A Comparison of Jack to Old Nick

Although for the most part, or at least the commencement of the novel, we can view Jack as a complete opposite of Old Nick, his father, he begins to behave quite differently upon escaping Room. Of course, Jack is Old Nick's son and thus must share various characteristics of his father, yet he is nurtured in what I can assume is a very different way. To truly understand Jack, we find that in Room, he keeps no secrets and is not given any independence whatsoever, ergo he is tightly controlled by Ma, basically acting as a pawn as mentioned in my previous post. We can see that this style of raising Jack, although forced upon Ma and Jack by Old Nick, has advantages in that Jack is ingrained with the same mentality as his mother and is for the most part moral. Upon leaving Room, he continues to have a close connection with his mother as any child would, yet he also encounters a newly-found freedom and ability to create and take choices for himself. This in turn leads to Jack become more rebellious and perhaps less moral.

In comparison, Old Nick is a psychopathic criminal who likely had an average upbringing, yet we do not discover what causes his wronged mental tendencies, therefore we must only judge him by his actions against Ma and Jack and other information about him which we are given. Old Nick is clearly not a moral person such that he breaks laws and commits violent acts, thus we can conclude that he is the villain in this novel. Yet if we consider Jack the hero as well, the similarities between him and Old Nick towards the final parts of the novel increase, since Jack is given more freedom to behave as he wishes. Jack begins to commit actions which we would view as somewhat immoral at best, and starts to keep secrets from his mother, something unseen until this point. Perhaps Jack will change for the better if Ma keeps a closer watch on him, yet, judging from his recent actions and the idea that he derives from Old Nick, we can also guess that Jack's behavior will worsen.

A Differing Vision of Jack's Heroism

Although, as noted in previous class discussion, most people view Jack's actions as basically heroic in nature, I would argue against this notion. We see from the start the opposing views of Room as we compare Jack to Ma, since Ma has lived outside and despises her situation as she is aware of the outside world. In contrast, Jack was born in Room and thus has never experienced the outside world, obtaining information only through the use of a television set, such that he truly seeks to continue his existence in Room. Even to the last minute before completing Ma's plan of escape, Jack resists through complaints and, although I believe he truly knows that his existence must change, he is selfish in that he bases his thinking only on the short-term events. Of course, Jack is only a five-year old child who cannot distinguish what is truly necessary in his life from what he desires, thus it is impossible to view this protagonist as a true hero since he only follows the orders he obtains from Ma. In a way, he does show bravery in completing the plot, yet, what other options does he have? Jack can only agree and carry out the actions which he is told to do by his mother.

Obviously, a hero must be not only brave, but also needs to possess a cunning and intelligent quality that leads them across their obstacle in order to complete their project. Even when Jack is interviewed by the police, he finds great difficulty in speaking, ergo we can conclude that he lacks the cunning quality of a hero. Jack, although as previously mentioned brave, is merely an essential pawn that is used for escape in Ma's method of flight from the confinement of Room, thus Ma uses intelligence to overcome Old Nick's strength. Basically, Ma finds a way to combine Jack's potential with her intelligence in order to devise an escape from Room.

Why is Smithy the Hero?

As mentioned recently in class, Smithy Ide is not the typical hero in that he does not rise up as an underdog to change society, yet he does resemble a heroic protagonist for various reasons. Smithy gradually changes his lifestyle, as noticeable by the small details such as his new diet and his phone conversations with Norma, regardless of his journey. Although the chain-smoking and obese Smithy is clearly unheroic in his ways and his objectives in life, yet, after the deaths of his parents and Bethany, he must make a change in his life to escape these emotional problems. He does not commence his quest across the nation simply to change his lifestyle, but simply to escape the pain in his life and temporarily forget it.

Originally, before fighting in the Vietnam war, Smithy was a slim athlete with a promising future, though following the conflict, he becomes an obese, chain smoking man with no friends and a dead-end career. Of course, at this point in one's life, it is difficult to change regardless of the situation, yet Smithy rises above the circumstances in the wake of the tragedy surrounding him in a manner that is oddly heroic to us, but at times cowardly. For example, the overall expedition of Smithy appears heroic: to ride in his bicycle from New England to California, crossing an entire continent. The literary structures he uses to portray his journey also seem to give a humble and heroic impression on the reader, since he is always seen as humble and respectful. Other characters, such as the cops when he is in Ohio and in the Rockies, abuse these traits, thus causing the reader to argue that Smithy's problem is that he doesn't stand up for himself and his rights, especially when he is helping people and in turn is persecuted. Therefore, I would argue that Smithy is the perfect hero since he slowly changes his lifestyle while retaining a heroic and humble personality.

Smithy's relationship with Norma

After Smithy is left alone in the world following the death of his parents, he finds emotional refuge with Norma and they gradually become friends, yet the troublesome situations of the past make it so that their friendship is somewhat awkward. In a way, I feel that Norma is continually disappointed since she truly cares and attempts to make the best of their friendship, such that she truly cares for Smithy. In comparison, Smithy is ashamed of his past with Norma, ergo causing awkward conversations that never amount to any advancement in their relationship.

Both Smithy and Norma do not want any sympathy or the outside world to feel sorry for them and their situations, and in a way, they are united by their own personal problems. Perhaps due to their many troubles in life they feel more comfortable forgetting the past and in therefore can obtain a better friendship, yet for some reason, Smithy still finds it difficult to speak with Norma. The one act in his past that has caused a sensation of shame, when his entire family was gathered around Norma after the accident and he refused to approach her, continues to ruin their friendship, thus it is yet another obstacle that he must overcome.

