First of all, I am sorry I am getting to this so late, those of you needing to comment.
I definitely enjoy reading poems as a story much more than when they are singled out. Reading Mandolin, which is about Thomas, reads like any book, it's just telling a story, in a slightly different way. Thomas is obviously musically inclined, has a best friend named Lem, meets a wonderful, believe Native American, girl, they start a family, he works on airplanes around World War II time period, daughter gets married and I believe he dies or is injured in a bad car accident.
To me that is the broad picture, the shortest version. But, there are some little things I have questions about. Where did him and Lem go? They seemed to have been in the south and decided to go somewhere tropical maybe, maybe Hawaii? They talk about an island and banana trees, that's what makes me think this. "The Event" says,
they called to the tarantulas
down among the banana
and then
...pointing
to a tree-capped island
Also, did Thomas kill someone and if so who? Or was it all just a dream he had?
In "The Charm" it says:
At night he saw him,
naked and swollen
under the backyard tree.
No reason, he replied
when asked why he'd done
it. Thomas woke up
minutes later, thinking
What I need is a drink.
This makes me think it was just a dream but then at the end it says:
...
The canary sang more furious
than ever, but he heard
the whisper: I ain't dead.
I just gave you my life.
So did he actually kill someone and was dreaming about it? Did he witness someone else killing someone. I feel like it could have been a friend of his, maybe Lem since in the beginning of "The Charm" he seems to be reminiscing:
They called us
the tater but twins.
...
**Again, sorry it took me so long**
-Alyson Vann
Hmm, well from the way you describe it sounds like Thomas had a very good life overall in regards to having a best friend, getting married and having kids.
ReplyDeleteThe only tragedy that seems to be said is his death in the car accident, and the possibility that he either witnessed or took part in killing someone during the war. It appears to me that it was a dream as for the segment you posted but it very well could have been a dream influenced by a memory of him killing someone in the war. Can't say for certain either if he truly did but the fact that he says he needs a drink makes me think that he took was unnerved greatly by the dream.
Then I also think its possible that he might have gone with his friend to an island paradise given the details in the text, least its a possibility.
From the way i read and understood it, he was dreaming, or maybe even having vivid memories of watching someone be killed. I did not get the sense that he killed someone, but maybe that he witnessed it.
ReplyDeletealso, at the end of the "The event" i found it odd that lem drowns so quickly into the poem. THere is really no build up of something bad to happen.
"Dove quick as a gasp. Thomas, dry
on deck, saw the green crown shake
as the island slipped."
it is desrcibing thomas watching as Lem drowns after he was challanged to the chesnuts by Thomas.
On another note, i also had the same question as you as to where they are going/or where they are...and why they are there!
I actually enjoyed reading this story as well. Rita Dove does a great job of putting many different poems together to make a story. However, I am still confused on some things. How did Lem die? I know he dies in the beginning of the story but do we ever learn how? Also, the whole thing with the colors still doesn’t make sense to me. Why do different colors represent different things? And to answer the question about Thomas killing someone, he didn’t kill anyone. He was working and saw a man fall 600 feet to his death and feels somewhat responsible for it because he was working on the object that the man fell from. Anyways, although this story was hard to follow at times, I enjoyed reading it and it kept my interest!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this blog post and all the comments, it helped give me different perspectives about the poem. There is a lot of ways to look at it and frankly i find this poem to be challenging. It starts off with a death which leads to Thomas feeling guilty and then realizing he has to move on. Even after he faced this traumatic event, he was able to bounce back and the ending had a sense of happiness and peace at last. It was confusing at first because i didn't understand where they were going at first, but i agree with the possibility that they could have been headed to the island. Overall this poem was not one of my favorites at first but as i read deeper into it i found it to be very stimulating!
ReplyDelete