Lucas' 20th Century Lit Blog

One would have to say, that Slaughterhouse 5  is a novel about Billy Pilgrim. Billy is Vonnegut's vehicle in which he shares his experience over the firebombing of Dresden. However, Billy himself doesn't do a lot of thinking or, really anything. He could best be described as apathetic and disinterested. This begs the question: is he a compelling and effective main character? I personally believe that this can only be decided individually by each reader. Personally, I do not like Billy as a main character. The leads in novels which I find most interesting are much more introspective, and charismatic, and just overall compelling. I know the whole point is that Billy is supposed to be kind of a clown, but he's a little bit boring, and while his struggles are profoundly sad and he has obviously been through a lot, as a character he is not someone that ropes me in. I don't find myself being interested in him, because he seems sort of like a blank slate. Also, the time tra...

Recently while attending an Illinois basketball game, I was seated in front of an older white couple, probably in their 60's or late 50's. Throughout they game they launched a barrage of attacks on the completely black Illinois players after every little mistake or play they deemed unacceptable. I found these white people's relentless criticism of the extremely talented black athletes uncomfortable at best, and downright bigoted at worst. Besides calling the ref a "communist" on multiple occasions, and criticizing him by saying "he probably voted for Bernie Sanders," they displayed beliefs that were definitively Atonist. Anytime, an Illinois player tried anything flamboyant or flashy, they immediately let out cries of "keep it simple," or "that's just reckless." I couldn't help but draw connections between this and the clash between Atonism and Jes Grew in Mumbo Jumbo. A distaste for fun or creativity, and a strict complianc...

Coalhouse Walker Jr is an upstanding gentleman with unquestionable class, style, and sophistication. So many things about him set him apart from those around him, however his most undeniably unique trait is his burning sense of pride. In a time in American history in which black people were expected to "ingratiate themselves" and put their dignity aside for the sake of the white man, Coalhouse refuses to do so. The matter in which he stands his ground, may be considered fairly small in a larger context of hate crimes, but his decision to fight is far from insignificant. What Coalhouse demands is to simply be treated with basic human decency. The crime committed against him, while not violent is disgusting, Coalhouse was treated as if he were not a man worthy of respect. The profoundness of Coalhouse's movement lies in the simplicity of his requests. So much damage is caused over the destruction of a car. A crime that the fire chief and his crew are most certainly guilty...

While Evelyn Nesbit left the pages of ragtime a few chapters ago and she may never return to the novel, I found the time we spent with her character thought provoking, compelling, and emotionally stirring. A little research into the real person Evelyn Nesbit will show that almost every shocking thing about her life actually happened. She was actually assaulted by famed architect Stanford White at 15, abused by oil scion Harry K Thaw in Europe, and witnessed her former assaulter/lover shot by her current husband atop Madison Square Garden. It should also be noted that Nesbit did in fact donate to Emma Goldman's magazine, at least according to her wikipedia article. Now if that wasn't enough for you Doctorow adds his own spice to her story: her obsession with a little poor girl from the southeast side. All of these elements not only make for interesting plot but also an extremely complex character. It is obvious that Evelyn Nesbit is looking for a fulfilling place and purpose i...

From henceforth this blog will be fully dedicated to History as Fiction.

While the general outline of HBO's Native Son and Richard Wright's original novel is the same, there are extremely noticeable differences between their plots and structure. The most striking of which in my opinion is their separate main characters. Bigger Thomas from the novel is a cold and not very sympathetic character, whereas the one from the movie with his punk style is much more likable and seems to have decidedly less violent tendencies. The relationships between Jan, Mary, and Bigger seem much more positive in the modern rendition. While Bigger states on multiple occasions that he felt hatred towards both of them, the movie Bigger seems to form something of an actual connection with them. Even securing them narcotics in return for music gifted to him by Mary. It is much easier to see Mary's death as accidental in the film because of this. In addition, his relationship with Bessie has marked differences. In the film they seem to actually care about one another an...

At a glance, the characters of Gunnar Kaufman and Bigger may not seem to share a multitude of characteristics, however upon closer inspection their stories are a lot more similar than they may appear. They are both characters in coming-of-age stories with twists, whose lives are presumably cut short. While they also share many differences, they are at their core disenfranchised young men, who are pushed into bubbles based on their racial identity, restricting their ability to live full lives. Gunnar is certainly much more educated and I dare say intelligent than Bigger, in addition to being more outwardly rebellious. However, he too finds himself surrounded by white people who all seem to want something from him. He is praised by white people for his talents, whereas Bigger is hated. However, is that really so different, neither of them are seen as individuals, merely as men defined by a few actions and accomplishments, or in Bigger's case crimes. Neither lives a satisfactory lif...