Ending of Angry Black White Boy

When Macon made the transformation into the character from the prologue, I expected he would have gained more wisdom than he did.  Instead of realizing the futility of his mission to give up white privilege and moving on to an alternative method to accomplish his goal of lessening racism in America, Macon simply gave up, even trying to become "unenlightened" again.  This development made me respect him as an intellectual a little more, but it caused me to lose all respect for Macon as a hero, as he very much chose the easy way out (not only abandoning his goals and losing all direction, but also through intentionally connecting to his white privilege).

The question that comes to mind for me during the entirety of this novel, but especially at this point, is how best to combat racism in America.  Macon's mission was to enlighten white people specifically, but as we've seen this did not turn out as he had envisioned, possibly due to his rather radical agenda.  If Macon had not existed, would his same messages come across through hip-hop?  As black culture becomes viewed as a collection of individuals by white culture, there is a natural progression towards acceptance.  While this may be slower than Macon's method, it is also less likely to cause violence and conflict.  His time and fame could have been better spent physically helping the communities he was concerned with, rather than attempting to tear down whiteness, arguably an impossible task, and probably immoral in Macon's case.  These white allies of the past who he held in such disdain ultimately caused greater positive change, something that Macon realizes both during his radio conversation with the white civil rights activist, but also during the final pages of the novel.

Thoughts on Macon

At least at this point in the novel I dislike most aspects of Macon's character.  He is judgmental, cripplingly insecure, and misguided in his attempt to abandon white privilege.  I admire his determination and willingness to state his divisive ideology, but this comes at the cost of his sense of common decency in many cases.  When Macon speaks with others, he sees them only in the very narrow context framed by his beliefs, and is constantly trying to formulate his responses to their statements as the conversation moves along.  The most clear example is still when Macon meets Andre and Nique for the first time.  Macon's desperation for black acceptance is one of the more contradictory aspects of his character that even he must acknowledge, when he realizes that what he wants is not to suffer for black people, but to be "absolved".
I get the sense that Macon's delusions of grandeur stem from this weakness of character and insecurity, as he has clearly not taken action in the extreme manner that his doctrine would outline.  Even his muggings always seemed to emphasize a self-catharsis: the feeling of power and righteousness he gained from terrorizing wealthy white New Yorkers.  Despite Macon's arrest, the depth of his dedication to the cause has yet to be meaningfully challenged.

Jack's Great Escape

The escape scene was definitely a huge release of suspense built up since the early sections of the novel.  Jack's concise but emotive narrative style is well-suited to the quick pace of the chapter.  There was some controversy concerning Jack's heroism in the escape, and to what extent was he just following a few orders from Ma.  While I do think Jack displayed some heroic control of his emotions, I didn't see the escape as Jack's climactic act of heroics.  Instead it was Jack's emergence as a possible heroic protagonist, just as he is also emerging into "the Outside".  Jack's maturity and intelligence make it easy to forget that he is merely five years old, and I think it's clear at this point (both through Jack's analytical skills and his fairly substantial education) that he will become a very unique character as he interacts with the new world he is now immersed in.

The novel's premise was quite heavy, but somehow the tone has always felt a little light.  Jack's dialogue is humorous and entertaining even in the darkest of moments, and his future seems open as the halfway mark of the novel approaches.  I suspect that Jack will encounter some emotional or psychological trauma along the way, but I feel the story could progress convincingly without the amount of heroic struggle I'm more accustomed to reading.  Jack is already an extreme character whose questions and observations provoke analysis of society as a whole, and I hope the author makes use of this throughout the novel.

Smithy as a Hero

Smithy's story is definitely a big departure from previous hero's journeys we've read, but in many ways it has also a fairly conventional premise in modern literature.  Smithy is a typical timid antihero, lacking confidence, a healthy body weight, and any direction in life.  Sometimes he says the wrong thing at the wrong time, but deep down he's a good guy that the reader has an easy time relating to.  I think these more modern hero narratives in particular can become cliche and simple, but McLarty writes the most convincing portrayal of this character possible.  Smithy is not the perfect narrator; often many details are left out, and certain undesirable details (such as his obsession with breasts) are included.  Rather than just have Smithy write his thoughts to us as every event unfolds, McLarty uses subtler, less organized phrases to convey Smithy's feelings in what I would say is a more realistic light.  He is quiet and unsure, not eloquent and professing.  

