Part 4: Pool Neighborhood 3

In the conversation with Ryan and Doug I like how Doug as his dad gives advice that is life relatable to anyone. He mentions part of growing up is realizing a lot of pain in this world and taking responsibility instead of letting it take over you as a person to distract you from living your life and change in behavior. And to also get over your fears, Doug believes Ryan is still hurt over Snickers dy My, but Ryan believes it has something todo with the video game and that he really didn't get hit by a car and something else happened to him. I just find it nice in the script you also find advice that can be lived by atleast for me I can. That advice is something I can relate to and hobby in my everyday life. It's true because that is a life lesson that is apart of everyone's experience at some part in their life and I like how It Is used in this part of the script with a father and son.

Neighborhood 3

So far I think the beginning to this play is very interesting. I really like it. I like the idea of a video game taking over the teenagers lives as many characters say in th play. Some other characters seem to think it's real and something is coming like Ryan mentioned. I also like how each part for example like part 1 is Makaela and Trevor conversating then part 2 jumps to Leslie and Steve are also conversating in the same topic about the video game. Each conversation is the same but comes up in a different way. As I went on reading I notice in another part Makaelas dad and brother have a conversation and so on, each scenario is different but somehow all the characters are connected. I'm really looking forward to watching the play. This is a good script I have read in a long time and not boring at all!

Getting Out Of Our Own Way

I think Bowles writes stories about one of two people. People who get in the way. And people who are trying to get out of the way. Call At Corazon is one of my preferred stories. The man was clearly unhappy in his marriage and with a woman he could not be himself around. He was not a drunk or a sailor he was just a man who liked to sketch. I commend him on getting out of the way and leaving his cheating wife. No progress would have been made if had been forgiving and stayed present. I believe he now has a true chance at happiness. The professor in A Distant Episode was a tad bit arrogant and look at how he ended up. Berated like the people he tried to avoid as town horror. Bowles paints pictures of psychological troubles. At Paso Rojo we are introduced to a sociopath who dabbles in the ways of  vixen. Her negative behavior is only enhanced by her boredom and her desire to see others suffer. The Scorpion is kind of like a wives tale screaming out if you cannot handle society then you will live in a cave and that will be it. The Fourth Day From Santa Cruz introduces us to little boy who wants to be noticed. He is so concerned about no one liking him that he plots the ways where he can be noticed and stoop exactly to those people he despises.

I guess after writing my reaction I like the dysfunction. I love how he personifies all of these characters flaws on a magnified level. We all operate through our dysfunction and his characters muddle through life based on their inability to really handle interactions. They cannot handle the human interaction.

Under The Sky is the perfect example. Jacinto uses the town as an escape from his mom and the opinions of his small town. The small town keeps him locked away unable to act on his desires to commit certain unspeakable acts. I believe the village and the town create a parallel of his two sides. There are so many questions I have.

Until next time....

A Thousand Days For Mokhtar

This is one of my preferred stories. I love the morbid ending that is a cross between jovial and melancholic. Starting off with the beginning, I like the picture painted of Mokhtar living a solitary life. I feel the heartbreak of a man who lost the love of his life. His avoidance of going to that room that probably feels even smaller now that his wife is gone. I think his wife was the personification of good in the world. I just think it is funny how  Mokhtar lives a quiet life and his life is turned completely upside down by this weird dream. It is kind of like "wow, really guys!" but I also think it was a sign or meant to happen. He was so lonely that he felt good hearing other prisoners through the walls. I just want him to be happy. Maybe in a very weird way he needed that human connection. Knowing that in this small, general space there were voices and lives that added to his life. Maybe he just needed something to drown out the silence of his wife's absence. Since his wife was not there to confide in he handled a situation on his own and maybe in this way he can be at peace. I think it is comedic genius how the whole altercation was tied to together with Mokhtar having one simple thought. A moment of clarity.

Hung. thoughts and constructive feedback!

“Hung” is about two young teenagers, a boy, Armando and a girl, Elena who found a very interesting satanic book at an old thrift shop and decided to do a ritual from the book that did not end well for either one of them.

1.      FADE IN ON:  Interior. Bed room.

It is around 7:30, Elena picks up the phone and dials Armando’s phone number. The phone rings three times and Armando picks up on the other line.

Elena: Hi Armando, what are you doing tonight?

Armando: Hey, I don’t have any plans; my parents are away for the weekend.

Elena: Great. My parents are going out for date night around 9:30; do you want to come over?

Armando: Yeah, sure, have the book ready. I’ll be there around 10:15.

Elena: Sounds good, see you then.

Elena hangs up the phone, and starts cleaning her room. She is becoming excited but still a little scared. After she is done cleaning her room, she will walk over to her night stand and take a look at the big, brown book with engravings on it. The camera moves in on her hands as she runs her fingers over the engravings slowly.  After flipping through the book she closes it and leaves it on the night stand until it is time.

Elena parents are putting their coats on by the front door, they kiss give her a kiss on her forehead, open the door and leave. 30 mins later, Armando arrives. They greet each other.

Elena: Hey, are you ready for this?

Armando: Yes, let’s go to your room.

Armando and Elena rush over to her bedroom, shaking in anticipation.

When they get to her room, Armando begins to read the instructions from the book:

Armando: The room must be in complete darkness, with candles lit in a circle where the person performing the spell must sit within.

Elena closes all of the windows, pulls the curtains to cover, turns off all the light and lights 6 candles in a circle. Both Armando and Elena sit in the middle, facing each other and the book is placed in the middle of them.

They join hands and looking down at the book they began to read out loud together.

Finishing up Bowles

For me a Bowles story begins with a clear, sensory description of the setting. Many,if not all of his stories start with an undertone of depression, redundancy (for the character), and a sense of a dis-utopia. I wholeheartedly enjoy reading Bowles's scenery. Even if the context of the story is confusing to me or uninteresting,I still can feel the setting. As  Professor Talbird stated earlier, sometimes he doesn't know if he likes a story but finds himself thinking about it for days after. I love when a work of literature lingers. Bowles,for me, is so descriptive that his imagery lingers.

This goes hand in hand with why I pick A Circular Valley as my favorite reading. The story itself is odd, unique, and easily understood a thousand different ways. The scene when the Atlajala enters the friar is one of the two scenes that has resonated with me in this story. I can feel the fight and the pleasure the friar feels when this spirit enters him. I also particularly love when the friar has his arms open and he looks up to the night sky. The night is calm, the night sky is expansive, and the friar is one individual man who is having this internal struggle. This scene is lonely, loud, silent, and complex.  The other scene that stayed with me from this story was when the Atlajala enters the man and looks at woman for the first time. Bowles describes the woman as the most beautiful creation the Atlajala has ever seen and Bowles in that paragraph goes on to describe the beauty of wild nature. When we see the great beauty of nature (such as the Grand Canyon, The Alps, salt caves, coral reefs etc) we are awestruck at the beauty of this natural yet wild substance. I feel that this is how Bowles has described the vision of the woman to Atlajala. It's funny because, as I said in my previous blog post about A Circular Valley, I feel that women are described as a sinful temptress in the Garden of Eden. As a female, I obviously am exhausted with this description of our gender but the story A Circular Valley left an imprint in my mind because of Bowles descriptive language. I felt what the friar felt, I saw the night sky the friar saw, I felt the need of guidance from a higher being as he needed at that time, I felt the wild nature in this setting, I heard the waterfall, I felt the beauty and bewilderment the Atlajala felt once it entered woman.

