants to please her father. Her father takes her to a hunting trip to test if she can be a part of the man’s world. Her father asks her to shoot a deer and then made her watch as he and Charlie Spoon gut the deer. At the cost of displeasing her father, Andy could not deny the fact that she has to remain true to her identity. She chooses to be true to herself in the end as symbolized by running away from the assembly of men gutting the deer.

In “Doe Season”, there are a number of symbolisms such as the sea and the forest. When Andy talks of the sea and how it reminds her of mother’s love for it, she admits hating it which is one clue that she does not want to be associated with femininity of any kind. The sea symbolizes womanhood and the forest symbolizes manhood. Andy expresses extreme dislike for the sea and an interest of the woods. She never really likes the woods per se but is fascinated by it.

To show the contrast of how she feels about the sea and the forest, she sees the forest as deep and immense, while she refers to the sea as huge and empty. This implies that Andy sees the man’s world as a impressive and fascinating while that of a woman’s is meaningless and empty.

Doe Season ends with Andy watching “her father’s knife sliced thickly from chest to bell to crotch” (354). When Andy’s father begins to gut the deer, Andy has an epiphany. She realizes that, no matter how much she tries, she cannot become part of the male society. She then runs away from everyone. This gesture of turning her back and fleeing from her male companions shows that she finally accepts the fact that she is different from men. Unbeknownst to her, the transformation within her is already complete. Then she listens to the sound of the wind which aptly reminds her of the “terrible, now inevitable sea” (354). The sea now becomes inevitable, owing to the fact the she recognizes she can no longer deny her true identity. She turns from the woods which suddenly became strange to her, to the calling ocean, heeding her real destiny- that of becoming a woman.