The transformation that Smithy makes is also less clear-cut than it could have been.  Sure, Smithy loses a large amount of weight, but he doesn't seem particularly proud, or even aware of the change for most of his journey.  The same is true of his previous addiction to alcohol and junk food.  Instead of a typical, all-encompassing psychological evolution, only some aspects of Smithy change.  His journey, and therefore his results, are very specific; Smithy comes to terms with his past and his primary change is his ability to live happily and peacefully.  McLarty's choice to use an alternating chapter sequence between Smithy's past and present keeps the reader focused on the protagonist's pains and possible resolutions.  Smithy certainly includes more details from his past, even though his present journey across the country seems a lot more compelling.

Ending of Memory of Running

In a lot of ways the ending of the novel is generic, and perhaps even cheesy, but yet it also feels logical and conclusive to me.  The ending is very sudden, and doesn't really seem to leave the reader with any idea of how Smithy's narrative will progress.  However, I find this to be very consistent with the prior events of the novel, and the plot direction as a whole.  From the outset, the journey was taken on a whim, unconsciously.  There was a simple goal in mind of retrieving Bethany's body, but it was clear that for Smithy it was an introspective, emotional and psychological journey more than anything.  For the novel to close as we see Smithy reach his physical destination, after rediscovering his past (physically and otherwise) and finding closure in it is therefore not unexpected.  Smithy does not give the reader any sense of the possibilities for his future because he himself does not have any interest in contemplating anything other than the present.  Smithy is content with his new beginning.

If you also interpreted the final scene with Norma as a hallucination, there's a lot less of that cheesy feeling, and all of the emotional and thematic importance to that scene is retained.  As the hallucination of Bethany that has been torturing him for years is finally freed, Smithy begins anew with his love for Norma, confronting his guilt and pain associated with seeing her disabled body.  The visual aspect of Smithy running alone on the beach to close the novel is also more appealing to me, as it emphasizes the personal, solitary aspect of the journey.  The final scene and the scene with Bethany's body are both missing a typical heroic monologue, which probably adds to the abrupt feel of the last chapter, but in many ways this final emotional revelation was already made, split up over previous chapters.  Smithy's last conversation with Bethany in the kitchen felt especially poignant and conclusive to me.

Addie

Addie's chapter is what caused the change of my perception of the novel from a hero's journey to a tragedy, before any real damage has been done to the rest of the Bundren family.  Her narration, among other things, reveals that she was not the loving mother that everyone seems to think of her as. Indeed, Addie's dying wish was nothing more than her last attempt to spite Anse.

Addie is one of the most interesting characters in the novel, despite her complete absence from the plot.  I'm not sure why Faulkner decided to write her in this way; perhaps it was to generate some sympathy, but maybe it was just the best way to rationalize her decisions.  Addie is definitely one of the most morally questionable characters we encounter.  She enjoys or at least looks forward to beating her schoolchildren, and doesn't express any love to her children other than Jewel.  Of course she does have her reasons.  Addie enjoys beating the children because she sees it as a way of affirming her existence in their selfish miserable lives.  This rationale isn't really anything that your run-of-the-mill bully doesn't possess.  Her mentality of living only to die causes her to not feel the urge to make anyone's life any happier, including her own.  Addie's strongest asset is her philosophical mind, but it doesn't make up for her flaws.

 Sure, her life was not the greatest, and she didn't have any options for advancement, but Faulkner gives us an example of another female character, Dewey Dell, who suffers from every disadvantage that Addie did and then some.  Yet she doesn't seem to harbor any resentment for her family, and is probably one of the most pleasant characters in the novel.  Even her betrayal of Darl is more an action of desperation than anything else.  

