Nathan and Blanche Comparison

In this entire course we have talked about elements of a southern literature. One of those main elements discussed was the grotesque and dark characteristics of a southern gothic. In A Streetcar Named Desire we discussed that the gothic elements came from Blanche because she not only like to hide in dark places, but she also took comfort in them.

In the book Dream Boy, Nathan also takes comfort in dark places. He likes to hide in the cemetery as well as in the woods to escape the the discomfort of his home and the people in it. Both Blanche and Nathan take comfort in dark places. Truly able to be themselves, but also masking their true selves from other people. Nathan goes to the cemetery to be with Roy who is the only person who he is comfortable with. While this dark place is a safe haven for Nathan away from his predator of a father; it also prohibits discovery of his relations with Roy. So the darkness is a mask of Truth. Blanche also uses darkness as a mask of Truth. She hides in the shadows of the little small apartment so as not to be truly seen by anyone. Blanche wants to be seen as young and mysterious and this lighting offers just that. An advantage for Blanche and a disadvantage to anyone who truly wants to get to know her.

Both of these characters both Blanche and Nathan take comfort in darkness. Blanche uses it to hide her age and lies and Nathan to hide his sexuality and to physically hide from his father. While these characters take comfort in the gothic shadows of the southern novel it ends up leading to their demise. Both of these characters stories end rather sourly, Blanche being taken to a mental institution and Nathan, dead.

The commonality of these two instances is not coincidental but rather it falls into the same patterns as most southern gothics do. The time period in which each of these stories takes place highlights a social issue that needs to be addressed : domestic violence and insanity and homosexuality and rape. Each of these characters embracing of darkness led to their demise in each of their own separate plots.

Aggressive Masculinity

Throughout the novels we read this semester, there is a single common factor that is relevant in all each novel; aggressive masculinity. Within A Street Car Named Desire it was relevant that Stanley was the aggressive male in the novel. However we can clearly depict that although he was an alcoholic who was deeply in love with Stella that he cared deeply for her. It was a mutual feeling between the two of them that no matter how rough their relationship could get, they could always count on the love that they had for one another to allow them to communicate or at least understand intentions. While in Dream Boy we see quiet a few men who portray aggressive masculinity. However within this novel, it is apparent that there is in fact a central victim, Nathan. While his father abused him,  Roy somewhat was protective but controlling, and Burke was no better than Nathan's father. The development of this aggression character throughout the novels develops in close proximity to the central character. While at first you see glimpses of actions from the characters, the novels' develop the characters so that this aggressive character is portrayed clearly through the eyes of the main charters. Stella and Blanch saw the actions of Stanley in his alcoholic state, and Nathan was surrounded until his death by characters that made himself seem weak. Nathans father abused him, Roy controlled him but not necessarily unwillingly. Then of course Burke whom takes advantage of Nathan. This character plays a vital role through all novels because it develops the main characters and gives this grotesque literature style that allows the readers to want to look away yet cannot because we want to understand more into these situations that can be very subliminal at times.

Agency in Dreamboy and Bellocq's Ophelia

Gaining agency is a key theme throughout both Bellocq's Ophelia and Dreamboy. In both stories that main characters cannot easily escape from their victimization through prostitution and sexual abuse respectively. They both embark on quests for autonomy which doesn't always work out for them.

In Dreamboy, Nathan is teenager dealing with not only with the realization of his gayness but also his constant sexual abuse. Nathan has little agency in his home where his biggest threat lies. Throughout the book he finds ways to gain more agency, but with unforeseen consequences. As he finds ways of escape and gains more agency his existence is increasingly threatened. Unfortunately for Nathan he never gets to be fully be free.

In Bellocq's Ophelia, the title character has little autonomy or hope for her future in the place she lives. She moves to New Orleans to gave some agency, but isn't able to fight work right away. Ophelia turns to prostitution where she has to sell her body and agency to the highest bidder. Finding her agency isn't easy, but she is eventually able reclaim some of it with her earnings. Ophelia's ending is ambiguous, but still filled with deadly possibilities.

