Living the American Dream in Shiloh, Tennessee

The American Dream: “That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement… It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable…” as stated in 1931 by James Truslow Adams who first coined the phrase. “Shiloh”, written by Bobbie Ann Mason, is a story of Leroy Moffitt’s hopes to live the American dream and, more importantly, how he fails to achieve it.

The two main characters of the story, Leroy and his wife, Norma Jean, are making considerable changes in the hopes of recreating themselves. Norma is “attending a body-building class” at the beginning of the story (6). She later finishes her “six-week body-building course and now she is taking an adult-education course in composition at Paducah Community College.” (86) The narrator, presumably Leroy, also notices that “Norma Jean has been cooking unusual foods- tacos, lasagna, Bombay chicken.” (93) By the end of the story, Norma Jean has also quit smoking, after having been caught by her mother. It is apparent that Norma is going through great pains to try and remake her own character, to become something new.

Leroy is also guilty of holding false hopes of his own. After he is injured in an accident from his previous job as a truck driver, he takes up crafting; initially to pass the time but later, takes his new hobby seriously, promising his wife to build her a log house with his own hands. While he is grounded in his home for a few months, Leroy grows “unusually tender about his wife and guilty over his long absences.” (9) However, Leroy seems to pick and choose which aspects of his life he wishes to create, perhaps contributing to the future failure of his plans. He does not see anything wrong with buying drugs from his former high school classmate’s son, who is the same age as his own dead son would have been at the time.

Even Mabel, Leroy’s mother-in-law is looking for some change. She insists that the Leroy and Norma Jean take a trip to Shiloh, Tennessee, where she went on her honeymoon, after being married to Jet Beasley.

There are characteristic flaws in the relationship of Leroy and Norma Jean, very similar to that of Mr. and Mrs. Das as well as our good friends- the Bennett couple. The concept of a mismatched couple somehow married and living together for many years seems to have become the status quo. The only major discrepancy in the Moffitts’ case is that it doesn’t work out so well for them in the end. This could be due to a lack of communication among the members involved in the said relationship. While at home, Leroy notices that “they never speak about their memories of Randy…they sometimes feel awkward around each other.” (9); and again at the park museum, “he feels awkward, like a boy on a date with an older girl.” (133) This shortage of exchanges of thoughts creates disparities in the two’s hopes and dreams. Leroy is never quite able to understand what Norma wants from him, and Norma just seems to be exasperated by him at times, refusing his promises of a log cabin and “[taking] Leroy’s needlepoint and [shoving] it into a drawer.” (37) These flaws are the primary contribution to their failure in the end of the story.

Mason cleverly embeds many packed sentences within the narrative throughout the story. She foreshadows what is to come by saying “that they must create a new marriage, start afresh. They are lucky they are still married.” (9) Eventually, Norma Jean becomes unable to handle the failure and leaves Leroy. She explains her emotions, for once, saying that “I feel eighteen again. I can’t face that all over again.” (154) She seems to contradict her previous wishes to start over and be remade. Leroy is, as always, predictable and takes a while to process all the information, most likely because he has been smoking dope, and later simply agrees with Norma Jean’s opinions- “It was clumsy of him to think Norma Jean would want a log house. It was a crazy idea… He will wad the blueprints into tight balls and fling them into the lake.” (155) As soon as he makes up his mind, he starts after Norma Jean who is “walking through the cemetery, following a serpentine brick path” (155) and, after reaching the bluff, waves goodbye to Leroy; it is left up to the reader to determine what became of poor Norma Jean after that.

(795)

Revelation 21:4

Flannery O’Connor once said that “I write the way I do because (not though) I am a Catholic.” Upon reading and interpreting two of her works this week, one finds that this could not have been more clearly stated. The reader finds a recurring theme of religion in almost all of O’Connor’s works; “Revelation” proves to be no exception.

