Sunday, November 23, 2014
Molloy Post Two
Boyle begins to represent a sense of powerlessness by bringing in the image and idea of the coyote coming back for his second dog. Delaney and Kyra finally put money into this new fence in order to prevent the coyote from coming back to capture his other dog. Inevitably though to Delaney's surprise as if they had never ever reconstructed their fence to be eight feet tall now the coyote returns and easily hops the fence to get to the dog. "The coyote scaled the fence, rung by rung, as if it was a ladder, and flew from the eight foot bar at the top like a big dun wingless bird" (194). Boyle has been using the coyote as a symbol through out the book for the immigrants. So as one of the problems in the book is weather or not a wall should be contracted around this town in order to keep immigrants out this scene represents a sense of powerlessness because it shows that a wall isn't really going to solve the problem no matter how high you make it. Its representing the sense that no matter what these people do there isn't really going to be an easy solution.
Boyle begins to develop Delaney as a bit of a racist person due to his past experiences. In the start of the book Delaney begins with a rough start with hispanic people because of the two events of him hitting a Mexican man with his car and also his car being stolen by some. So he starts of the book with not a lot of good reasons to like Mexican immigrants. As Boyle develops him he creates an image of Delaney being a racist person. Its subtle but Delaney's feelings toward Mexicans show a little bit once he's seated within his new car. "The valet parking attendant was Mexican, of course-- Hispanics, Latino, whatever-- and Delaney was there in his new car with thirty-eight miles on the odometer" (148). Boyle word this in a way that makes it seem like Delaney is a racist person in a way, its subtle but he begins to develop Delaney as that kind of person at the beginning of part two. It just is put that way in the picture of him conflicted about the valet being Mexican when he just purchased a new car due to the fact that his last car was stolen by a Mexican. So Delaney isn't to willing to give his car over and gives him this racist aura.
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Jack your posts are very insightful. As you said Boyle created a sense of hopelessness with the coyote eating Delaney's other dog. Boyle also creates a sense of hopelessness by creating hope for Candido and America and then taking it from them. As Candido starts to make more money his dream for America and Candido starts to seam like more of a reality. All this luck and hope led to Candido getting a Turkey but then a turn for the worst happened. "When the wind plucked the fire out of its bed of coals and with a roar as loud as all the furnaces of hell set it dancing in the tree tops" (257). Just like when it seemed that it was turning around for Candido, Boyle takes away everything. This false sense of hope is used a lot in the book. Boyle will build them up to just take them down. This leaves the characters having to be on guard throughout the whole book because they never know when there luck will run out.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jack's posts and Jonah's comment, Boyle is very good at creating a sense of hopelessness and he sure doesn't hold back in doing so. All of the characters experience their own form of hopelessness, however, America and Candido continue to get the worst. Like Jonah mentioned with the fire; Boyle made it seem like everything was going to be ok and start getting better but no, a fire grew. Poor America and Candido simply live a hopeless life, constantly struck with bad luck. "Drunk for a purpose, for a reason. Drunk because he was fed up with the whole yankee gringo dog-eat-dog world where a poor man had to fight like a conquering hero just to keep from starving to death, drunk because after three weeks of on-again, off-again work and the promise of something better, Al Lopez had let him go" (180). Boyle refuses to let this miserable couple have any hope and occasionally feeds them false senses.
ReplyDeleteAlong with Jack’s post, and those of other commenters Jonah and Ellie, I strongly agree that Boyle creates a sense of powerlessness, by having the coyote return along with other vivid scenes. While the loss of the first dog was traumatizing for the Mossbacher's, and highlighted that even with a fence, they could not save their beloved pet, the fact that the coyote was able to return and capture their other dog, despite a larger improved fence, shows a whole new level of powerlessness, even among the wealthy and prepared. "We cannot eradicate the coyote, nor can we fence him out, not even with eight feet of chain link, as this sad but wiser pilgrim can attest. Respect him as the wild predator he is, keep your children and pets inside, leave no food source, however, negligible, where he can access it...The coyotes keep coming, breeding up to fill in the gaps, moving in where the living is easy. They are cunning, versatile, hungry, and unstoppable" (pg. 214-15). With this, Delaney is admitting that the coyote, and other metaphors it represents, cannot be stopped and exposes publically that people are powerless, even with all of their advantages. He explains that instead of trying to prevent the outcome, people need to instead start focusing on the recovery.
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