The $30,000 Bequest

Basically, this couple who is fairly well-off in their small town are contacted by an old, ill uncle Tilbury Foster and told that if they make no mention, attempt no contact and do not show up at the funeral, then they will inherit $30,000. At this point the couple begins planning, the wife planning on how to invest and the husband planning on how to spend the money they expect to come into shortly. I thought it was interesting the the Husband was named Saladin, but called Sally and liked to shop and spend money on extravagant things. While the wife was named Electra, but called Aleck and handled all of the financial matters, used a level head and wanted to invest their money to work for them. The gender roles seem to be reversed from what we view as normal or traditional. Any way, the couple begins planning what to do with the money and who their daughters can wed as they move up the income brackets (in their minds). The uncle dies early int he story, but the couple do not find out since it was pushed out of the small town newspaper and they continue planning both investments and spending. The wife finds different investment options and follows them as if they have already received the money and are making earnings off of it. After 5 years of planning and making themselves into multimillionaires, the market suddenly drops and they truly are distressed, until the husband points out that they have actually invested yet and that they have learned to be wiser for when the $30,000 if truly theirs. Through coincidental circumstance, a citizen of the uncle's town comes by and mentions Tilbury by the phrase, "Land, it's tough as Tilbury Foster!-as we say." and the couple carefully inquire of the uncle. At this point they are told that the uncle has been dead for 5 years, but did not have a cent to his name. His town had to cover the cost to bury him. After 5 years of planning and imagining a great future, this cruel bit of news crushed the couple's mental state and sent them into shock. They remained in shock and could only mumble incoherent partial phrases as two more years passed. Just before death took them (on the same day) the husband tells a warning of the greed that brought him misery and says that in the uncle there, "was no generous spirit, no pity, no-"

This story serves as a warning to how slippery a slope greed is. The couple began by only making small compromises of their morals and beliefs, but as time went on they continued to slide further and further into the depths of greed and eventually their own personal hell.

I do wonder why the uncle chose to lay this cruel act on his only surviving relatives. Toward the end the husband mentions that they had done him no wrong, yet earlier in the story it mentions that the husband tried to contact the uncle to make amends years ago, but would not make that mistake again. Was he just a miserable old man who wanted others to be just as miserable? Was he wronged by the family as a whole, many years ago and holds a grudge against those who were not even involved? Or was it not meant to be so cruel- he died within a week of the letter and it would seem much less cruel and more like a practical joke if they had found out then.

Like I mentioned before, the gender rolse seemed to be completely switched and I'm not sure why Mark Twain does this. I have to wonder whether Twain looked at other stories or tragedy and misery and noticed that it is almost always the woman's fault (all the way back to the very first story of tragedy - Adam & Eve. In this role reversal, it seems to be more like the man is causing a lot of the fantasies of wealth and then is more accountable for their eventual fall.

There are quite a few references to religion that make it worth noting. As the the couple imagined more wealth, they slowly turned away from their faith, but only inwardly - they still went to church and the wife wanted to build churches with some of their money, but in the privacy of their own home and minds, they stopped observing the sabbath, they thought about drinking and even had champagne (before they were for temperance!) The couple slowly made new excuses and exceptions for anything they wanted to do, even if they knew they should not.

I think that the point of this story is not only to be aware of the slippery slope and greed, but also to realize that nothing in the future is definite. If you close your mind to any other possibilites, when changes occur, they will definitely rattle you.

We see people struggle with these problems on a regular basis, and with credit cards so easily available, most people don't stick to imaginary spending alone. Also, you'll hear people talk of losing a job they've had for 20 years + and now they have no idea what to do and sometimes no identity, because they never expected changes or uncertainty. There are parts of this story that have the reader imagining along with the couple, imagining all the luxury items and new houses, you really hope that they get the money, but all along you have a good idea it won't work out. It wouldn't be very interesting if it did.

Mark Twain - Ramblin' Man

A lot of people complain that Mark Twain is too dry, too boring or just simply rambles on and on... I think that's part of his style. Twain does not attempt to do an over-the-top dance (American Psycho, maybe?) to keep our attention. He simply relates a funny experience he had or could imagine having. Not all comedians/writers want to serve up comedy on a platter with no requirement of additional thinking. Almost every Twain story that I have ever read is funny because it reminds me of someone I have met or even several people I have met, usually at work. I can see how some may not enjoy his style, but I do not think it's a time to call into question Twain's writing abilities. Also, the short stories we have read lately seem to have very little "southern" dialect - I didn't even notice any until it was brought up during class. I think that different dialects make the writing more interesting and I guess have read enough books/stories with southern settings that I don't even notice them.

A Modest Proposal Meets Male Modeling Spoof

As I sat down to write about A Modest Proposal, I took another look at my book. The title appears like this:

A MODEST PROPOSAL

FOR PREVENTING THE CHILDREN OF POOR PEOPLE IN IRELAND FROM BEING A BURTHEN TO THEIR PARENTS OR COUNTRY, AND FOR MAKING THEM BENEFICIAL TO THE PUBLIC.

