Harry Crews’s Body and John Cheever’s “Five-Forty-Eight” offer characters whose lives lack control. Although Crews’s Bateman is a perfecting, attractive, and popular body builder, his life does not satisfy him. However, from the outside Bateman appears happy and content. On the other hand, Cheever’s Ms. Dent is skinny, shy, emotional, and disheveld. Her description reflects the unsteadiness and the insecurity in her life. Although Bateman’s personality contrast with Ms. Dent’s, they have a similar need for control. Bateman and Ms. Dent search for control in the form of love objects. Bateman finds Earline Turnipseed an obese, virginal, simple and complacent “redneck.” Ms. Dent finds Blake an unpopular, self-centered, abusive, and chauvinistic womanizer. Both character finds control; however, only Bateman does so through his love object.
Bill Bateman and Ms. Dent feel a lack of control and completion evident in their illnesses. Bateman suffers form bulimia: “[he] could not hold to the rigid diet of a champion, never had been able to, but he was a secret and accomplished puker”(105). His rigid diet does not contribute to his bulimia; rather, his intense obsession with control leads to his sickness. Displaying his own neurosis, Bateman uncontrollably fears failure. By punishing his body through weight lifting, bingeing, and purging he artificially feels successful and in control. Although Ms. Dent does not directly define his illness, she too suffers from a neurosis, plus clinical depression. Struggling with her illness, Ms. Dent “had been in the hospital for eight months”(81). While her obsession with Blake, her paranoia, her stalking, her uncontrollable emot…
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…on in Earline’s far from perfect body. Perhaps now that his life satisfies, he will not feel so out of control, thus eliminating his need to binge and purge. Blake does in fact help Ms. Dent take control of her life, just not as she intended. Instead of gaining control through his life, she achieves control by tearing his life down. Ms. Dent tells Blake, “Oh, I’m better than you, I’m better than you, and I shouldn’t waste my time or spoil my life like this. Put your face in the dirt”(89)! She finally realizes her own self-worth, and by literally lowering Blake beneath her in the dirt she cures herself. She realizes she may not have friends, family, love, and money, but she has dreams ;therefore, a reason to live. Through their love objects, whether a correct match or not, Bateman and Ms. Dent overcome the obstacles that are impeding their happiness.
Power in O’Connor’s The Artificial Nigger and Mason’s Shiloh
Power in O’Connor’s The Artificial Nigger and Mason’s Shiloh
Flannery O’Connor’s story The Artificial Nigger and Bobbie Ann Mason’s story Shiloh both possess characters that excercise power . Mr. Head, the main character that exercises power in The Artificial Nigger, is an old racist man, who claims to know everything. In Mason’s story, Norma Jean, a simple southern woman who wants change in her life, is the main character that exercises power. Both characters are similar in their successful exercise of power; however, the effects their power have are different.
Mr. Head’s exercise of power has a negative effect on his grandson, Nelson, while Norma Jean’s exercise of power serves as a way to benefit herself. Mr. Head’s main focus is to make Nelson see black people as “niggers” and for Nelson to fear the city. Mr. Head’s controling nature effects Nelson in a negative manner. From the beginning of the story, Mr. Head’s powerful and controling personality is evident when the narrator states, “…he saw half of the moon five feet away in his shaving mirror, paused as if it were waiting to enter” (249). Mr. Head’s desire to control also extends to all aspects of life. His intentions for Nelson are clear when he says, “…but I mean for him to get his fill once and for all” (254). By making Nelson feel powerless, Mr. Head steals away his innocence. Before influencing his grandson, Nelson’s description of a black man is “‘A man,'” but later in the story Nelson begins to see black people as “niggers,” just like his grandfather (255). Fearing the city, also has a negative effect on Nelson. He holds pride in being born in Atlanta, but his grandfather wants to teach Nelson that “he had no cause for pride merely because he had been…
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…aking classes, she is able to slowly but surely find her independence again. Norma Jean finally tells her husband that she wants to leave him because she does not want to “…feel eighteen again” (500). By leaving Leroy and starting a new life, Norma Jean is able to forget the pain and embarassment she felt many years ago. The power she possesses enables her to succeed in her wish to move on.
The characters in both stories have similarities and differences. Mr. Head and Norma Jean use their power to get what they want. Both are similar because they are successful in exercising their power and are different becausse their power has different effects. Mr. Head thrives on control and succeeds in his plan to control his grandson. Norma Jean works at self-improvemennt so that she can leave her husband and continue to live the life that she has longed for.