This collection is not the first single author collection I have read, however, I really can not remember the others I have read. I believe my journey with literature started around fifth grade when I started reading Poe's collections,these are the earliest single author collections I can remember. I would not recommend reading Poe's collections in ENG 220 because I feel they are a bit easy/young for a college level Creative Writing course.

final conclusions

As we finish up w/ The Delicate Prey, I'd like us to make some final conclusions about what these stories are like:

• How would you characterize a Paul Bowles story? What are they like? Reference a specific story or scene (w/ p. #) to illustrate your point(s).
• Name your favorite 1-3 stories from the collection. Why these stories? What made them most compelling for you?
• Is this the first single-author story collection you've read? If not, what are some others that you've enjoyed? Any that you would recommend for ENGL 220 (and why)?

Paul Bowles works to set a tone to make his point but in a very indirect way. At times you find yourself asking why? Why did they do that? Why did they say that? Than after you have at ahhhh moment where some scene makes sense and the story comes together and his point made.  

The story I enjoyed the most from Bowles collection was " You are not I". It really made you think. The way he it was written from the characters point of view reminded me of the movie 6th sense. I'm not sure if you've ever had the chance to watch it. In the movie there is a character who plays the part of a psychologist to a young child. He is trying to make sense of what he is seeing. At the end we realize that the story was being told through the eyes of the psychologist instead who he believed to be his patient. " you are not I" was like that for me. The story we read was from the point of view of the sister who managed to escape from the hospital. All the details given and the picture painted was from her view point. 

The other story that I enjoyed was the scorpion. I believe that the purpose behind it was to make a point, at least that's what I gathered from it. The point being that this old woman once raised her children in this cave. Then one day they grew up and decided to leave. They left and went their separate ways. No one looked back to check on her, they didn't consider her safety or her well being. which is what happens most of the time. Parents dedicate they're lives to their children only to be left alone after they've gone from home. Her sons return is after many years of being on her own. She is angry and does not want to go but doesn't want to die alone in the cave. The presence of the man on the rock reminds me of the strangers who tend to look after elders who have no one else to do so. Although they may not interact with them directly they are always keeping a watchful eye. 

This is the first single-author collection that I've read. It's interesting to see the style of the author in terms of their writing. how they choose to express themselves and the picture(s) they prefer to paint.          

S.C finishing the delicate prey by paul bowels

• Name your favorite 1-3 stories from the collection. Why these stories? What made them most compelling for you? 

"Pastor dowe at Tacate" is the one I've enjoyed the most because it seemed to me the most complete story with a satisfying ending where I felt like "yeah that's a good place to end it.", unlike some of the other stories in this book such as "The Scorpion" and "Under the Sky" where the end at an odd place making it feel like they had more to offer.

You are not I also caught my interest with such a brutal beginning centered around the a little girl and her responds towards it which all makes sense when its discovered that she has a mental problem that or she just has a really really vivid imagination 

By the Water

I notice that in many of Bowles stories, the main character does not like their hometown and their hometown is often described as a depressing and/or stagnant place. This is the introduction we see of 'By the Water' and its setting. "He felt proud to be coming from a better and larger city" here we see that Bowles often favors larger, more condensed cities in his writing.

Something I found interesting is that I believe this is the first story I've read from Bowles with an Arab/(South and/or Eastern) Mediterranean influence. We see this through the character's name Amar, the oud instrument he listens to early on, and also of course, the hammam (Turkish bathhouse).

The creature in this story is interesting yet very creepy to me personally. The creature, in my mind, looks like a muscular huge tadpole with pincers and the ability to speak human language. The Lazrag also has some magical or metaphysical abilities as we see here:"Lazrag has found  us and changed us both into birds ...  No one will ever know us again" the boy said with delight. We also see he has the ability to turn into  crab later on. This would be the second story I remember from Bowles having a shape shifting character.

I found it odd that Amar was referred to as Amar and Sidi simultaneously. I googled what 'sidi' translates to in English and apparently it translates to: My master. In the last scene at the beach I sense a romantic undertone. The boy and Amar are the only two characters, they are at the beach with the waves crashing on their bodies and pushing their clothes away. The boy holds Amar after he is hurt and repeatedly says "I saved you".

An experiment of sorts...

I was reading a work by Julia Alvarez where she exposes this kind of awful thing she did as a child, a long held secret and cites that memory as a source of inspiration and pain for her writing. I think everyone has different ways of going about this but I as an experiment wanted to translate my "deep dark secret" into writing. (Don't think I'm awful, please!) This is a part of my larger collection, which is a series of stories that relate to a larger narrative, but I don't think you have to have read the collection to understand the story.

Mama # 2

When she was five, my little golden haired warrior girl took in a stray cat and there was no telling her that she couldn’t, even though it was enough of a time putting food in our mouths. She named the cat Buster and cried and cried when I told her Buster was a girl. 

Buster and her slept together in her little bed every night, though I told her that that cat was filthy. She spent that whole summer in the backyard together, just two wild animals rolling in the dirt. “I hate that thing,” I told her at dinner one night, but she pretended not to hear me whiled she snuck chicken under the table to a waiting Buster. 

“Mama,” she said to me one morning, hair tinged green with chlorine and nose sunburnt. “I think Buster’s getting fat.” I looked down at that dirty cat and began to laugh. “No, honey, Buster is pregnant.” My little Roman soldier looked at her lion companion wide-eyed, as if it was contagious. “Buster must be popular with the boy cats,” I laughed. “She’s going to have kittens!” 

The summer went by and she watched after Buster like a midwife. “Mama, look how big she’s getting!” I knew one day soon that cat would give birth and silently hoped it wouldn't be in a hamper of my clean clothes. The day came and my little vet-to-be dragged me by my arm into the house, not letting me change out of my work uniform. In the corner of the basement Buster laid, still swollen, exposing her nipples to five little furry kittens in all different colors. Five precious little lives. Buster and I had more in common that I thought. 

“Mama, why aren’t there eyes open?” “Little kittens keep their eyes closed for the first week. They’ll keep getting big and strong with their mama and one day they won’t need her anymore.” I elbowed her playfully, but she wouldn’t take her eyes off Buster and the kittens. “Come on, honey, lets eat dinner.” She babbled about the kittens all through dinner, about who would be named what and who would be her favorite. I didn’t want to ruin her night by telling her we couldn’t possibly have six cats in the house.  

The next day I got home from work, ready to hear the kitten filled events of the day. I went down to the basement thinking I’d find my little one, watching over Buster’s litter, but she wasn’t down their. I knelt down to get a closer look at the kittens and Buster bristled at my closeness. She was protecting a kitten, my little love’s favorite, a tiny little orange kitten that was barely the size of a palm she wanted to name Garfield. White film streamed from it’s tiny blinking eyes, eyes not ready to be exposed to the elements. Buster guarded it with a low growl. I pressed my knuckles into my eyes until I saw stars. My little one. She was ruled by an impulsivity and and never considered what cost. She never learned to wait. 