Ending of As I Lay Dying: Anse

Throughout the course of the novel, I've been something of a supporter of Anse, or at least I was open to accepting him as a hero should he end up proving himself.  He did have some endearing characteristics, and was initially portrayed as an honest and honorable man.  At Addie's bedside, he showed genuine concern and tried to express this with his awkward smoothing of the bed.  Anse was the one to motivate (or force) the family to set out for Jefferson, and even if he wasn't doing any manual labor, he was doing his best to keep everyone focused on their goal and respectful of their mother's death.

His development as a character was complicated when it was revealed that he may have an ulterior motive, or at least another goal on his mind, this being obtaining a set of false teeth.  He merely mentioned it after Addie's death, but it became more and more concerning as Anse continued to think fondly of his teeth and how they would greatly improve his life.  When Anse has to buy a new team of mules, he perhaps dishonorably exchanges everything his children have, including Jewel's much-prized horse.  However when he is left with no other choice, Anse sacrifices his teeth fund for the sake of the journey, and presumably Addie's honor.  At this point I was a bit concerned as to where Anse would end up psychologically, but he seemed to be proving his integrity.

Ultimately it seems Faulkner isn't content to leave us with this forgiving picture of the clumsy hero, with Anse stealing all that Dewey Dell has left to buy those teeth.  While doing so, he attempts to justify his actions by suggesting that the $10 was probably earned immorally, and generally questioning the value of all his children.  

The last straw is of course Anse's "introduction" of Mrs. Bundren to his family.  Not only does he dismissively list off his children's names, but he doesn't see fit to even mention Darl.  I think this makes it clear that Anse has little or no emotional attachment to his family or Addie, as he quickly moves on and accepts this new Bundren family.  My issue with Anse in the end isn't that he emerges victorious, or even that he was the only one to benefit from the journey.  Instead it is his failure to stay true to his ideals, or rather, that for Anse these were not ideals, but superstition.  For Anse, it is only right that a family includes a wife in it; it is the way the world works.  Similarly, it is expected that a husband will honor his wife's dying wish.  Perhaps the absurdity of her wish and his absolute willingness to comply are indicative of Anse's surface understanding, rather than the actual moral basis of these practices.  Because the physical journey to Jefferson could not be considered a success. my only hope for Anse's development into a hero was through his psychological strength or development.  The protagonist" ultimately falls short.

Odysseus vs. Anse

On the surface, Odysseus and Anse are almost polar opposites.  Odysseus is a king, whereas Anse is a poor farmer.  Odysseus is adventurous, powerful, and diplomatic.  Anse is a hermit, both physically and emotionally weak, and unskilled with language to say the least.  Yet they do have their similarities, and although I'm not trying to paint Anse as the modern Odysseus, some of Anse's traits do portray him as a potential candidate for a hero.
Anse does have quite a bit of pride despite arguably having little reason to, specifically in his ability to provide for his family.  Just as Odysseus's pride in his combat and leadership skills, this is probably considered the most defining characteristic of a man in this era.  To be a man who cannot provide for his family is to be a failure, and with a general consensus among the characters being that Anse is extremely lazy and unproductive, our protagonist(?) may have to step up to protect his reputation.
In a more abstract way, Anse is someone who values wisdom just as Odysseus does.  We see a clear example of this for Odysseus when the sirens tempt him with the promise of endless knowledge, specifically of the events surrounding the Trojan War.  Anse seems to spend all of his waking hours philosophizing about something or other.  Related to this, the two characters are very firm in their ideals.  For Odysseus this entails the importance of hospitality and the emotional attachment to his homeland, and the exacting of revenge to defend it.  Anse also believes strongly in the attachment of a family to their land and home, and goes so far as to greatly inconvenience himself and others to bring his wife to what he sees as her proper resting place.  He is willing to make a sacrifice to defend his beliefs and honor, which is unarguably a heroic characteristic.

