Friday, October 10, 2008
Final Thoughts TVBA
I really took the ending of the story to mean that Tarwater has transformed into an evil monster. It is almost as if he is going to prey on the "sleeping" city dwellers. From what we know psychopathic killers often have been subjected to assualt or rape, have parental or familiar figures missing in their young childhood, and often believe strongly in perverted or skewed doctrines (I think at one point in class we talked about how the bad people in these short stories often take certain good beliefs to extremes, making them evil). I am left at the end of this story feeling like I do not know who Tarwater is, what he is capable of doing, or his motives in doing anything that he does. I do know, however that he has been through a lot, has violent tendencies, and is able to justify murder with very random logic.
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5 comments:
I'm glad that you brought up that the murder was justified by Tarwater, because that is something that really disturbs me as well. Tarwater has no remorse for killing Bishop but he has all this guilt for baptizing him. Which by the end he seems to deny that baptism means anything so why is he so upset by that act rather than the actual murder? I think it might go along with the last paragraph and how he seemed sinister by the end of the story.
I also agree with you that Tarwater's continual denial that the baptism of Bishop is meaningless is strange. It is almost as if he is contradicting his belief that it does not mean anything because he cannot stop thinking about it. This also brings up the question of whether or not Tarwater is following in his uncle's path.
Though, throughout the short story, Tarwater denies taking on of his uncle's beliefs, the story ends as if he has. In the end Tarwater has baptized Bishop- one of the uncle's greatest wishes. Also, he has decided that he is a prophet and that he needs to go preach to others. His uncle claimed that Tarwater was going to be a prophet from the begining, and that he should preach to others. What is going on here? Is Tarwater doing what he is doing because of his own motives or is he fulfilling his uncle's wishes for his future?
While I have a feeling that Tarwater is fulfilling his uncle's wishes for him, I don't think it's a deliberate attempt to make his uncle happy - instead, I think that Tarwater feels at last as though he has been "called". I think we can read Tarwater's initial allegiance with fire (his uncle's eyes and mouth touched with fire, setting fire to Powderhead), and then adoption of water (in murdering, drowning Bishop) is half of an arc; after the first stranger's ride back to Powderhead, though, Tarwater is thirsty, and no amount of water from the well will quench it. He's missing something, and he thinks that this sensation he is feeling is thirst. But upon waking after his rape, Tarwater realizes what has been done and burns the place down. His last description for the reader at last likens him to a fire-touched prophet, and Tarwater follows in the footsteps of his uncle whether he likes it or not.
I think your right about him not fulfilling his uncle's wishes willingly I thnk he not only doesn't want to fulfill his uncle's wishes but wants to completely reject his uncle and I think thats is why he does not bury him either and why he seems upset that his uncle is buried as well. I wonder if the last paragraph alludes to the fact that he is a prophet now since it talks about mercy?
You're right about the sinister ending. It's quite ambiguous, which I think makes it a strong ending, actually.
In the end, we know what Tarwater is capable of, and to close with him heading back into the city, there is this dread feeling of what he's going to do.
The other possibility is that his transformation to self-styled prophet is complete, and he is going to preach.
The latter choice is not as exciting, but possible.
But yes, O'Connor knows how to leave you creeped out at a story's close!
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