Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Setting/Season
Ok so obviously, this novella is titled "Fall from Innocence." Now that we've finished the whole story, I think it's a good time to discuss the importance of the setting in the book. How do you guys think the season in which the events takes place influences the way in which the story is interpreted or affects the events that take place in the book? While we're at it, what do you guys think the purpose was of the rain/hail at the end of the story (if you think it had a purpose)?
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I don't believe the season had really a lot of influence besides how it was the time when kids went off and were kids, having fun during a long Labor Day weekend.
ReplyDeleteThe rail and the hail, however, have a purpose. One thing I found particularly interesting as how the author described the hail melting in Ray's eyes as like he was crying. Crying plays a big part in this book. The fact that they had cried at different parts in the book shows that these are still kids. searching for a dead body out of curiosity only, and Ray was a kid their age. Their childlike curiosity propelled them in their search and they did find what they were looking for, but the reality was a bit too much. I can't help but feel Ray's "tears" as a symbol of remorse in a way. Ray had his whole life in front of him and it was cut short while he was berry picking. All he did was go berry picking, and he died. It's obviously a sad thing, so the "crying" really helps to let the feeling of sadness sink in and give the reader a connection to Ray even though his part in the book was rather small.
Gordie's mom is creepy. Andy's a pretty cool guy, but Gordie and Chris are pretty cool, too. In before Alex disagrees with everything I've said.
Nick brings up a great point about how the rain causes Ray to "cry." I completely agree with that, however, I think it also has another purpose. I think it symbolizes the "washing away" of the boys' innocence. A lot of important events happen during that rainstorm. The boys find Ray's body, and stand up to the big kids. Both of those events are things that symbolized the boys growing up and coming face to face with reality. Also, I kind of have to point out, did you guys notice how when Ace and them were threatening to beat up the kids, Gordie and Chris were the only ones who didn't run away, and at the end, Gordie and Chris are the ones who stay friends and succeed? Just thought I'd point that out in case you guys wanted to discuss it or something.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I have to disagree with Nick's point that the season is just the setting and nothing else. I think the idea of the fall has a big part to do with the story. Think about fall for a second, it's the midpoint between summer and winter. Summer is generally viewed as being a season where people are happy and content, out swimming or at the beach, etc. Winter on the other hand, is cold and harsh. I think that the fall setting of the story symbolizes how the boys are transferring from their happy and content childhoods to the cold and harsh "real world."
So yeah, Andy's cool, and so is Chris and Gordie. And now I give Alex or Steady permission to tear apart my ideas.
lol the Alex statement is so true
ReplyDeleteI think the fact that it is titled "Fall from Innocence" is a pretty obvious connection to the fact that the novella began with them as all young kids, and yet by the end, only Gordie survived. The Fall from Innocence displays the season of Autumn, and this is a time when the leaves change, just as a child's life changes drastically as they grow older. the four best friends are no longer best buds as Teddy and Vern join a different group, and Chris's life also changes dramatically, except surprisingly for the better. Gordan has been the only child who had been expected to make it big and be successful as he was the smartest of the original four, but Chris becomes a great student and if not for being stabbed would have studied Law in college. Teddy is killed while under the influence of drugs, an event that is hard to comprehend as the young child that we once knew him to be, and then Chris also dies, except doing something incredibly honorable (trying to separate a brawl). The child who had been expecting to be an awful kid dies in the line of duty as a good citizen, and Gordan, the only survivor, grows older with a family of his own. The child who had been ignored by his parents, and always in the shadow of his older brother goes through life changing events, and becomes a successful author and father.
ReplyDeleteThe four kids all lose their innocence during Fall, the time of change (which leads into winter, a time of death and desolation).
All I was saying with the setting thing is that it took place over Labor Day weekend (early early September just in case you guys forgot when it was). That's not fall. The time is not really important or central to the plot but yes, the seasons thing is and I agree with Anthony's and Dan's interpretations. It's just that there aren't many references to the actual season fall in the novella besides the title, so the title makes sense with the subject matter and the themes of the novella but other than that it doesn't seem important or central to the text.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Dan's and Anthony's parts of interpretation with the seasons. I agreed in the part that fall sybolized a change, and that the change was somewhat for the worse, represented by the oncoming winter. And Nick, I dont think there had to be any reference to the fall season. I think that was evident in the title, and you were left to see it for yourself. But fall is about change, and that was definitely all this book was about
ReplyDeleteAnd I think the rain sybolized the fall from innocence. That was when some people lost their cool as the rain hit Ray's face. That was when the younger kids stood like men (most of them) and faced the bigger kids. And that was when Chris pulled out the gun. The kids had had enough, and were taking a stand. That symbolized a rite of passage. They were never the same after that adventure.
And just a thought- the season was fall, meaning it was the start of the worse. This was definitely true for Chris, Vern, and Teddy. But what about Gordan? He lived a good life from then on.
I have to admit, Gordan and Chris seemed almost as cool as Andy at the end.
I didn’t read most of what you guys said to mitigate direct disagreements (and I don’t really feel like it at the moment).
ReplyDeleteI think the weather and time of year are very important to the story. They subtly symbolize the points in the boys' lives that they are arriving at, or at least the parts of their lives that they are first being exposed to.
The boys' childhood is very precious. It is when they are (somewhat) innocent and don't have any significant problems. They are just a group of good friends who fool around and have fun with each other. This stage of their lives, childhood, is represented by brighter, sunnier elements. The heat and sunniness is described in the earlier parts of the story. They are innocent children who have not been significantly corrupted by the darkness of the world.
This all changes with their discovery of "the body". This event in a way symbolizes their "fall from innocence". The element of death and violence is one of the darkest in the world. This change in what the boys are exposed to is shown in the weather. As stated in the secondary title, this is a "fall". This represents change in different ways. Not only do they fall from their previous innocent state, but also the season of fall is significant in itself. Fall is sort of like a transitional season. It is in the middle of the summer (innocence, light) and winter (darkness, coldness). The boys are growing up and are in the midst of a transformation. As the boys encounter the body the weather changes into rain. This contrasts with the heat and brightness from earlier. It is gloomy and cold – fitting for the event of the dead body encounter and confrontation with Ace Merrill’s gang.
Their journey to see the body depicts many dark, non-innocent, adult-oriented scenes. They almost get killed by a train, get attacked by a dog, almost get gypped by a store owner, get their blood sucked by leeches, and use a gun. The more important things they are exposed to are the reality and horror of a boy's dead body and the brutality and violence of Ace Merrill's gang. These events that they are exposed to in a way turn them more into adults and represent the further change they will experience (mostly death and beatings). You can tell the sudden impact and change just seeing the corpse has on Gordon, as he describes the epiphany he experiences seeing the shoes knocked off the body.
Gordon is cool, Chris is cool, and I’ve never heard of this “GordAn” character (he probably isn’t cool).