Heroes in Literature vs. Heroes in Life

As we know, the term hero is thrown around quite a bit in this day and age, often in situations that most would agree don't quite match up to the heroes of old (e.g. role models).  However there are also those who are labeled as heroes for a single action, such as saving someone from a fire or from being mugged etc.  Not many people would question the heroism of these individuals, and undoubtedly they act with bravery and morality, but how well does this match up with our concept of the literary hero?
In literature, heroic stories often explore themes such as sacrifice, redemption/vengeance, passion, morality, and countless others, but these themes are noticeably lacking from most "real hero narratives" if you will.  Saving a civilian in need is rarely premeditated.  It is likely not the "climax" of said person's life, nor is it necessarily a pivotal point in their psychological development or journey.  The event itself is a story.  These "heroes" are very unlike literary heroes who usually set out with a life goal, must endure many hardships and self-sacrifice, and finally emerge victorious, a changed being, and not always for the better.  There is an implicit criterion of these heroes where their heroic action cannot be separated from their existence; their goal is their end all be all, their ultimatum.  In a sense they personify the ideals and purpose behind their heroic action.  Even athletes, who on the surface seem less heroic than the aforementioned good citizens fit much more neatly into the literary hero category, as they possess similar devotedness to their passion.

Athletes

Early this semester we talked about whether athletes could be considered heroes or not, with many deciding that they aren't truly heroes because they do not achieve something of worldly value, i.e. saving a life or generally improving the conditions of others.  For the vast majority of athletes, this is most certainly the case, however under a more general definition of heroism, such as Campbell's, I believe that all competitors can be heroes.
This is especially clear for athletes who previously lived in poverty, struggled with chronic injury, death in the family etc.  They overcame hardships to accomplish their life goal or dream, and this is something that most people would look up to as heroic.
However for those that didn't have these clear-cut difficulties, for those that grew up in middle-class, functional families, the line between hero and citizen is not well-defined.  I mentioned the concept of the underdog in class as an example of a competitor taking on heroic qualities despite being otherwise quite ordinary.  The truth is that all competitors are underdogs at one time or another, struggling to become a member of the elite or even just recognized.  The obstacles they must overcome are inherent to competition: failure, doubt, disrespect, loss of motivation.  For those truly driven individuals, these are problems every bit as serious as poverty or tragedy.  Competition is a perfect example of the setting out on a personal or spiritual journey that Campbell pins down as the defining characteristic of a hero.  Competitors live a primarily tortured existence; they feel the need to prove themselves through success that they know cannot be attributed to anything but their own merit, which is in many ways both a blessing and a curse.  When glory is finally achieved, it was all worth it, yet for many it is unattainable.

Kyle as a Hero

As was the general consensus in class, Kyle can be seen as the primary hero in Victory Lap because he has the courage to break away from his confines, both those set forth by society and those by his parents.  His saving of the damsel in distress is likely the most archetypal conclusion to a hero narrative.  Yet as a protagonist, he is anything but conventional.  His likable, innocent, nerdy personality isn't uncommon in modern literature, but his inner, psychological state is completely wacky.  Kyle emerges from a highly restrictive environment, not only obeying his parents' rules, but conforming completely to them, so much so that his father resides in his consciousness, and he doesn't dare to disobey.  Unsurprisingly, Kyle has built up quite a bit of anger over the years and lets it all loose when he attacks the unnamed assailant.
While saving Alison, Kyle almost goes too far in his berserk state and nearly delivers a killing blow to the man.  This topic generated some controversy as to whether Kyle is actually a hero or not, and whether he had truly acted with courageous intentions.  I think what Saunders is really emphasizing here is that behind every heroic action there is an imperfect human, with complex motives and emotions.  Saunders goes through a lot of trouble to introduce Kyle and Alison as initially (at least partially) insane characters, but in their social interaction they seem perfectly normal.  Every human is like this in one way or another.  We can never fully understand the actions of a hero, but we accept that the time and conditions were right for that person, and that the world is for the better because of it.