Worse than Animals?

Throughout the short story, Battle Royal, the white men, who are supposed to be the sophisticated gentlemen of society, are depicted as vulgar, disgusting humans that are no better than animals. These men, the men that represent values, morals, and justice within society are no better than simplistic animals of greed and lust. It is saddening to observe that men with such responsibility, respect, and honor act in such a negative manner. This irony is evidenced throughout the entire story as these men act in the exact opposite way they are supposed to act.

The white men act in multiple ways to represent animals. With their breath wreaking of alcohol the men chased a naked woman around the bar. They reached their “beefy fingers” out towards the woman in hopes of digging their paws into her soft flesh. With no consideration for the body of the woman or the woman herself, they perceive her purely as a physical attraction. Not even knowing her name, or caring to, these men pushed and shoved to ravage her like beasts. The want to physically devour the young woman shows just how animalistic the men are.

Not only do these men find pleasure in the physical beauty of the woman, but also through the physical pain of the black men. By blindfolding the innocent black men and forcing them to fight against one another, these men find an ultimate source of entertainment. The simple action of forcing these men to fight against one another shows how the white “gentlemen” act like animals themselves. They find pure joy in witnessing men fight against on another with no chance of victory or success. The white men are unable to find joy or substance in anything past physical limitations, which negatively impacts the minds and bodies of the black men subject to pain. Whether it was pushing these men into the electrified rug or forcing them to fight against each other, these men found pleasure within other’s pain.

Finally, the concluded evidence to the animalistic nature of the white gentlemen is their utter lack of respect and thought for the young man’s speech. The young intelligent black man, who is supposed to be animalistic by stereotypical standards, pours his heart and mind into his speech. He placed pride and passion behind his words that had no chance of being respected by the gentlemen. These could not look past the color of his skin to appreciate the content of his words. I believe this is the most important piece of evidence. The men not only choose to enjoy purely the physical, but they cannot even bring themselves to look past the physical. They are, in a sense, restricted to worlds of lust, materials, and superficiality. These worlds are their beloved boundaries that leave their purpose in life to oppression and skin-deep emotion.

The lusting of the woman, the pleasure of the black men’s physical pain, and the dismissal of the young man’s powerful speech all indicate characteristics of disgraceful human beings. These men, actual gentlemen in society, not only act like animals but demonstrate qualities worse than simplistic animals. The lack of compassion, thought, and pride in their lives is truly saddening.

More Than Meets The Eye

Is a smile more than a facial expression? Is a realization more than a state of heightened awareness? Is a kiss more than two lips touching? Throughout our lives, we are graced with monumental moments, moments that are utterly indescribable. To even attempt to explain these events in their entirety would do inevitable injustice to them. Ironically, these grand, significant, memorable events are often of the most simplistic nature. An honest and basic smile, realization, or kiss can inexplicably change our lives forever.

In Raymond Carver’s, Cathedral, the husband is not only able to connect with Robert, but also grow as a person. By drawing the cathedral with Robert he was able to break away from his narrow-minded view of blind people and see Robert for the man he truly was. He broke barriers, he grew up, and he stepped out of his own personal boundaries he had set for himself. This is why he felt like he was not inside of anything. He broke free. Yet you, or I, or any other reader will never fully know or understand how exactly drawing the cathedral changed his life. But how could we? Such a drastic life-changing moment cannot be understood by anyone except the person who has experienced it. An individual’s moment can really only be felt by the individual. And as one question is answered, another is asked. Why, within our world of commonly accepted inexplicable events, do we try to tirelessly compose explanations for our experiences?

Within this simply written yet emotion packed short story, Carver resists the temptation to even describe let alone state that the husband has gone through major personal growth. The author understood that an experience like this was much too powerful for words themselves. Instead, Carver guides us to the understanding that the husband is now a new man. He has shed his misconceptions, judgments, and negative attitude. By simply stating or attempting to describe what he had gone through, the author would degrade the entire experience because the description would come nowhere near the actual moment. Unlike Carver, I believe other writers attempt to write of these moments due to the need for the reader to associate with the material. In a desperate attempt for the reader to connect, the author sadly disconnects from the actual experience.

So as authors and readers, should we try to explain these events that impact our lives to such a great degree or instead label them as indescribable as they truly are? As we all know, there are moments in our lives, big and small, that shape us, transform us, and move us in ways we never imagined. The husband never thought that he would change as a person when his wife’s’ former employer/friend came for a visit. He had no idea that this encounter would change the way he perceived others and possibly how he perceived himself. This monumental change, this transformation, was all due to one simple drawing of a cathedral. And so, under this understanding a smile really is more than a facial expression. A realization is more than a state of heightened awareness. A kiss is more than two lips touching.

Can Unstable Parents Raise Stable Children?

Within this world of pressure, expectations, and a desperate need to succeed, parents and children alike attempt to cope with the difficulties of their lives on a daily basis. As teenagers try to complete their often-miserable days of high school, parents also need to assume responsibility for their home, work, lives, and most importantly their children. Therefore in this tumultuous existence of trying to overcome problems while simultaneously conquering all aspects of life, is possible for unstable parents to raise stable children? Is this an impossible task? And if so, are we now creating generations of unstable people due to the environments they were raised in?

As seen in Teenage Wasteland, the lack of stability within parents can often be the cause and effect of attempting to raise a stable child. Daisy, full of self-doubt and concern for how other perceived her, was unable to provide a stable environment for Donny. She had to resort to a tutor, Cal, to practically parent for her. This was not a horrible idea because Daisy did have her son’s best interests in mind, yet the fact is saddening that she was incapable of finding the much-needed success within her son. There is no doubt that Daisy gave her full effort to be the best parent for Donny. She tutored him; made sure he was did all of his homework, and set reasonable restrictions and rules that he had to strictly follow. Like any parent, stable or unstable, she put forth full effort in order to give Donny an environment of achievement. Despite valiant efforts, Daisy’s instability serves as a major negative to the possible success of her son.

Daisy is inevitably bound to find major challenges in correctly parenting Donny due to her own self doubts, fear, and lack of confidence. During a meeting with Donny’s principal, Mr. Lanham, Daisy was more focused on what he thought of her and her husband than the severity of the situation concerning Donny. Daisy truly believed that both her and her husband were seen as failures. Instead of giving her full attention to the important meeting at hand, she could not help but be focused the perception of her and her husband. Secondly, Daisy displays a complete lack of confidence when deciding what is best for Donny. She doubts her every move and is easily swayed by Cal’s persuasive speech. It is not until Donny is expelled from school that Daisy is able to make confident decisions herself. Just as Daisy is able to parent with forcefulness and purpose, it is too late for her son Donny.

The instability of Daisy was not the single factor to the problems and struggles with Donny, but they did contribute to the failure of his life. If Daisy was confident, brave, and attacked Donny’s with force then he might have been able to overcome his issues and achieve success as a positive young adult. Despite all of her meaningful efforts to help Donny succeed, Daisy was not able to due so in her current state. In order to help Donny, Daisy needed to help herself.