The symbolisms and motifs of this short story can easily be extracted from a purely religious viewpoint because of the author’s writing style. It is patently clear that Mrs. Turpin sees herself as the perfect Christian, providing an example for the rest of the world to follow, as those of the faith are taught to do. Yet blinded by her prejudice, Mrs. Turpin cannot see that she is a perfect example of why so many today are reluctant to accept Christianity as their religion. It is the common case of a misinterpretation of the teachings of the Bible by an individual. Mrs. Turpin believes that she must use her blessing of being made “better” than others to save the souls of what appear to her to be savages and lowlifes. Based upon her judgment of other people around her, it is hard to believe how Mrs. Turpin views herself as the shining light of Christ for all to see. In the waiting room, she quickly groups the other people in the room into labels such as “trash” and “niggers”. It is apparent that she thinks very poorly of these people when she describes their habits of “[Lounging] about the sidewalks all day drinking root beer. Dip snuff and spit in every puddle and have it all over my face. I could be nasty. Or you could have made me a nigger… Lay down in the middle of the road and stop traffic. Roll on the ground.” (380)

From the religious perspective, the climax of the story is God attempting to send a message to Mrs. Turpin of what it is to be a true Christian. She is attacked in the waiting room of the doctor’s office- comparable to waiting in purgatory before the gates of Heaven- by a random college girl who tells Mrs. Turpin to “Go back to hell where you came from, you old wart hog.” (376). It is as if this girl could see straight into Mrs. Turpin’s soul, past all the fake appearances and outside layers. Yet still, Mrs. Turpin does not get the message, later becoming furious with God and even challenging His authority. It is then that she sees something like a highway, extending from earth to the heavens, with a train of souls going upwards, “clean for the first time in their lives…” (381). The conclusion leaves it up to the reader to decide whether or not Mrs. Turpin finally does get the message from up above.

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.” (Revelations 21:4)

(525)

An Interpretation of "Interpreter of Maladies"

During my experience in the other block of AP English I noticed that the members of the table did not enjoy speaking as much as those in my original class. Most likely because of this fact, an important idea of the short story, in my opinion, was only briefly addressed; and I would now like to take the time to more thoroughly inspect the topic. The “Interpreter of Maladies”, essentially, is about the cultural differences that face the Das family, as observed by the third-person, limitedly omniscient narrative of Mr. Kapasi. Upon thoughtful reflection, I find the story to relate in many ways to my own life.

Within the first minutes of being introduced to the Das family, Kapasi initially notices that they look like tourists, with their bright clothing and cameras. He also makes a note of how Mr. Das “squeezes his hand”, greeting him like an American; a custom that we refer to as a handshake. As noted in discussion, Mr. Kapasi sees Bobby’s braces and can only interpret them as silver wires in his mouth, as he had never seen anything like them before. The reader again sees an example of this rift when the puffed-rice vendor half-jokingly, half-seriously professes his love to Mrs. Das through a traditional song and she does not understand what it means.

Following readings of the book revealed to me these same cultural divergences existent in my life. As an “international kid”, I have constantly juggled two different cultural existences my whole life. Almost every summer since I was young, my family would go to Korea for vacation; when I lived in Korea, I would fly back to America. But being primarily an American teen, I usually found difficulty in the former. Without an entire knowledge of the Korean language, I struggle every year to converse with members outside of my immediate family. My ‘Americanization’ has also led to many misunderstandings beyond the language barrier, creating amore than necessary share of awkward moments.

It is on account of these reasons that Mrs. Das might find Mr. Kapasi’s alternate job as a medical interpreter “romantic”. There is an indelible want to return to one’s roots in every individual- causing the Das’ to return to India and my nuclear family to return to Korea every year. The ability of Mr. Kapasi to be able to speak to and understand individuals of both cultures is something that almost every one of us desires. However, unable to be seen through her narrow vision, even the interpreter of maladies, Mr. Kapasi, can only relate to Americans and English speaking individuals to a small extent, much less than what we hope for. Although time has separated both cases likely from ever reverting to their respective cultures, it is important for us to know where we come from because, as in the story, in the end, family is what matters most. (483)