Author’s Note: I liked writing for the Mother character and wanted to give it another try. I was kind of also inspired by Bowles’ style of writing where it was a normal story and then bam, something kind of awful happens. Also, I was reading about writers using a deep dark secret as a place for their writing and to try to expose that place. Well… this is mine. I’ve never actually told anyone about this before and wondered what power it would have in it if I wrote about it. 

Finishing Up Bowles

• How would you characterize a Paul Bowles story? What are they like? Reference a specific story or scene (w/ p. #) to illustrate your point(s).

Generally, I would characterize a Paul Bowles story as monotonous then BAM ACTION, such as with A Circular Valley. (No page number because using a pdf) The couple is having a bit of a quarrel and then BAM he falls off his donkey off a cliff. I find the stories slightly boring (I know, I know you hate that Professor) but I do know that if I hold on towards the end I will be rewarded with a crazy ending. He also illustrates the darker side of human beings (Chalia, Jacinto, etc) and generally eschews happy endings

In my other post I stated that I dislike his venturing into magical realism because of his inability to portray the magical part. I also find that his portrayal of human interaction to be unique, leaning on the bizarre. 
That being said, I much prefer his work that is more realistic fiction- it tends to read as more magical than when he writes about magical subjects. (i.e. his description of Luz)

"Her hair was a silky white helmet on the top of her head, her whole face was white, almost as if she had covered it with paint, her brows and lashes, and even her eyes, were light to the point of not existing. Only her pale pink lips seemed real."

vs.

"The creature’s head was large; its body was small and it had no legs or arms. the lower part of the trunk ended in two flipper-like pieces of flesh. From the shoulders grew short pincers. It was a man, and it was looking up at him from the floor where it rested."

• Name your favorite 1-3 stories from the collection. Why these stories? What made them most compelling for you?

1) Senor Ong and Senor Ha- I loved the friendship between the children and the imagery in the story of the river where the children play, as well as the superstitions surrounding Albinism. The young boy becoming an unwitting drug dealer was entertaining. 

2) The Echo- The latent homosexuality and seeing the approach to the subject was very interesting- Aileen's rage towards Prue "and not knowing why" was fantastic

3) At Paso Rojo- Chalia's sociopathic portrayal was interesting, a better read than your average old maid story

• Is this the first single-author story collection you've read? If not, what are some others that you've enjoyed? Any that you would recommend for ENGL 220 (and why)?

It isn't! There are a few that I have read and enjoyed. "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri is a very good one. It is about Indian culture, both in India and in the diaspora, and there is a very interesting theme of communication throughout all the stories. I like her writing style and she writes about food in a way that you can almost smell it. I also enjoyed "How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents" by Julia Alvarez. Though the stories aren't technically stand alone, they contribute to a larger narrative about the lives of 4 sisters. I really enjoyed that book. I think I gravitate towards novels like this because they are relatable: coming of age, relationships, etc. and that being said I am glad that we have read this work because it is unlike anything I would typically read

By The Water

This was my least favorite of this week's readings. I felt similar weaknesses in this story to A Circular Valley, I just feel like Bowles can't hang at the magical realism table. It's a little heavy on the realism, too light on the magic, I feel. This creature, Lazrag, is introduced into the story but doesn't really help to carry it. I much prefer his other works where he deals in reality, and find his fantasy unbelievable and lacking in colorful or interesting descriptions.

Sensual Writing in a Distant Episode

I loved Bowles use of sensual writing in "A Distant Episode." He specifically refers to the Professor's sense of smell, with lines like:
"smell of other things besides the endless ozone of the heights: orange blossoms, pepper, sun-baked excrement, burning olive oil, rotten fruit. "
"The afterglow was nearly gone from the sky, and the pinkness in objects was disappearing, almost as he watched. He lit the carbide lamp and winced at its odor."
"The sweet black odor of rotten meat hung in the air suddenly."
"Also, the odor of human excrement was almost constant as they walked between the walls."
The Professor's heightened sense of smells helps establish him as a foreigner. 

I also enjoyed the use of a Professor as a sort of court jester, especially considering the times. Anthropologists of the time were often exploitative and ethnocentric, so seeing him fall prey to the people he is studying ( I realize the Professor is a linguist, but I felt the connection while reading.) I also felt that a linguist was deprived of communication as very interesting.  

Finishing Up Bowles

As we finish up w/ The Delicate Prey, I'd like us to make some final conclusions about what these stories are like:

• How would you characterize a Paul Bowles story? What are they like? Reference a specific story or scene (w/ p. #) to illustrate your point(s).
• Name your favorite 1-3 stories from the collection. Why these stories? What made them most compelling for you?
• Is this the first single-author story collection you've read? If not, what are some others that you've enjoyed? Any that you would recommend for ENGL 220 (and why)?

A Distant Episode

The professor was surprised that Hassan Ramani was deceased. He had an interest in who took over the cafe. I found it violent how the professor got beat up. I also think the way the author used dogs in this story to be vicious and violent to use them as a weapon was kind of different. I wonder why the men had an interest in taking him and dressing him how they wished. This story seemed to have a lot of gruesome violence atleast from what i read and picture when they speak about the moments of when they attacked the professor.

The Delicate Prey

In this story Driss seems to be the delicate prey and the Moungari is his hunter. I found this kind of disturbing and violent. The author explains how Driss got shot and how the Moungari stabbed him with the razor. As I read this story I picture a lot of action in a forest like those old school hunting shows. I didn't care for this story by the author. It wasn't one of my likings by Bowles.

By the Water

I find it interesting the boy wanted to stay with Amar. They seemed to have a close connection. The boy saved Amar From Lazrag. Lazrag seems to be this tough guy that runs the town but yet is referred to as a creature? I wonder what kind of creature. He has no legs but at the end he is referred to as the crab. I wonder why that is?

CP & YANI

I think the major difference in these two stories versus the rest in Bowles' collection is that they are written in the first person.  Due to the stories being written in first person, I believe it is harder to understand exactly how the characters feel or what their motives are.

Both stories deal with issues in the family.  Both narrators either have no regard for their sibling or have negative feelings toward them.  Both stories deal with mentally derranged characters.  In YANI the narrator is either schizophrenic or has some other type of mental disorder because she doesn't have a sense of reality.  She thinks she can control things with her mind and is caught placing stones in dead people's mouths.  Although the narrator in CP is not mentally ill, he doesn't seem to have a real grip on reality either.  He does not want to accept his son's homosexuality or the fact that his son is abusing children, so he takes him far from the people who can "judge."

Bowles is very good at building up both characters.