As we can derive from the text of the novel, Smithy surely has feelings for Norma, as seen in his dreams and his description of purchasing a new book to read, when he compares the woman on the cover of the book to Norma. Smithy may just be awkward when he speaks to Norma since he fears an argument or even ruining their friendship, yet he is steadily gaining confidence in conversing with Norma to possibly form a relationship in the future. We know that Norma still has feelings for Smithy, as is manifested in every phone-call from and to her.

Initial Impressions of Smithy

When we imagine a hero, we often picture one similar to that of the Odyssey, who is the leader of a group and struggles against circumstances beyond their control, yet we envision something completely separate from Smithy (superficially, in the sense that the typical hero is strong, attractive, intelligent as well as other having other similar values). Smithy is basically a "loser" since he is overweight, friendless, a chain smoker and has fallen into a status below mediocrity, yet we find a certain heroic quality to him even before he commences on his impossible quest. As he has been struck with tragedy with the death of his sister and his parents, I think that his emotional resilience to these situations and his final decision to find comfort by trekking across the nation on a small bicycle prove him to be an unconventional hero, yet a hero nonetheless.

Intially, I saw Smithy as somewhat removed from his life, especially in his way of interacting with people, and perhaps this was his way of resisting his tragic situation. As the novel progressed, a certain likeable quality is found in the way he narrates his memories, and finally, he decides to embark on a journey that will change his way of life. Overall, regarding his situation, we see that Smithy is a desperate man who has little to lose now that he has lost his family, thus he simply wants a way to escape his emotional problems and seizes an opportunity to do so on his bike. If we see this action from a perspective of a pathos-invoking character standing up for himself, as previously described, we loose insight on the potential obstacles behind his adventure. Even for the most experienced athletes, biking across a continent is no easy task, yet Smithy is in an even worse position since he is overweight, a chain smoker and into his forties, ergo he is not in the realistic conditions to complete such an expedition. In a similar way to Anse Bundren from As I lay Dying, Smithy's voyage seems to be without purpose or simply absurd, but we somehow as readers find a heroic quality of their journeys since they face off against the impossible with bravery, even if their ideas and objectives are pointless to us.

Noble Quest or Absurd Venture?

Throughout As I Lay Dying, the Bundren family is continually bombarded with obstacles of every kind, many of which are caused by Anse's illogical decisions that, apart from being morally questionable at times, inflict more problems, such that, at the root of these varied problems, is the idea of transporting Addie's body to Jefferson at her request. The truth is that, as Addie hated Anse as well as the rest of the family (except for Jewel, a product of an adulterous relationship with the minister), I find it ridiculous that Anse is willing to spend time, resources and risk his well-being, yet I also see that Anse was likely blind to Addie's truth feelings to him as well as her moral character, thus he reluctantly decides to  transport her corpse to her hometown. In a way, there is a nobility in the idea of his journey, yet the way in which he executes his travel is quite unvirtuous as he is seen robbing from his children while denying the charity of others to increase his ego.

Of course, every member of the family has ulterior motives for the expedition to bury the family matriarch, including economic reasons, yet also, in the example of Dewey Dell, for personal reasons such as to terminate her pregnancy. Overall, each person has a reason for making the journey other than to fulfill Addie's dying wish, thus they lose some dignity over wanting to use the opportunity of a family member's death in order to better their lives in either economic or social ways.

In conclusion, although Anse originally intends for his voyage to be one based on virtue, a noble journey to fulfill his wife's final wish, I find that various details of the novel detract from the original motive and reason such that we find Anse exhibiting the ridiculous behavior of taking his children's wealth, refusing people's hospitality and other such senseless actions, ergo disproving the theory of a noble reason behind the Bundren family's trip. Anse also shows a kind arrogance when he refuses to take the advice of his neighbors, seeing his truth as the only one, therefore adding to the sheer ridiculous yet noble nature of the venture, while the unrighteous details only reinforce an absurd expedition.

A Comparison of the Morality of Ulysses to Odysseus

Throughout the Odyssey, we find that Odysseus consistently tricks his opponents and uses his superior wit to achieve success such that he overcomes obstacles like the Cyclops, the Sirens and various others relatively unharmed. Therefore, it is obvious that he also feels pride and hubris preceding each of his successes, which causes him unnecessary obstacles, yet in the end, he is victorious. In contrast, Ulysses may be extremely prideful, but on several occasions, he is defeated in both intellect and force, since he is scammed and beaten by Big Dan, the equivalent of the Cyclops, and is later defeated in a fist-fight. 

Also, it is interesting to compare the heroic aspects of both characters, since the Odyssey portrays Odysseus as a god, at many times overcoming obstacles in a supernatural way, such that the results impress the general audience. Exciting feats of ingenuity such as blinding the Cyclops and attaching himself and his crew to the undersides of sheep to escape, or being tied down to hear the Siren's song and survive give the thought that Odysseus is trying to con the system that the Greek gods have emplaced.

Superficially, Ulysses appears as a treasure-hunting con man to his friends, who therefore escape with him in the hopes of attaining wealth. In the end, we see the hero blunder in defending his family against the threat of a suitor taking his place, in protecting his wealth from Big Dan Teague, and truly in the final challenge against the sheriff, yet it seems as if he has a supernatural force behind him that saves him from these situations in a similar way that Athena aids Odysseus. In the superficial respects, the two protagonists are quite similar, yet we see that Ulysses cannot be considered a hero for his successes.