In the book Plainsong by Kent Haruf, the overwhelming theme throughout the novel is loneliness/darkness but as the story continues to unfold we start to see some of the characters start to see a sense of hope. For Victoria and the Mcpheron brothers I believe that the turning point of hope for the both of them is the baby VIctoria is carrying. With Victoria being pregnant it brings together Victoria and the McPheron brothers as the brothers accept Victoria and start to treat her as "family". I think I see the coming together of Victoria and the brothers when they all go out shopping for the baby. "It's all right, he said. He started to put his arm around her, but stopped himself. He looked down into her face. It's all right, he said again.It is. You'll just have to wait"(Haruf 182). These short sentences hold a lot of content and bring out that hope and trust that Victoria needs to have in the twins and I think it all has to go back to Victoria's baby and how it brings together not only Victoria and the McPheron brothers but also the other characters in the book such as Maggie Jones and Gurthie.
In the beginning of the novel, the author describes the train tracks/station in the town of Holt by saying "the passenger trains only stopped in Holt for five minutes coming and going, long enough to allow the two or three passengers to board or get off and for the man in the baggage car to stop the Denver news onto the platform beside the tracks." (13) trains and train tracks usually symbolize a journey, so the railroad tracks that run through Holt could symbolize the journey of Ike and Bobby's loss of innocence. At the end of the novel they let the train come and flatten their mother's bracelet, and then bury the bracelet, which shows that they understand that their mother has left them and have decided to move on. The train tracks also represent the isolation of the town, because few people get on and off the train, and the newspaper comes from the train which is one of the few ways the town has communication with the outside world, so to speak.
I would also have to agree with Leah and Kaitlyn's arguments that being alone and feeling lonely are two completely different aspects. You do not have to have no one to feel lonely. You could be alone and not once feel lonely. I would have to say when Gurthie goes over to Maggie Jones house because he is "lonely" and feels lost with himself,(Haruf 236). But he is not really lonely as he has two sons and plenty of friends in the city of Holt. Does Gurthie actually feel lonely or does he feel lost without a women around in the house anymore since Ella has left to go live up in Denver, Gurthie is left with no companion but his two sons Ike and Bobby.Once again Haruf describes this major difference of feeling lonely and being alone and left without anyone.
I agree that cows and livestock represent an important idea throughout the novel. Haruf does seem to answer the question you stated as no, and I want to expand on how this also relates to Dwayne like you said. This is mainly portrayed by how Victoria leaves Dwayne and chooses the McPheron brothers over him. Although he does care about Victoria and the baby and wants them to stay with him, Dwayne ultimately does more harm than good for Victoria. After the party in Denver, it says, "she lay there for a long time feeling sick and sad." (213) This shows that Victoria feels alone even when she's right next to him, so she decides that he's not worth staying for. I agree that this conflicting parallel shows that something that has value but can be potentially dangerous is not worth caring for.
In the book Plainsong by Kent Haruf, the overwhelming theme throughout the novel is loneliness/darkness but as the story continues to unfold we start to see some of the characters start to see a sense of hope. For Victoria and the Mcpheron brothers I believe that the turning point of hope for the both of them is the baby VIctoria is carrying. With Victoria being pregnant it brings together Victoria and the McPheron brothers as the brothers accept Victoria and start to treat her as "family". I think I see the coming together of Victoria and the brothers when they all go out shopping for the baby. "It's all right, he said. He started to put his arm around her, but stopped himself. He looked down into her face. It's all right, he said again.It is. You'll just have to wait"(Haruf 182). These short sentences hold a lot of content and bring out that hope and trust that Victoria needs to have in the twins and I think it all has to go back to Victoria's baby and how it brings together not only Victoria and the McPheron brothers but also the other characters in the book such as Maggie Jones and Gurthie.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the novel, the author describes the train tracks/station in the town of Holt by saying "the passenger trains only stopped in Holt for five minutes coming and going, long enough to allow the two or three passengers to board or get off and for the man in the baggage car to stop the Denver news onto the platform beside the tracks." (13) trains and train tracks usually symbolize a journey, so the railroad tracks that run through Holt could symbolize the journey of Ike and Bobby's loss of innocence. At the end of the novel they let the train come and flatten their mother's bracelet, and then bury the bracelet, which shows that they understand that their mother has left them and have decided to move on. The train tracks also represent the isolation of the town, because few people get on and off the train, and the newspaper comes from the train which is one of the few ways the town has communication with the outside world, so to speak.
ReplyDeleteI would also have to agree with Leah and Kaitlyn's arguments that being alone and feeling lonely are two completely different aspects. You do not have to have no one to feel lonely. You could be alone and not once feel lonely. I would have to say when Gurthie goes over to Maggie Jones house because he is "lonely" and feels lost with himself,(Haruf 236). But he is not really lonely as he has two sons and plenty of friends in the city of Holt. Does Gurthie actually feel lonely or does he feel lost without a women around in the house anymore since Ella has left to go live up in Denver, Gurthie is left with no companion but his two sons Ike and Bobby.Once again Haruf describes this major difference of feeling lonely and being alone and left without anyone.
ReplyDeleteI agree that cows and livestock represent an important idea throughout the novel. Haruf does seem to answer the question you stated as no, and I want to expand on how this also relates to Dwayne like you said. This is mainly portrayed by how Victoria leaves Dwayne and chooses the McPheron brothers over him. Although he does care about Victoria and the baby and wants them to stay with him, Dwayne ultimately does more harm than good for Victoria. After the party in Denver, it says, "she lay there for a long time feeling sick and sad." (213) This shows that Victoria feels alone even when she's right next to him, so she decides that he's not worth staying for. I agree that this conflicting parallel shows that something that has value but can be potentially dangerous is not worth caring for.
ReplyDelete