THE FOURTH DAY OUT FROM SANTA CRUZ

What is up with Paul Bowles and youth? I feel like a huge part of his writing is the transition from youth to adulthood. Ramon's focus on his peers' perception of him hinders his growth. He is more focused on mirroring his peers than becoming his own man. When he is plotting how he will get all the others back it just points to his immaturity. A bigger issue is the conformity of it all. Ramon is so concerned about fitting in with all of these people instead escaping them because he is different. I am all about individuality and I just wish Ramon wouldn't focus on his coworkers so much. He is so easily distracted by life that he forgets he could set an individual path for himself. Soon he will realize not everybody will like you.

The Scorpion

I felt as if Bowles was taking a break from reality. It is told in third person but you feel disconnected from the characters because he just is talking about this old woman. He glazes over her existence based on the length of this story as compared to others. I think it kind of serves as a warning or like one of those scary stories that your parents use to put you to bed. First off, the old lady living in a cave makes me laugh because it just reminds of someone who could not handle society. The whole story just creates mystery behind the context of why she is there. Why have her sons let her live in this cave? What happened in the village that she feels more comfortable with scorpions in a cave?
It lets the reader create a story. And my story is her sons created a cave for her because maybe the mom just needed to be on her own and she didn't need to worry about her children. I think one of her sons may have passed and now she has to come to the village for his funeral.
Or i could be completely wrong and missed the whole point of this story.

Tea on The Mountain

I wonder why Mjid was interested in Ghazi's friend. This story was hard to understand. I found it odd and challenging at the same time. Mjid's character seemed to be a character that doesn't seem trust worthy. He seemed to impose on a lot of things. She explained about the house she lived in and paid rent to and he says he would get the money back and take a vacation with her then he changed it to giving it to her to let her decide what she'll do with it. He also mentionedaybe she'll invite him over to her house in America to have tea. She seemed like she didn't want to be on the mountain with him. The author writes in the story the mountain is also referred to as a farm. I wonder why he titled it "Tea on the Mountain". It was kind of hard, not one of my likings of Bowles stories.

A Thousand Days for Mokhtar

I find it interesting that the author writes about Mohktar paying Bouchta and Bouchta claims he never got paid. Mokhtar ended up killing Bouchta and ended up in jail. He realized afterward he never did pay Bouchta. I wonder why the author decided to end it that way.

'The slim slice of smoke slithering up'

The slim slice of smoke slithering up.

I was almost to Paris when I saw the slim slice of smoke slithering up. It was coming from the engine of this two doored, practically ancient, Citroen.

This better just be a dead leaf burning inside of the engine or something, I thought.

I flick my right side turn signal on while I pull over on a lifeless French road. I switch my eyes from the road towards the dashboard. The car tells me it’s well over heated. I give it the finger. I put the gear in park and turn the engine off. My plan was to let the car rest and to pray that it’ll be magically fixed in thirty minutes when I start it up again. My right hand clicks my seatbelt off while my left hand pulls it to the side.

All Under the Stars was Alabaster II

I stayed staring straight ahead. My right hand holding the cigarette adjacent to my cheek. The slim slice of smoke slithering up. I flickered my eyes to the right to see him, my eyebrows furrowing habitually. I chewed on the middle of my bottom lip and looked him up and down. I arched my left eyebrow and cocked my head to the left, expecting some dialogue from him. We were both soundless.

He came closer and put his hand on the bench were I sat, He pulled his hand back. It was too cold to touch.

"You cold?" I ask.

"Uh, well, it's freezing out here. Aren't you cold?" He replys in a curious monotone.

"Yeah." I comment.

We both give an awkward half smile. The kind of smile where you kind of fold your lips into each other and pull the corners of your mouth up. We breathe. I take a second breath and a pull from my cigarette while staring at him. He hated it when I would smoke. Now, I don't care. I stare the bull in the eyes while waving my flag in front of him. I have no idea what the hell his point was by coming out here. To check on me? To see if I was alive? To talk to me? To care about me? I've moved from hurt to anger by his staggering presence.

"Well, what do you want?" I snap.

He breathes. "Uh, just to say hi I guess..." He answers.

"Hi." I say.

For a moment we were about to laugh. We were going to laugh at the silliness of my stubbornness and the obvious awkwardness of him. Had we laughed I could see us reconciling. I could see us joking, I could see us lightening up. We both understood the need to be serious and the need to block out our magnetism.

'Pages from Cold Point' and 'You Are Not I'

Narration is an obviously important aspect to any piece of literature. Personally, I do not have any preference as to which point of view a story is being written in, however, the point of view and/or narration does influence my reading of the text.

Third person texts allow me to detach stereotypes, feelings, and personal situations from characters. Third person narration is a more general narration and personally, this helps me to see a bigger point more clearly. First person point of view, for me, is like a telescope into one mind. This is great to express inner monologue and thoughts, however, I personally can not 'trust' philosophical view points and/or statements about society from one person, as that is their own opinion.

I believe this is the reason I read 'You Are Not I' as one person. For me, first person point of view is misleading. It is one sided. In this story in particular our main character(s) is/are implied to have a mental illness. Often times a person with multiple personality disorders will create a person close to them and a person against them. I can see the sister as the person which was created by herself to take the brunt of the negativity she faces in life. As we said earlier, those with mental illness are not completely detached from reality. This is true, however, there is also a detachment from reality. In 'You Are Not I' I saw it as the main character was aware of her mental illness and created her (possibly twin) sister to help her feel less isolated and more normal, as well as being the one to take responsibility away from her (as we saw in the ending, her sister was taken away, not her.). The first person narration was the hand that lead me towards this theory. Had this story been written in third person, we would have seen the characters through a neutral source. This could have defined how many bodies were present during the conversations  and actions.

In a paragraph towards the end it is stated: "As they left the city limits she stopped, and began to cry ... She was really counting the service stations along the road on the way back to the Home" This stood out to me for two reasons. Reason one being, if this story is in first person, Ethel would not have known what her sister is seeing in the car. Ethel is at home, her 'sister' is in the car, they are in two completely different locations. Reason the second is Bowles uses "back to the Home". Ethel was the patient, not her sister, her sister had not been admitted to the Home, Ethel would be the one returning. There is also a lot of mirroring in these last paragraphs, they both have rocks in their mouth, they both taste blood, they both can see the road leading back to the Home, and it is raining in both locations.

You are not I and pages from cold point

At first I wasn't sure what was going on. I believed that the character left school and was on her way home, saw an accident and decided to be nosy. Then as she ventured along side the wreck she began to place stones in the mouths of the victims of the crash (that caused me to pause for a moment).
Moving along further into the story, I believed that she was trying to get a free ride from the ambulance driver to her sisters house. When she spoke of her plan to sit still I was a little confused. It wasn't until the end when she thought to herself that "they did not realize she was not me" that I understood the error in who the paramedics took back to the hospital. I guess the sisters were twins with her staying clam and causing her sister to react the way she did is what confused the workers. Thus leaving her to take her sisters place.


In pages from cold point I wasn't able to read the story in it's entirety. I will say this however, Racky seemed to not like people much and didn't want to be bothered. The way he expressed his thoughts about life and how the world should be wiped clean and how new life could form again.    