It reminds me of the movie Zoolander (Ben Stiller movie) when Derek forms the idea and then a model of the center is presented to him, the title of the center is:

THE DEREK ZOOLANDER CENTER

FOR CHILDREN WHO CANT READ GOOD AND WANNA LEARN TO DO OTHER STUFF GOOD TOO

Not entirely relevent, just thought it was funny. I don't think that Jonathan Swift meant that to be an awkwardly long title, but it is. And obviously, even if they were in the same time period, I'm fairly certain that Mr. Swift would have nothing in common with Mr. Stiller if he could help it! (Please no one be alarmed, I'm not trying to say that Ben Stiller and Jonathan swift use the same humor techniques.)

Anyway...on to A Modest Proposal.

I had read it before, and even before that had heard of it, so I knew what to expect in the beginning which allowed me to notice some of the more subtle hints. I think that the main problem that such a piece of writing would run into is that even though it is so absurd that we cannot imagine it being a serious proposal, there are many, many absurd people out there who would miss the joke. These people would either be horrified and think Swift was serious OR nod in agreement and think Swift was serious.

One odd part of Swift's calculations is when he figures that a child just born will weigh 12 lbs and in one year increase to 28 lbs. Most babies are born under 10 lbs, I believe 6-7 is within the normal range. And those are born to well-fed modern American women. Somehow I doubt many Irish peasants in Swift's day were birthing giant babies, especially since statistically people and children are growing taller and heavier now than in the past.

Also, Swift mentions the fact that deer are growing scarce, so perhaps child-hunting could be possible. (He talks himself out of that since they would be gamey and so close to breeding age!) I just don't think it would appeal to the same hunters. Deer are quite dumb and easily shot. I think hunting people would prove to be much too difficult for most casual sportsmen. Just yesterday while walking my dog and my parents' dog, we came upon 3 deer who continued to graze and did not even care that we were within 2o feet of them. Deer hunting is not much of a challenge, most hunters sit in the woods and wait for a deer to come to them - children would not be a good substitute for hunting...unless maybe you only take the least intelligent children - plus that would be an extra incentive to score higher on the MEAP!

"Men would become as fond of their wives during the time of their pregnancy as they are now of their mares in foal, their cows in calf, their sows when they are ready to farrow; nor offer to beat or kick them (as is too frequent a practice) for fear of a miscarriage."

This paragraph struck me as particularly absurd and funny, until I began to really consider it - then it just seemed sad and true. It's sad that even in our world today, parents still beat their children, spouses still hit one another, and if it was for profit instead of love, then perhaps all the abused women and children out there would be treated at least as well as barnyard animals. Sorry for the sterrotype (but they do exist for a reason), but while working in a small town grocery store during high school, I was unfortunate enough to encounter several men who were quick to defend and protect their dog or truck or motorcycle but would spend the entire time in the store yelling at, insulting and "spanking" their kids. (Spanking is in quotes because it sounds nicer than beating and some people believe there is a difference.)

After launching into a patriotism speech (at which point you can just imagine the orchistra chiming in with the star spangled banner (I know he wasnt American, but I am -so it's what I imagine) he continues to explain that he has nothing to gain from this and merely looking out for his country and fellow countrymen. Oh and by the way - his kids are too old to qualify and his wife can have no more. Just an after-thought barely worth mentioning that the proposal cannot affect his family, just others.

Well, enjoy your weekend!

Oh- and Little Murders is one of the only movies that I've seen where it seemed totally okay for the main character to die. Also, I've been to a wedding where the minister was not much better than the one in the movie!

Okay - for real now -Go Enjoy your Weekend.

Toward a Definition of - IRONY - Takes a Holiday

I don't think that we are actually required to blog on the Irony handouts, but I figured better to blog unnecessarily and hey, why not get into the habit? First I think I may try to track down "The Big Book of Irony," seems like a good deal of short, amusing bits. I especially liked the comparison by Luigi Anolli of irony to the act of wearing dark glasses to hide that you've been crying. The act seems to suggest that you do not want to come right out and express what you are really thinking/feeling, but does just that anyway. It almost serves as a social safety net. If a person does not agree with the ironic statement, they may choose to ignore it since it was not directly stated. In the same way, a person could ignore the crier's sunglasses if that person did not care to hear about the crier's problems.
In Irony Takes a Holiday, the writers discuss the fate of irony in post 9/11 America. I could never imagine believing that irony is dead, particularly in a time of tragedy. I understand how some people would feel that any criticism or humor would be inappropriate immediately after, but there are also many people (like myself) who deal with grief, loss and tragedy through humor. In a time of tragedy, what else do you have left, and if there is anything at all to laugh at, why not laugh a little? With time, obviously, it became appropriate to poke fun at our nation's leadership, security measures, etc. Cynicism, humor and irony: just part of the healing process as far as I'm concerned.
Have a Wonderful Weekend.