Starting Thoughts on "Waiting for the Barbarians"

The novel, "Waiting for the Barbarians" by Coetze, is actually a pleasant surprise for me. I was not such a fan of "The Heart of Darkness" by Conrad so I immediately thought that I would not enjoy the novel by Coetze. Interestingly enough, aside from the main journey of the characters, we also see the development and habits of the main character, the Magistrate. For me, looking at character's development is very interesting in that I feel one is able to develop a stronger connection to that character. This novel is not just a quest for barbarians, but a love story. We see the Magistrate realize qualities of his character that deal with how he treats women. He seems to come to understand that the woman is not just a blind prisoner, but a woman that he may have feelings for. In this way, I am interested to see how this relationship continues throughout the rest of the novel. After reading part three, I am hoping that in some way she will return to him. I am also excited to learn about the army's quest to find the barbarians, as I was not expecting this to greet the skeletal soldiers as they made their way back home. I am also enjoying finding some of the symbolism that is not concretely evident. I love how I have to search for the symbolism as it hides between the pages. Our discussion in class about the glasses revealed this to me in that I established a connection between the Colonel's glasses and the eyes of the women. Without this discussion I probably would not have discovered this in that it is not blatantly evident. Overall, this novel is much more interesting than I would have ever thought it would be and I am so excited and enticed to keep reading on.

Thoughts on Andrew Micheal Roberts's "Masculinity, Modernity, and Homosexual Desire"

Focus is mostly on Homosexuality and the budding relationship between Marlow and Kurtz
1.) States that the novel is based upon gaining and passing on knowledge about relationships between men.

2.) An article by Straus was incredibly interesting, so the following points are based off of this article.
a.) Feels that women are used to distort men's passionate love for one another.
b.) Feels that Marlow puts his love on "the Intended" to conceal himself from the complexity of love "a love that strikes him with horror" for Kurtz,
c.) Relationship between Marlow and Kurtz involves competitiveness, desire, bonding, and sharing power. Feels that this notion sets up powerful barriers between sexual and male relationships.
d.) States that the women within the novel are solely utilized to distract and are objects of desire.
e.) The knowledge that Marlow and Kurtz share has sexual overtones. She feels that because Kurtz is a "very remarkable man", a man who will go "far, very far", a "prodigy", "a special being" and a "emissary of pity, and science, and progress, and God knows what else," that there is a sexual relationship between the two.
f.) "Marlow's own feelings for Kurtz (tinged are they with idol-worship) are themselves the horror. It is in sexual terms, as well as in terms of imperialist exploitation, that the darkness which Marlow imagines he finds in Africa is reflected back into the heart of the culture inhabited by Marlow and his respectable male listeners."
-Conrad, Joseph, The Heart of Darkness, New York: Armstrong, 2006. 460.

3.) Homosexual desire is prevalent in that the story is told by one man to a group of men who is feels he has a close bond. "His story concerns his growing fascination, disgust, and identification for another man, centred on his realization that this man has been involved in taboo practices about which the story-teller will not be specific."pg.460
"Enduring intimacy with the other man, despite his death, an intimacy involving the sharing of a disgraceful yet exciting knowledge from which the dead man's finacee must be protected."460

Closure to "The Sound and the Fury"

The ending of the novel really made me realize how much I am in love with  Benjy's character. Whenever he is mentioned, my heart just aches for him. He is so special regardless of the troubles and annoyances he may bring to the Compson family. Within the last few pages of the novel, Faulkner mentions Benjy's graveyard and the carriage ride which showed off his character very well. He pertains to a certain type of order and no matter how annoying it may get, it makes his character that much more adorable and lovable. Furthermore, unlike the other characters, he is one of the few who never changes. He is always the same Benjy who cries and moans when he hears "Caddie", who cries when something is taken away from him, and who waits for Caddy by the gate. He does have a daily schedule and imposes order in his life; however, this makes him sparkle among the Compson family. I felt that from the beginning of the novel to the end, Benjy remains constant although the novel comes full circle. Most of the original family may be gone, but ironically Benjy will carry on the Compson family name. As a reader, I felt assured that if Benjy could survive the many threats from Jason to be sent to Jackson, than he can survive anything. As the novel came to a close, I was very happy with the closure I received as a reader. I was able to put down the book knowing that Benjy was okay and that he was in the hands of Dilsey who truly loves him. His order was put back into place and, "his eyes were blue and serene again"(321). 

Faulkner, William. The Sound and the Fury. Vintage: New York, 1990.