In "Pages from Cold Point" and "You are not I" both character sort of  give the feeling of arrogance that they know better than the rest as they both sorta want to get away from there settings and into something new, they both start out with a depressing mood one talking about a train wreck and the other starts with the character saying civilization is doomed

Cold Point and You Are Not I

These stories share important qualities in that both are told from the first person perspective of the narrator. This allows his/her views and opinions to be biased to their liking or in their favor in many ways. It also allows us, the readers, to truly see the details that are important within the main character/authors mind.

Cold Point and You Are Not I

In both short stories, "Pages from Cold Point and "You Are Not I" Paul Bowles takes the point of view of an outsider. In "You Are Not I," Ethel seems to be psychotic and we learn later on that she's escaped from a mental institution. Ethel is introduced as a young woman that just went through a traumatic episode. On the other hand, in "Pages from Cold Point," Racky has a fixation and preys on younger boys. However, he is introduced as a young man with a somewhat different outlook on life and living. These characters give a voice to personalities that most writers shy away from. This is significant because the audience is able to connect with the narrator since they're introduced as normal people and throughout the story wind up being a completely different person then we originally imagined.

"Pages from Cold Point" and "You Are Not I"

These two stories are different from any of the others we have read so far this term. I'd like you to spend some time writing about these differences.

What connections can you make between the two stories? The narration? The similarities/differences between the narrators?  How is irony used in the two stories? How are the other characters used in relation to the narrators?

How Many Midnights

I have not finished this reading as yet but I have to say the author was creative with this story so far. June and Van aren't living together yet but are supposed to get married on Valentines Day. I find it amusing when June calls her parents to tell them she is staying the night at Van's and her mother says she is foolish. When they get married they eventually will be living with each other, I wonder why the author had the mother feeling that way in her role in the story. It's a very interesting story, looking forward to the rest.

You Are Not I

By the end of this story I was very surprised. I like how the author switched everything around on Ethel's sister. Ethel was the one everyone was concerned about and when the two guys came from the home to take her with them it was very shocking to me they took Ethel'a sister instead. I was not expecting that at all. Bowles is a very surprising author and I like that about him.

Pages from Cold Point

The author states in the first paragraph "Life is visually too hideous for one to make the attempt to preserve it. Let it go. Perhaps someday another form of life will come along". He speaks about civilization and he mentions it is doomed to a short life. I agree. The life span of a human can last up to 100 years sometimes more depending on the individual and 100 years is very short not that long at all. Bodies get old and things get harder to do because of what hAppens to the body becoming wrinkled and old. When a person dies the body gets buried for the most part and it decays to nothing but bones. The author mentions he sees everything in decay. Eventually everything no longer exists and nothing is left. I believe one day another form of life will come along but we may never know.

The Fourth Day Out from Santa Cruz

Ramon seemed be one to want to keep to himself. At the beginning he seemed to feel he didn't fit in with the guys on the ship. As days went on it seems the fourth day got better. After the part with the bird and the cat the talk came up with the guys as a topic during lunch time. From then on the guys offered Ramon wine and it got better. Days before the guys were making fun of him. I like how the author wrote this story. He is a very creative writer the way he uses Spanish also in the lines. It makes it more interesting so I think.

Senor Ong And Senor Ha

Dionisio is so funny. He is such an adolescent with his ignorance. I do not understand what his aunt is though. I don't know if she is submissive, the weakest one in the village, or that woman in control. I was plagued how two drug dealers can just live in her home and have these drug dealers take over. I also feel having the albino girl was pointless. I didn't see a purpose of her in there because even though she was supposed to be a mysterious figure it felt bland. She did not evoke anything in me much less Dionisio. I felt it was purely product placement. I was also reminded of the Europeans gong to China and bringing Opium. This story was typical to me. Dionisio aggravated me because he should not have gotten himself involved with anything especially for his reasons. I just feel this story was cliche. The aunt is blind to these men. As long as the money comes in she is fine.  Dionisio is blind to the fact that these are drugs, adults, and some pretty serious stuff. The drug dealers are the only likeable characters because they are running their territories and this household/

The Scorpion

The title of this story has a meaning. As I read the story the message I got from it is that the scorpion the woman dreamt about was her wake up call. She was upset at her sons for not looking after her but then when her son came later on to take her with him she didn't want to go right away. She was alone in her cave and there was no life for her there. After she dreamt of the scorpion the sharpness of it going down her throats is what I believe woke her up, a sharp pinch for her to make a last minutes decision right away she was finally ready to go on with her son. At the end of the story on the way out she sees the old man and I believe he was the symbol of the scorpion.

The echo

As I was reading I first thought that Prue was the mothers second daughter, and thought it was strange that the mother always took the side of Prue instead of Aileen. However, after discussing with the class I realized that Prue was actually the mothers lesbian lover. Immediately I thought that the mother probably left Washington because of the comments other people would have, being that she was once married to a man and now is dating a female. She now lives in a lavish home which seems to secluded, but she loves it because she is happy being away from people's comments about her love life. I still found it strange that the mother was still choosing Prue over her own daughter, telling her to leave the home even though Prue seemed to be instigating some of the fights with aileen. It becomes clear that Prue is more than just a guest being that instead of asking Prue to leave, she tells her own daughter to leave in order to save her girlfriend.

All Under the Stars was Alabaster- Conflict Narrative

He was infecting me with the pity radiating from his eyes. His eyes now were just as empty as the mountain air. Those eyes used to cherish me. His pupils no longer dilated when he looked at me, his smile no longer infectious. Our chemistry used to warm our bodies and keep us going. His hands always found a way to mine, as my head to his chest. But, that had died on our way up the mountain. It froze slowly with every step we took towards the peak. Frozen forever in our icy climax. Nothing was happy.

The trees became blurred. The ground disappeared. Everything became one. A frozen blanket of white. The earth and sky were one, white and cold. The wind was no more. All under the stars was alabaster. I stayed on the porch for a midnight smoke. Solitary and far in my own thoughts I lifted my left hand and brought my two cigarillo holding fingers to my shivering purple lips as my right hand ignited the smooth lighter. All that existed in that moment was a click and spark from my lighter. Then the soothing soft smooth sound of the paper burning. Even the smoke was white.

I watched nothing. There was nothing moving, not a branch swaying. nothing was alive here- below zero degrees. I wrapped myself in a crochet blanket that allowed the cold in through its perforations. I couldn't tell whether this was meditation or depression. I sat there for thirty minutes before anyone would find me.

We had come here to celebrate our friends. To this cabin- to this mountain. Pre-paid and in a house full of warm bodies, I sat outside alone, the white smoke warming the tip of my nose. He came outside to see to me. I was frozen, infected by my surroundings.

Under The Sky

In the opening, Bowles focuses a lot on the setting of the story. He has set the story outside the country which the town people call "the Inferno because the heat is so intense in the village. He says the place is shadowless and dusty, and even described how the clouds shrank upwards to their farthest positions possible.

I think the village may be very small which is why Jacinto knew the new faces who got off the train which is why there was a lot of emphasis on the setting and his fixation on particular faces. Towards the end Jacinto's behavior takes a whole new turn as he approached the lady he later raped under Gods oath after threatening her about killing her friend. The beginning and end of this story mentions the cemetery as well.

