Humor Even in the Rain

So far I am thouroughly enjoying Going After Cocciatto for one promary reason: humor. I love a book that can make me laugh in the same way in which I love a person who can make me laugh, and this book certainly did the trick. The lieutenant reminds me of my grandad: an old man who does not really care about anything but his own current agenda, and does not care what anyone around him might think about him. The other soilders relentlessly poke fun of Cocciatto as well, but he tends to get the last laugh. I find it interesting, however, that humor is injected into a novel that concerns such serious material as the Vietnam War and a treck across the mountains, but I think that thematically this will be an interesting combination of grim reality and belly-shaking laughter.

A Sick Growth

At first, I was going to give a resounding NO to the question of whether or not The Violent Bear it Away is a Bildingsroman, but after pondering on it further, I think that in some ways it is. Francis cannot help his distorted and disturbing upbringing, but he does make a lot of choices for himself throughout the novel which define the person he becomes. He chooses to burn Powderhead and, he thinks, Old Tarwater's body, he chooses to go to Rayber, and then he chooses to reject Rayber's push for reason and continue to allow the influence of Tarwater's sickness affect him. So, whether or not the change and growth is positive, Francis indeed undergoes a lot of it in the novel.

Faith Unquestioned? Not a faith!

As I began to read The Violent Bear it Away, I became very excited, because I can tell that this book is truly going to explore the questions and doubt associated with the Christian faith. Having grown up in a very conservative and closed-minded Southern Baptist tradition, I have personally wrangled and wrestled with my faith in God many times, and often intellect and reason wins the battle. I can see that "the nephew" and schoolteacher in this novel represents that side of me, while the old man and his blind, relentless faith in God represents the other, and perhaps what I wish I could have. It will be very interesting for me to see these two opposing viewpoints, and these two characters and their influences, hash it out in this novel. I wonder who will win, intellect or faith?

Who am I??

The reason I believe The Bear to be a Bildingsroman is that it is about finding out an answer to the question "Who am I?" I think that this is the key question involved in the concept of the coming of age or rite of passage novel. We have read so many extremely different works, but they are all tied together in that the main character is seeking themselves, seeking their purpose in life. In this novel, Ike learns a lot from the hunting expeditions and from the experience of the wilderness, but the most important thing he learns is about who he is and what he stands for. When he decides to reject his inheritance because of the sins of his ancestors, he is making a bold statement about his own morality and value system. He is a part of something really big in his hunt for Old Ben, but the reason this novel shows qualities of a Bildingsroman is that Ike finds out a lot about himself.