Hello everyone it's me, Jenessa. I'm using Amanda's account because I'm having problems with my account.
In chapter 5, we learn that Joe Christmas feels like he has no home or place to belong. I wonder why he felt that way. We now learn that even growing up, he never had a place he considered home. He was an orphan with no real parents, then when he was adopted they never treated him as their own child. It goes to show how your past is what makes you and it's something you cannot escape, but something you should come to peace with. Do you think that Christmas will overcome his past as the novel goes on or still be filled with hatred?
You say that "your past is what makes you and it's something you cannot escape", I feel the need to question. I think that Joe had an option of finding somewhere to belong but he didn't necessarily want to go out and find it. Although being biracial makes it harder to find somewhere to belong, it does not make it impossible. As a child, he had no control over his feeling of belonging because he was too young to be able to understand his feeling. But now as an adult, he can have some control over whether he chooses to belong or not- whether he chooses to be angry at the world or not.
ReplyDeleteI think the only difference in his ability to "belong" somewhere from when he was a child to an adult is his ability to express it. The feeling of not belonging will always be a part of him, he can only learn to acknowledge it and hopefully defy it, but i don't believe it is a decision he can just make...
DeleteI think that for someone to belong to someone or something there would need to be a mutual relationship. Even if Christmas decided to let go of his anger and choose to be part of "society" nothing would change. How can you belong anywhere if you're not wanted?
DeleteOne may belong in nature? Is there anyone to be rejected by nature when theyre not accepted in society? (just a thought)
DeleteI like what Yesi said. You can belong to nature. Even if he did let go of his pass he would come to peace with him self, accept him self. Its kind of like the saying love your self before others can love you. He needs to accept his past before others can accept him.
DeleteI agree with yesenia. It may not have been obvious to Christmas but he has a choice to decide where he belongs to. He may not have had it when he was younger because he was not permitted to but now he does. He is an adult and can decide where he wants to belong. He may be angry he was put in the position but he had a choice to let it go or to in hold the anger.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of how your past is what defines you, but you cannot escape it in any way. However, I do agree with all of you guys on how Christmas had the choice to choose his destiny and the life that he wants to live in. Now that he is all grown up, I think he has the option of turning his life around for the better and maybe find peace within himself. Who knows if Christmas will change or not?
ReplyDeleteWould it really be possible for Christmas to let go of his anger? The only time he seems to be at peace is at night and with nature...Would he need to isolate himself even further from society? He seems to be serene without the troubles of this world...
DeleteYou make a very good point. I never really thought of it in that perspective. I think that anyone is capable of letting go of anger that they hold within, but to do that they must learn to accept their present situation the way it is and not hold resentment with anyone or anything. I feel like this is what Christmas needs to learn to achieve his freedom of anger and sorrow. Now, I don't think that he has to isolate himself from society because that would make him worst mentally, but I think he should find a friend(s) that share his interests and do not judge him for the color of his skin or for his biracial heritage.
DeleteHow can he change unless he is shown an example of what that change is? Wouldn't he need a model of what he could be? At this point, I don't even think he realizes that there is a choice. He is just following what he has always known.
DeleteI do agree that now Christmas does have control over his choices and life paths but his past still affects him and that will always be apart of his life.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree that Joe has a choice to choose how he lives for he is an adult now. When he was a child, he didn't know much about the world and how to live in it. Now, he is in control of his life and it is up to him in what he decides to do. You can not escape from your past, you just have to accept it and make it become part of you in order to become stronger and wiser.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Aliyah! Joe is at the stage in his life where he is able to choose how he wants to live his life. No one can stop him from finding his true self except from him; it all just takes time and hopefully by the end of the novel, we might see that is growing as a person.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Jenessa 100%. The past molds who you are today, it affects our decisions. Even if you try to ignore the past, it always tends to creep right back. He may have the will to go out and escape the south but his past will always linger right behind him
ReplyDeleteI agree that our past is what shapes our entire lives. But, somebody does have the decision to change because of their past. Since Joe had a terrible past, as an adult he could have chosen to be different and grow out of it. Your decisions as an adult should be made in order for you to have a better future and not cling on to your past.
ReplyDeleteI think that our past can help us define our goals, our beliefs and our character, as well as our reputation. However, I don't necessarily believe that it has to define our present or our future. I think that as humans we have the power to change our lives if we truly wish to do so. i don't think Joe Christmas will be a dynamic character. I think that he will remain in the position that he is in and never truly belong anywhere because it's what he seems to accept. Whenever someone shows slight interest in him he pushes them away and rejects them. He treats them violently and doesn't seem to accept them. He treats them as if they are the enemy. I think that his mindset isn't going to change because he has continued to push people away.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the past is something that defines you but it is possible to choose how you want your future to turn out so I think Christmas will take matters into his own hands and create a new him if he has the determination to do it.
ReplyDeleteI believe that your past shapes you into the person that you are but we have the decision to change ourselves for the better and not let our past destrit us. I believe that eventually joe Christmas will let go of his past and realize that he doesn't have to let it destroy his life.
ReplyDelete-Alexandra perez
My question to those who say Christmas could belong if he wanted to: where? Where would he go? The guy is a prisoner of the world into which he was born- and unfortunately, that's a world that is unforgiving not only to blacks, but also to those of mixed race. If he had been born forty or fifty or sixty years later, maybe he would have had a chance, but he was born into a world that simply doesn't want him. In the world he was raised in; every sin and mistake needed to be punished. The guy is a victim of circumstance- raised by toxic people in toxic ways and dropped into a world that views him as toxic.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a good point in that time period and environment influence who we are, who we become. It seems like most of your classmates believe that Nature is stronger than Nurture; however, so much of behavior is learned.
DeleteI really like the perspective you gave. I have to say i really hope Christmas can someday be able to overcome his past and be able to learn from it and move on. Eventhough i know that at times it can be really hard to move on from situations that have affect you
ReplyDeleteIt can be possible to make peace with your past but what if your past is your present? Christmas is still being critisized and isolated...you can't run from something that's right in front of you or around you.
ReplyDelete