Under the sky

The story's main character is being shown to the reader as someone who is a bit unfamiliar with the unwritten rules of society evident when he thinks that everyone getting on and onto a train should use the open windows instead of the doors, it is also shown that he dose not live in that particular town but is very familiar with it. He also has an ego when comparing him self to others.
I really don't understand the last part of the story at all my only guess is that he regrets what he did.
                                                             

Under the Sky

The introduction of Under the Sky  opens to a narration of the scenery. We learn the setting is a small town, possibly rural, in a very hot climate. We  are introduced to a man who is rolling his illegal cigarettes in public. These cigarettes were made from marijuana, a now illegal substance in this small town, punishable up to three months in prison. A passerby then subliminally threatens the cigarette roller and he is forced to give up two of his 'creations'. Bowles then adds in the two characters who are obviously not from the town of 'Inferno'. Our main character is interested in the appearance of the female outsider. He can not tell if he is interested due to attraction or due to curiosity. I believe Bowles puts the outsiders into this story to show us how unhappy Jacinto is.  I believe he does not like his life and town.The town is described as an inferno which has the connotation of hell.

The ending of the story is similar to the beginning in the sense that there is a theft. Jacinto threatens and steals the woman's body just as easily as the homeless man threatened and stole his cigarettes. He uses religion to push her into rape, while being on holy grounds. The sight of these new people, who are not stuck in the 'inferno' stir up something hateful in the man. This could possibly be jealously. They do not belong here, they are not bound to the same life he is. Jacinto seeks to conquer the woman possibly to feel dominance.

Under the Sky

In the beginning of the story Bowles is setting up the "prey' and "predator" feeling. That's the best way I could describe it. He paints a picture of  Jacinto being on the hunt for a woman. He looks around to see if he can spot "something" he likes. That's when he notices the two women and the man.

At the conclusion of the story Jacinto returns to the scene of his crime (the cemetery)  and  is so over come by guilt. He remembers the lady with the yellow hair.  It states that he " began to weep, and rolled onto the earth, clutching the pebbles as he sobbed."
 
When he did what he did, he was angry. I guess once he was no longer angry the reality of what he had done hit him in that moment.

Under The Sky

The way Bowles started describing Jacinto's actions were very detailed. The town dweller is being very blunt with what he wanted from Jacinto. Jacinto seemed to have no choice. The author is very descriptive of the people getting on and off the train. Jacinto is violent threatening the white woman. He mentions he will the man the woman is with. I find that to be harsh and he wasn't thinking,

The author is very blunt. At the end I wonder what the old woman meant by saying "He has lost his mother". Is there a reason he is behaving this way? It seems Jacinto is going through something that caused him to react this way.

Under the Sky "beginning"

                Bowles had The setting was in a town(plaza) which was outside the country, he mainly focused on the cemetery and the sky. Bowles would call the town inferno which would help us the readers see how the town was using imagery showing the reader how hot the weather was in the town the people were in a way coming from a low class, people seem to be less intelligent.
                At the end of the story Jacinto had grab the lady that had come with the couple and he took her and threaten her and told her he was going to kill the man who her friend was with, and dragged her to the park. He had raped the lady to save his friend's life. I think he did this because he didn't want to feel alone and she was the one who paid attention to him in the beginning when she first got off the train with her two friends. What I didn't understand was why the old lady at the end says that he has lost his mother, was it that Jacinto's mother passed away and that's why he was sobbing or was this lady completely crazy, he does mention in the story that everyone there is crazy or have some sort of mental illness.

Under The Sky

Bowels starts this story with such imagery, it is easy to picture this hot , bustling town.  Jacinto seems to be a troubling character from the very start.  Bowles portrays him to be a man who his much to himself.  He doesn't like to do as the others do and prefers to be alone.  I think that the encounter he has with the townsman is strange.  He gets so angry about it that he says he wishes he had a gun so he could proclaim that he is the father of everyone.  I don't really understand what that means, but I know it sounds egotistical.  Then, towards the end of the story he startles the girl who comes out of the hotel and kind of demands her to sit near him.  He became aroused by attacking her the way he did.

I don't understand why Jacinto cries at the end of the story.  Bowels creates a similar setting and atmosphere to the day he raped the girl, with the clouds and blowing dust and vultures in the sky.  Then he rolls onto the floor and begins to cry.  I wonder why he was emotional?  There is a part of me that thinks it has nothing to do with feeling remorseful.

Under the Sky by Paul Bowles Opening

Paul Bowles does a great job of illustrating the setting of this story. I feel as if he wants us to feel like we are there. He also gives us insight into Jacinto's mindset. From the encounter in the plaza with the cigarettes to his frustrated reaction. The fact that he is going to the train station in hopes of bumming spare change off of people getting off the train. He is definitely scoping people out. There is something up with Jacinto.

Jacinto has this growing obsession with  a woman that is staying in this hotel in town. However, he gets to encounter the woman's friend. He begins talking to her, the Yellow haired woman. And then he threatens her and intimidates her into following him to the cemetery. There he rapes her. When he lets her go Jacinto recalls being surprised she didn't ask for any money. This to me showed Jacinto's disconnection with the situation. He rapes this woman and somehow his afterthought sounds like he is under the impression that it was a mutual thing. He just lets her go at the edge of the park.

Then Jacinto returns to the same cemetery a year later where the incident happened. There after a year he recalls the situation and begins to show remorse.

Under the Sky

It's easy to lose that opening par. that discusses the sky. However, it would be a mistake b/c Bowles wants to tell us something crucial about the sky. The Indians (of which Jacinto is one) are still in touch w/ the natural world. The people of the town are disassociated from it. I tend to skip over long depictions of nature which is probably not good. I wonder if others read like I do?...

In some ways though, the story is like a play. We open and close w/ the cemetery. The town feels small; you could easily hold the entire setting in your head. And above it all, the sky.

I'm made uncomfortable by this story. I think Bowles taps into a certain mid-century anxiety, the anxiety that dark men want to rape white women. I think this is an old and tired story. Still, I think we can learn about how to put a story together from seeing how Bowles does this one.

One more thing: Jacinto is clearly a sociopath, the type of person who will eventually kill and only feel sorry for himself b/c he's not loved. He rapes the woman and is only relieved that she doesn't ask for money (suggesting that he'd pay her if she did). He seems completely unaware that he's raped her. Bowles talks about his "empty face." Jacinto is unaware that she's human, that he's doing anything wrong at all. It's horrible.

Under The Sky

Bowles uses a lot of detail in describing the surroundings and particular details. Instead of just describing the man, Jacinto, to us, he uses circumstances and situations to portray the decisions he makes based on the type of person he is. Another example is how he uses blonde hair as something that stands out as exotic to a few of his subjects in his stories. On the contrary, he also uses the main character walking in bare feet as a symbol of poorness. Once again, rather than just explaining the differences in race, or even class in ways, he presents this by making that feature in the person stand out.

