Post by Dr. Nemmers on Jul 12, 2024 16:30:22 GMT
In chapter 2 of the novel we are related the fraught episode of Lupito, the man/murderer who has been crazed by the war and now has turned into an animal. Apparently he still believes he's being hunted by the Japanese and so he wanders around with a pistol and just randomly shoots the sheriff in the head. (Not good). Here's the money quote:
"Ayeeeee!" the scream sounded again. It was a cry that I did not understand, and I am sure the men on the bridge did not either. The man they hunted had slipped away from human understanding; he had become a wild animal, and they were afraid." 45
He basically commits suicide-by-posse, firing into the air while the men are looking for him. To me, this signifies that he knows he's beyond redemption and would rather die than remain in his current condition. In dying without being absolved by a priest, it seems that he's also given himself over to damnation. Yet it's hard to argue that this state is worse or even different than his current one....
I'm also wondering how we might relate this to some of the other war veterans we've had who emerged from those conflicts in damaged condition: Binx, Mike Lovett, etc. Is the is basically the portrait of the modern man: alienated from his environment, traumatized by his past, hunted by unseen enemies, and ultimately preferring death to life?
Finally, the presence of the owl throughout the episode and the man on the bridge makes me think a little bit of "The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"-- technically that man was a sort of veteran as well. He was killed by a posse but also had a sort of terrible freedom before his death...
Anyway, a very arresting episode, and I think very existentialist in its own way!
"Ayeeeee!" the scream sounded again. It was a cry that I did not understand, and I am sure the men on the bridge did not either. The man they hunted had slipped away from human understanding; he had become a wild animal, and they were afraid." 45
He basically commits suicide-by-posse, firing into the air while the men are looking for him. To me, this signifies that he knows he's beyond redemption and would rather die than remain in his current condition. In dying without being absolved by a priest, it seems that he's also given himself over to damnation. Yet it's hard to argue that this state is worse or even different than his current one....
I'm also wondering how we might relate this to some of the other war veterans we've had who emerged from those conflicts in damaged condition: Binx, Mike Lovett, etc. Is the is basically the portrait of the modern man: alienated from his environment, traumatized by his past, hunted by unseen enemies, and ultimately preferring death to life?
Finally, the presence of the owl throughout the episode and the man on the bridge makes me think a little bit of "The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"-- technically that man was a sort of veteran as well. He was killed by a posse but also had a sort of terrible freedom before his death...
Anyway, a very arresting episode, and I think very existentialist in its own way!
