"When he thinks about time, it seems to him now that for thirty years he has lived inside an orderly parade of named and numbered days like picket fences..."
At the end of Chapter 14, we can start to see how Joe Christmas has started to lose track of any time and is pretty much unaware of his surroundings or what he is doing. In my opinion, I see this as a sign that Joe has sort of slid further and further from his own existence and has fallen out of time itself. I think he feels as if he is not one amongst the living and is but a mere ghost roaming around in isolation. This event once again clearly shows us the lonesome state that Joe has remained in since he was just a teenager. As Joe travels more and more into the wilderness, you can notice how he has lost pretty much any contact with the ordered society that he grew up with. This seems to always happen when Joe goes into the nature to isolate himself from all his struggles and hardships. I also think that Joe's slippage from time can also mirror or be compared to the personal journey of Hightower because his exile from the community slowly causes him to lose a sense of time as well. Overall, Joe Christmas still can't seem to find any form of acceptance, salvation, or belonging in his life.
I believe that this chapter pretty much concluded that Christmas will never have that peace and acceptance. As Randy said "he can't seem to find any form of acceptance, salvation, or belonging" it may be because he just wasn't meant to have find any of these things. However, he may have never been willing to do these things for himself and in result he never even had a chance to get it from other people.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Id be extremely surprised if he comes to terms with his situation and accepts it. He seems to have lost all faith and hope. Christmas finding an inner peace seems less and less likely as the novel progresses.
DeleteI agree with both of you however i do hope Christmas will be able to someday find peace and be able to live the life he wants the one he never had growing up.
DeleteI agree with both of you. I don't think that Christmas will ever feel accepted. And this chapter just reveals to us that Christmas is isolated. He is completely isolated and I do not believe that he will ever find his true identity. But that is because he chooses not to. Because of his past he doesn't allow anyone in.
ReplyDeleteBut hasn't he allowed several people in before? He allowed in Bobbie, and Burden- and those both backfired pretty terribly. Can we blame him for feeling uncomfortable with a society that has- on several occasions- beaten him, abandoned him, tried to kill him, and ostracized him? To this point in his life, who has actually tried to help him? Alice and Mrs. McEachern tried to make him softer and more "feminine," while Mr. McEachern tried to re-make Christmas in his own image, and Ms. Burden had her own bundle of issues with regards to Christmas (from her superior brand of pitying racism to her attempted murder to her mothering). What reason does Christmas have to try and be a part of society? What could he possibly see in it? So of course he rejects it; of course he says that all he wanted in 31 years of life was a chance at peace outside of society.
DeleteI agree with Brendan, Even when he was a child, he was taken advantage of by both his foster parents and even now that he is older, he cant seem to leave that life as we saw with his experience with Miss. Burden.
DeleteI agree I believe as time passes by joe starts to care less and less as we read in chapter 14 he doesn't even care enough to know the time or date he doesn't even take time out of his day to eat. I feel like this shows us that joe is giving up I feel like Christmas believes he has nothing to live for anymore.
ReplyDeleteJoe seems to kind of have given up on life. He doesn't care much anymore. Christmas doesn't have anyone to fight for, anyone to try for.
ReplyDeleteI think the quote runs more along the lines of Christmas being in the same time for so long. Everything has become routine to him and now that he is on the run , he realizes that his life has been nothing but routine
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling that Joe will find peace. All the times he has tried to find peace and acceptance through other people. Maybe the journey for finding peace might be a long one but he will find it in himself, even if he has to isolated from others.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Christmas may have given up on life, he will defintely come to realize what is more important which is his life and fighting for whats right.
ReplyDeleteYes! It's not going to be an easy road for Christmas but I do believe tat he can find peace and find his true self.
DeleteI really like how you wrote that Christmas is slowly starting to disintegrate from society. How he is becoming the odd one out of the circle who doesn't seem to fit in with anyone. Hopefully later on in the book he will be able to find who he truly is and be able to find someone who truly accepts him for who he really is and doesn't have to hide it from anyone to pleases them. He should only do things to please himself.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. He feels he doesn't have a place in this world. I feel bad that all his life he has been an outsider and a loner. I don't think Christmas will ever know what it feels like to be apart of something. It's Christmas against the world.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you described Christmas as being a ghost. Also, I agree that he may never be accepted in society. Maybe that's why he finds comfort in being isolated from society, since he knows he'll never fit in.
ReplyDeleteI like when you said: " I think he feels as if he is not one amongst the living and is but a mere ghost roaming around in isolation." It is kind of true. He passes thro each town with out really being known. He has no place to belong so it is like he is a ghost.
ReplyDeleteI like when you stated that he was like a ghost. He kind of is like one. He passes through these towns, he has no were to belong and just go's.
ReplyDeleteI feel like Christmas will also join peace , the good things in life take time at first we suffer but all that suffering and hard work pays off and although he is going through a tough situation I feel like he's a wise man and he will find himself.
ReplyDeleteI agree when you say as if Christmas was a ghost it is as if he was not there because he never really was acknowledged just hated or feared.
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