tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888438300076664400.post7501518326198994890..comments2014-12-09T17:25:07.561-08:00Comments on Words and Images: Instructions on the Everyman- Jimmy CorriganAdamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888438300076664400.post-39987155164235658912014-11-01T07:52:35.082-07:002014-11-01T07:52:35.082-07:00The first couple paragraphs aren’t as straightforw...The first couple paragraphs aren’t as straightforward as they should be. However, your central point is good, and I basically agree: the general instructions (at least the written part) are more of a guide to the thematic material of the book, rather than helping us with the really hard parts - where maybe we wouldn’t mind some help!<br /><br />One messy aspect of the book is the simultaneous attacks on both alpha and beta males. I’d like to see a more coherent argument re: what you think Ware is up to here. Obviously you understand what he’s doing - but do you have thoughts on why he does it?<br /><br />I think you zero in on a good example of the themes which interest you: “This was an interesting scene, because it is apparent that Jimmy is surely a man at this point. It may be Ware distinguishing the average from the important, as a doctor will look down upon ‘ugly’ average people such as Jimmy.” Although I must also ask if you really dug that far into the portrayal of the doctor (see his own appearance, his absent daughter, etc.).<br /><br />The last couple paragraphs fall apart, because although you’ve been on the brink (I think) of developing a clearer argument, you stop making any progress at the end. What you needed was to pin down more clearly what Ware is up to by closer attention to the details, but instead you turn back to generalization.<br /><br />For instance, one thing that you don’t do is ask something like this: if loneliness, emptiness and impotence are such major parts of Ware’s concerns, how do we understand the stylized brutality of many of his most streamlined, symbolic moments (the cat being crushed by the hammer)? Is this a representation of a violence inside Jimmy, for instance? I think the stylized violence which has caught your attention might be a kind of key for helping you form a more articulate argument about Ware’s ideas about both alpha and beta men.Adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.com