It's interesting to note that earlier in the story, when he goes to the train station, he imagine what he would do if he had a gun. He imagines having that power and is quoted as imagining himself pulling it out and saying "I am the father of all of you!" Immediately after saying this, the narrator follows by saying "But it was not likely that he would ever have a gun." Later in the story, he rapes the woman by telling her that he does have a gun in his pocket and he'd kill the man in the hotel if she didn't "allow" him to rape her in a sense (for lack of a better term). I believe this is on purpose as it shows what this man, with obvious alternate mental makeup, would do if given power.

Under the Sky

In the opening of "Under the Sky," Bowles is introducing the audience to a character named Jacinto. By taking a deeper look into his thought process and his interaction with others. Readers pick up on his attitude when he describer what he'd do to the townsman if he had a gun. This makes him seem to be reckless even though he expresses he'd never have the opportunity. This reckless attitude is also displayed as he stares down the yellow haired woman and disregards that she is with her significant other.

under the sky opening

In the opening of “Under the Sky” I think that Bowles is trying to create the setting, and introduce characters. From the beginning he is cluing us into the type of person that Jacinto is, which to me seems to be an angry and bitter person who doesn’t like to be bothered. For example, he explains that while walking with his family he likes to walk up ahead and leave them behind. He also seems angry and arrogant towards the people on the train, calling them stupid because of the way they exit the train, which tells us that he is not familiar with the normal ways of society.  

Under the Sky

In the introduction to the story, "Under The Sky," Bowles introduces Jacinto and establishes him as a character at odds with the world- Jacinto is reproachful towards the townsman, distant from the people off the train, critical of the locals for never "looking up" and resentful of the "yellow haired" travelers, to whom he experiences a kind of rage. This resentment that he has could be very much due to his economic status, as when the traveler smiles at him she sparks a rage within him for "thinking he could pay her enough money," with the simple gesture of hospitality. Jacinto is at odds with humanity and seems like a loner. In Bowles' description of the setting it lacks the flowery writing he sometimes employs and instead describes a dusty landscape that adds to the image of Jacinto's solitude.

In the closing, though depicting rape, Jacinto offers the woman a sort of "kindness," by laying down his shirt and walking her back to the hotel. I think this scene coupled with the image of him crying thinking about her because this is one of the few examples of contact we see Jacinto have. He has a longing for human contact but also the resentment of the people he comes into contact with.

Under the sky

    In the story Under the sky After reading and re reading in terms of setting wise and setting a plot he tried to confuse the reader in the beginning a little. The story begins with a introduction to this character who seems a little odd and goes about his daily activities but then later when he's on this train station he sees these people coming that and explains that the type of features that they have are not from around his part of the neighborhood. He then continues trying to focus our attention on the older female in the group which is where I feel like the tricking begins by expressing how sort of infatuated the man is at first sight with this woman but then take a huge turn as the story progresses where you would think that the story would end up being either t his love story between the two or a heartbreak tale but ends up being a whole entire different plot that comes from left field.
    In terms of the two sections again the part about the author confusing the readers happens again, In the beginning it seems as if it is going to be a love story then around the climax of the story when he is with the blond lady you assume something will happen either he'll hurt her or he'll find his way to her friend at least something but all that ends up happening is he lets her go and leaves, the at the end of the story Jecinto is waiting at this train station which I felt like it was foreshadowing him seeing the lady in the yellow hair or again or her friend that he was waiting for either one of them but nothing close to that happens instead the author ends the story with something so random but stays within the settings of his story from the train station to the cemetery but he cries on the floor with the introduction to a new character closing the book with complete randomness "He has lost his mother" something that wasn't mentioned in the story at all or explaining why he was actually crying if that was not the reason.

UNDER THE SKY

Jacinto is looking for his next victim. The transition of setting from his village to the town signals there is a different mindset. I feel Jacinto is a narcissist and uses the town for his dirty deeds since he only goes there every few months. It is where he is not subject to a small village and has to coordinate his behavior based on that of his peers. Even when he is walking with the others and Bowles points out Jacinto's favorite part of his journey is the part where he can leave everybody behind. There is also some self-loathing going on. He looks at the different people and cannot decided if he likes them or not. He either envies them or is just genuinely confused. Maybe he just feels his current position in life is not where he should be. The way the story concludes just seems like Jacinto has no social cues. I really feel like Jacinto is just so lost. He has no true sense of self. I mean he is selfish but in a very counter productive way. Maybe when the woman murmurs that he has lost his mother she is trying to say he has lost his way. The ending confused me when it came to that point but Jacinto tries to feel powerful because he is powerless. I don't know what I can say about that other than he is trying to be in control. Maybe his life is all about his interactions with others as opposed to having something for himself. Maybe he is struggling with his masculinity. I just am not sure.

Paul Bowles Week II

As we continue to discuss The Delicate Prey, I'd like us to think about the ways that Bowles addresses racy subject matter. We're living in a blunt time, so I think it can be useful as writers to see how earlier writers (in this case, 1950s-era) depicted edgy subject matter. In these stories so far, we've seen drug use, drug dealing and addiction, rape, theft, adultery, homosexuality. Most of these subjects are addressed in a subtle, glancing fashion. Can you discuss the way, using examples, that Bowles achieves this?

Also, I wanted you to be aware of Bowles' use of irony, particularly the way that he gets us to see situations or characters in a way that they don't see themselves. For instance, did you notice that Nicho sells the drug (probably opium) to the people in the town for a peso (about a half-dollar) and that they're very eager to buy from him rather than Senor Ong? Or as Aisling mentions elsewhere, Aileen clearly hates Prue because she's a lesbian and sleeping w/ her mother although she doesn't seem to be aware of why she hates her.

One other question: How does Bowles write about race and class? Or put another way: What do you think he thinks about white people? (Btw, he's white.)

Circular Valley II

  In this blog post about The Circular Valley I want to talk about the second half of the story. I believe as earlier, that religion is a subliminal force here still. Once the man and woman are introduced, I immediately connect this with Adam and Eve. "She leaned forward, putting her hands on his face, and for a long moment they kissed." She is the temptress. Before the introduction of 'woman', Atlajala would enter animals, flowers, men (soliders and hooligans). Atlajala enjoyed entering 'man' the most but still grew bored. This quote stood out to me "The Atlajala hovered near them, watching the woman closely; she was first ever to have come into the valley." After reading the second half and seeing the presence of Adam and Eve, I am more inclined to see the scenery as the Garden of Eden. These quotes, for me, can metaphorically symbolize Eve's entering of Eden, after Adam, and tempting him with the forbidden fruit (the kiss).

   Bowles goes further to say: "Out of habit, the Atlajala entered into the man. Immediately... it was conscious only of the woman's beauty and her terrible imminence. The waterfall, the earth, and the sky itself receded, rushed into nothingness, and there were only the woman's smile and her arms and her odor. It was a world more suffocating and painful than the Atlajala had thought possible." Here we see woman as the temptress again. Atlajala is entranced by beauty, something religion sees as a sin. I sense a small obsession beginning to stir between Atlajala and  'woman'. The quote ends by Atlajala expressing this has been a feeling more painful and suffocating than ever before, perhaps mirroring the 'ultimate temptation'. We see that the couple here are having an affair, this adds to the sinfulness and temptation in this story.

