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....