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English 85: The American Novel, Sections A & F (Week 8)

MORE SAMPLE EXPLICATIONS

From last week's "Choose Your Own Adventure" homework:

Passage: "The bells stopped ringing. Tap and Rajiv took me along a path near the top of the village. The cut-paper brightness of doors and flowers. The curtains lifted in the wind. They showed me a three-legged dog and waited for my reaction. A shapeless old woman in black, with a red clay face, a black head-scarf, sat outside, a house below us, shelling peas. The air settled into an agitated silence. I told them every village has a three-legged dog."

Student explication: This passage from Don DeLillo's The Names illustrates the theme of mystery and self-examination seen throughout the novel. As we read this passage, the reader feels as though he is actually in the narrator's mind-walking along the path to the village, and examining his surroundings. Starting the passage with short sentences and even a sentence fragment, the reader is essentially brought into the narrator's stream of consciousness. The fact that DeLillo uses fragments and simple sentences enhances this feeling in that the reader is not confused with numerous descriptions, but is faced with exactly what the narrator sees. The 5th sentence of the passage is constructed in a way in which the reader is first confronted with the image of a three-legged dog and is able to formulate a reaction, much as the narrator is asked to. The narrator states that Tap and Rajiv "waited for my reaction" regarding the three-legged dog, yet DeLillo chooses to wait until the end of the passage until the narrator actually reveals his reaction. This allows the reader time to formulate an opinion of the narrator. In addition, the lapse between mentioning the dog and revealing the narrator's reaction conveys a sense that the narrator is actually thinking about the dog-only revealing his opinion after he has mulled it over. This theme of self-examination is prevalent throughout the novel and conveyed through DeLillo's writing style in this passage.

Passage: "Through Istanbul the long cabs passed in the gloom, Old 88s, Buick Roadmasters, Chrysler limousines, DeSotos with busted mufflers, the Detroit overstocks of the decades, a city of dead cars. From the air all the cities looked like brown storms collecting traps of heat and dust."

Student explication: In the passage from The Names, by Don DeLillo, the author denounces American influence in foreign countries and declares that America is the cancer of the world. James is in a cab in Istanbul on his way to the hotel when he notices the decaying influence of America on the city. Along the way he notices the Buick "Roadmasters" and Chrysler "limousines." The word roadmaster has an undeniably conceited connotation to it. Americans believe they rule the world just as their cars rule the road, rolling over any bumps along their way to domination. Similarly, a limousine connotes power, fame, and wealth, which is how America views itself in relation to the rest of the world. However, while Americans may view themselves as godly, the "busted mufflers" say otherwise. A broken muffler on a car just causes the car to make a loud, obnoxious noise. This is precisely what Americans do in foreign countries. Americans make a lot of racket, but are rarely useful and seldom do anything but disturb the peace. The American influence can be plainly seen in the phrase "brown storms collecting traps of heat and dust." America is slowly turning the world into a desert of pollution and waste. The cities are becoming "cit[ies] of dead cars." America leaves behind a trail of death and ruin. The world would be better off had America not interfered.

From last week's quiz

Passage: "I began to see myself as a perennial tourist. There was something agreeable about this. To be a tourist is to escape accountability. Errors and failings don't cling to you the way they do back home. You're able to drift across continents and languages, suspending the operation of sound thought. Tourism is the march of stupidity. You're expected to be stupid. The entire mechanism of the host county is geared to travelers acting stupidly."

Student explication: This passage from DeLillo's The Names exposes Jim's attitudes about his life as a traveler, particularly his difficulty fitting in with any singular place or people. The assertion is that unaffiliation permits him special freedoms that otherwise could not be enjoyed. The word "tourist" is significant, in that it describes not just a person, but an entire class of people. Tourism implies an ignorance of an interest in foreign cultures. As a result, not much is expected, except "to be stupid." Jim doesn't seem to have a problem describing himself as stupid; in fact, he seems to take great pride in it. And yet, there is a somber note. While unrestricted, he is also without direction, thus he "drifts" rather than travels. The only purposeful movement of a tourist is "the march of stupidity." Thus, the tourist is free to roam wherever he pleases, but only in a particular way. That this counterargument lies beneath the surface of the passage reveals Jim's inner conflict. The statements are expressed directly, in short sentences with very few commas. The temptation is to take the assertions at face value. The passage contrasts greatly in style with the rest of the novel, however, which is filled with sentence fragments and grammatical obscurities. Thus, by making direct claims, an invitation to be skeptical is extended by contrast. Jim finds tourism not "agreeable" but quite the opposite.