   Now the part I hate: "The Atlajala left the man and slipped into the woman. And now it would have believed itself to be housed in nothing, to be in its own spaceless self, so completely aware of the wandering wind, the small flutterings of the leaves, and the bright air that surrounded it. Yet there was a difference;  each element was magnified in intensity ... Now it understood what the man sought in the woman.". I love this as a literary work, however, from this I understand that Atlajala sees woman as the ultimate sin. The Atlajala felt nothing and everything once it entered the woman because she is the mecca of sin and tempt. Further in the reading, the woman pushes her wanting to go into the monastery when the man says "No". A snake passes by. Again, the woman is the temptress and the serpent is also seen in the Garden of Eden.

The relationship between Aileen and Prue

During my reading of "The Echo," I found my self assuming that Prue was Aileen's mother's girlfriend. This is what I attributed Aileen's animosity towards her as, as well as a potential answer as to why her mother left Washington in favor of living so far from the judgment of other people. Aileen seems to think that Prue is odd but there are really no expressions of this oddity throughout the story. Another reason for my assumption is that Aileen's mother asks her to leave after she offends Prue- leading one to believe that perhaps Prue is more than just a guest.
Anyone else have any theories/want to knock mine down?

Sexuality in The Delicate Prey

The topic of sexuality in The Delicate Prey  appears to cause a lot of tension through out the various stories. Chalia is overwhelmed by her sexual awakening and seeks revenge when her advances are refuted,  Luz is appalled at the sight of the topless women doing their laundry in the river but is not offended by Nicho's nudity, Jacinto rapes the unnamed blonde woman in what seems like an expression of power rather than lust. A theory I have been considering as to why these tensions are arising is from the shifting from the sex positive Indian/indigenous to the the sex negative Christian faith. The resulting sexual stifling leads to frustrations in the characters and leads them to behave in different unhealthy manors.

Circular Valley

I would like to begin and base this blog post with a quote from The Circular Valley:

 "It had aimlessly become one of the young friars. This was a new sensation, strangely rich and complex, and at the same time unbearable stifling ... as the friar, it had gone and stood in the window looking out at the sky, seeing for the first time, not the stars, but the space between and beyond them ... it had felt the urge to leave, to step outside the shell of anguish where it lodged for the moment, but a faint curiosity had impelled it to remain a little longer and partake a little further of the unaccustomed sensation. It held on; the friar raised his arms to the sky ... it was the first time the Atlajala sensed opposition, the thrill of struggle. It was delicious to feel the young man striving to free himself if its presence, and it was immeasurably sweet to remain there."

   Before I dive too much into this short story I want to add emphasis to the fact that Paul Bowles (I find) uses religion, or religious places, often in his stories, as we see from the first sentence of The Circular Valley. I particularly enjoy the imagery in this short story. I believe it is my favorite one from the entire collection because of this quote. Bowles sums up the human emotion of temptation fantastically here. I feel the open air under the friar's arms and I see the night sky. The first two paragraphs of the story were also great in imagery. Bowles uses such heavy imagery here and from the first two paragraphs I myself feel as if I am sticky from the condensation of this landscape and I feel closed in  because of the feeling from the overgrown foliage. I believe this introduction, this feeling, is  foreshadowing the rest of the story. Additionally, I believe Atlajala could be somewhat representing the feeling of temptation and/or lust.

A little past the introduction Bowles inputs Atlajala. In the introduction of Atlajala we see it(?) 'shape shifting'; "The restless Atlajala would move through the halls of the monastery ...  Night after night, along the procession of years, it had hovered, here above the valley, darting down to become a bat,a leopard,  a moth...". Bowles also inserts many Native American qualities to his stories (this could tie in with religion as well).

Now the quote I inserted at the start. This part of writing was one that stood out to me and possibly will for a while. I believe religion is heavy influenced here. It reeks of temptation, the pressure of faith, and not wanting to sin. Atlajala feels the friar looking up towards God to save him from Atlajala and the feelings that come with it. Atlajala thrives on the internal combat the friar faces. There is temptation, pleasure, and struggle.

I also find it great that Atlajala isn't a textbook shape shifter. I don't know much about Native American tribal stories and/or religious texts but from my literary experience, a shape shifter is a 'person' who changes body and form. When entering the friar, Atlajala becomes the friar, it is able to feel what the friar feels, therefore: it is not Atlajala, it is the friar- with Atlajala inside. This is what leads me to believe Atlajala is 'tempation' or 'sin' in spirit and not a shape shifter.

The circular valley

I was a little confused in this story is it a spirit that enters into humans and insects ? or was this a told story from tribe to tribe that was traditional? was this spirit called atlajala. At the end when this spirit entered the women, it had a slightly darker side. I was a bit confused for the ending was the spirit not able to leave her ? did it feel stuck and maybe thats why it said "it would be a long time before it would bestir itself to enter into another being's awareness", or was it that it didn't like the feeling and didn't want to enter in humans bodies anymore?

señor ong and señor ha

This Short story made me want to read more ,at first  i didn't understand why the indian's were important in the story until they introduced Mr. Ong and Mr. Ha. I was confused but when i started reading more i understood what señor ong was hiding and why he was hiding. I was surprised because i didn't expect it coming and thats what got me more into the story. But then when nicho started doing the same thing , innocently i was mad and angry because he didn't really understand what it was to him it was a simple powder and obviously to us the readers we knew nothing good could come out of it. What i disliked was when Señor Ha told his aunt that nicho would be the one delivering it and basically thats when the story ended and i was expecting for it to keep going and telling the reader what would happen to nicho and what would happen to luz. the author was vague in not telling us details about what happen to luz when she got home , i was curious and i wanted to know more, I wanted to know why she was so worried about her sister, maybe was it because she was  harsh and she was taking care of luz? Why would nichos aunt accept this all along , i felt like she didn't have respect for herself and that all she cared about was money, it also showed this when she wanted nicho to bring luz just because of her hair. To his aunt she was lucky and brought luck " una hija de sol". I felt as if she was a very selfish person and nicho in a way knew this because he always avoided to bring her even be seen with luz.

Senor Ong and Senor Ha

Nicho did not like Senor Ong. Senor Ong seemed sneaky. I don't agree with Nicho stealing from him although he did not like him, but atleast he didn't get caught. He was into Luz, by the end he was able to buy her gifts. They spent some time together but they both got caught up with stealing. I think this story was pretty good. The author also included some lines in Spanish like he did in the previous readings, very interesting.

At paso rojo

With such a blunt ending, this story is a bewildering one for me.  I think that the characters Bowles created are very strong minded and of their own.  It's very common that when a family member dies, the family gathers to be with one another.  There are times that I couldn't tell whether or not Chalia and her sister were actually concerned for their brother.  I think Chalia is The most challenging character here.  In all three stories we read, I noticed a certain sense of racism amongst the native people.  This story in particular.  I felt Chalia went out of her way to be cruel to the Indians.  The way she treated that one Indian man was almost violent.  And she seems to have this type of governing nature as well.  I ca not pinpoint why she acts this way.  This was my least favorite of the stories this week.