Both Ophelia and Nathan are both into worlds where their choices are greatly limited. In Ophelia's case this is because of her class and race. With Nathan it is because of his sexuality and abusive father. These characters both try valiantly to change their situations with less than stellar outcomes. In the end, their quest for agency is just as dangerous as living without it.

The Southern Gothic

Both Salvage the Bones and Dream Boy display aspects of being a "southern gothic." Both novels contain instances of ghostly/ haunted figures in the fathers. Neither father is present during any positive time over the course of each novel, this makes them ghost like. The fathers presence seems to be more of a haunting to their children then a typical father-child relationship. Both novels also contain "taboo" sexuality and sexual relations. In Dream Boy, homosexuality is expressed in many of the male relationships presented. In Salvage, Esch has sex and gets pregnant before marriage. Both of these are examples of sexuality and sex that are not widely accepted in the south. Haunted/ghostly figures and taboo sexuality are major themes of the genre "sothern gothic" and are explicitly  present through Dream Boy and Salvage.

Was Roy That Bad?

At the start of Dream Boy Roy's character set off multiple red flags. Roy portrayed the classic role of over protected boyfriend, and boyfriend who cheats. Roy constantly questioned Nathan's past love life but was never open to conversation about his. Roy ran off to church on Wednesdays with his girlfriend but would tell Nathan to not let anyone else touch him the way he did. Jealous and authoritative, the main characteristics of the abuser in a relationship. In the bus, in the car ride home when Roy cried I wanted to Nathan to run!

As the novel moved forward and Nathan was left in the cold Roy really stepped up. Roy sheltered Nathan in his barn. A more loving side of Roy shinned through. Although Nathan has always been an easy target he was most vulnerable during this time. Instead of Roy taking advantage of that,  Roy evolved. We can see this change into Roy and Nathan's last moments together. Roy kneels before Nathan for the first time in the mansion. Roy physically leaves his girlfriend's side to be with Nathan's ghost. Not the real Nathan, his ghost.

I do not know if we can take Roy out of the toxic category all together. However I think we can acknowledge he did change for the better.

Make-Up blog #9 Kiese Reading Make-up

i feel like this is how I feel as a young, black woman in Louisiana but less racism. To be Black in the South means having so much pride in where you're from, especially New Orleans.  For example, many New Orleanians make a distinction between the South and New Orleans as if they are two separate regions (which they are). Being Black in the South also means recognizing how incredibly slow, receptive, and accepting of change and now it's to the point where it infuriates me. Another note I would lie to add is that many Black people fear going to certain areas of the South. For example, there are certain places of Slidell, LA and parts of Mississippi where I refuse to go out of fear that I'll be harassed or killed for the color of my skin and it is mainly because those areas proudly wave the Confederate Flag. It may be weird but I am sincerely terrified of the Confederate Flag because wherever that piece of fabric flies, death follows and it was usually the death of black bodies. Everything that Laymon has said is very in that the removal of the Confederate Flag will help the fight for equality and to end racism, but it is not a solution to an almost 400 year old problem that has plagued the U.S. since its inception.

Make-Up Blog #8 Kiese Laymon

I would like to have a reaction to this story but I don't. It's not like the story wasn't not intriguing and captivating but instead I have grown numb to the treatment of Black people in America. Many of his examples of racism in American, I have either seen first hand or already heard of it before. His article shows how growing up Black in the South feels like. Sometimes it is the greatest feeling ever because we are automatically labeled as awesome. Many of the things that become trends in pop culture, fashion, and music comes from the Black community, specifically the Black South. On the other hand, having to deal with racism at a young age, having to be taught about racism and slavery before your white counterparts, or having to twice as hard to get half of what our white peers get is beyond tragic. Throughout the entire story, he kept mentioning how he swing back meaning that he would fight back against the institution of racism, which reminds me of a Tupac interview that was featured on the Kendrick Lamar album,"To Pimp a Butterfly." The interview explains how a black man can only live and be rebellious while he is in his teens and early 20's after those years the Black man becomes docile and subdued. I just thought it was cool for someone to be fearless in what they wrote about.