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Post by patricktbutenhoff on Dec 15, 2013 5:41:37 GMT
Part two of our forum discussion on No One's a Mystery: comment on the power dynamic in the story. Note that this prompt is left fairly open-ended on purpose; the question may not be as simple as, "Who has the power?"
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Post by kevinle on Dec 15, 2013 16:27:13 GMT
Each of the characters has a unique power.
Jack's actual wife is the cause for the chain reaction of events (or dialog) that occurs in the story, because Jack and the narrator are at the mercy of the wife's presence. In other words, the wife controls the path of the story. As soon as the wife appeared, Jack pushed the narrator down onto the ground. Wife-related dialog followed, and then non-wife-related dialog came after. The wife is the cause of the pushing, the cause of the dialog, and she probably changed the original direction of Jack and the narrator's interactions. The wife is like the power of a police officer; she sets boundaries and enforces them, but she cannot punish what she does not see.
Jack holds the power of knowledge. He knows who he truly is while the narrator does not, and he knows the narrator will likely give up on the relationship in the future. He knows the situation between him and his wife, he knows he himself is a dishonest person, and he knows the relationship with the narrator will be similar.
The narrator holds the power of hope and belief, which are represented by the diary. She has a strong desire to fill the diary with happy thoughts and memories of love, so she will make the effort to make it so. Even though Jack disagrees with her view of the future, she still has the motivation to try to change the future that Jack describes.
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Post by juliamoreland on Dec 15, 2013 17:11:34 GMT
I do agree with Kevin, thinking about the wife in the power position brings a new perspective to the story. When I first thought of power dynamics, I immediately thought about when Jack pushes the girl’s head down,” He pushed me down onto the dirty floor of the pickup and kept one hand on my head while I inhaled the musk of his cigarettes in the dashboard ashtray and sang along with Rosanne Cash on the tape deck” (246). This makes me just sick to my stomach. It sets up Jack with the narrator as his little pet that he throws around. Ew. But her reaction to it surprised me; she kept her fascination with everything and anything and acted as though nothing had happened. Then, later on, she still retains the power to stand up to Jack’s idea of the future and persuade him with her own. If Jack truly were all-powerful in the relationship, then the narrator wouldn’t have had the confidence to stand up to him. So perhaps Jack and the narrator are more equal than my original reading. The wife, however, does hold the power over both of them. Even the narrator is nervous after the wife has passed. Now, I am realizing that it really bugs me how neither the girl nor wife have names. We have seen this idea earlier in the year, but now it enforces the male power control and its really annoying me. Neither of the women are awarded with the power of an identity, instead they remain female figures; both naïve of each other’s actions.
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Post by Lacey Doby on Dec 15, 2013 19:49:06 GMT
The wife does have the power over the path of the story, as Kevin suggested, but I also think she knows that her power over Jack is limited. She is a bit paranoid as evidenced by the fact that she drives the exact speed limit and keeps her lights on in the daytime in order to feel safer. Perhaps she is rightfully paranoid because she is in a relationship that is clearly not as safe as she wants it to be. Jack and the narrator still fear the wife though, which gives the wife power through fear over the two in the truck. Jack has power through perspective. He can see where the path he and the narrator is on is most likely going to lead, but while he can tell the narrator where he knows the relationship will end, she discounts his opinion because her own power of hope is too strong. The narrator is naïve and young with a lack of perspective, but the absence of wisdom about the future keeps her hope alive, and this power of hope sticks with her even in the face of the certain termination of her falsely perceived future that Jack knows to be true and presents to her.
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Post by Lauren on Dec 15, 2013 22:51:39 GMT
Each character has its own unique power over each other. First: the wife. She's the competition to the narrator, vying for Jack's affection. In the Narrator's eyes, the wife's the one holding power over Jack, keeping him from being with her. In Jack's eyes, the wife is the one who's going to 'catch' him and get him in trouble for what he's doing. Second: Jack. He has the power to push the narrator around and tell her how their relationship will end. He also is strong enough in his marriage to cheat on his wife. He holds up the gender strong masculine stereotype and begins the story by holding a lot of power. Third: the narrator. She has a surprising amount of power, because although she's nervous after the wife goes by, she is able to recover and still dream that one day she will replace her. She can also stand up for herself against Jack; she doesn't let his realist ideas stop her from dreaming of alternative paths.
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Post by jennyxu on Dec 16, 2013 1:05:39 GMT
The narrator has the power of dreams and the man has the power of reality. The easier perception is that the man holds more power, since he is older, has experienced more of life and knows what to expect. Meanwhile, life will probably crush the girl's power, especially through interactions with people like Jack. But the story leaves an open ending, since we never see the girl's reply after Jack delivers the final line. The girl can choose to defy reality, for it does not seem that she desires to know the "truth". In that case, though on one hand, it sets her up for failure, disappointment, and danger in the future, it puts more power in her hands, to keep her innocence and dreams. If she chooses to accept the truth though, she still has two options. She can choose to accept Jack's pessimistic perspective, in which case, she loses her power. Or she can grab reality with one hand while holding on to her optimism and dreams with the other hand, so she could have both powers.
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Post by stever on Dec 16, 2013 4:31:46 GMT
Jack has the most obvious power in the story. When Jack pushed the narrator to the ground, he demonstrated his power clearly by manifesting physical control over the narrator. He has power over his wife from the knowledge of the affair, and he also derives power from his cynical, arrogant attitude. He holds power over the arch of the story by having the last line; Elizabeth Tallent's choice to end the story with Jack's comment makes it appear as if he won the argument and the conversation is finished.
Jack is not the narrator of the story, however. While she is unnamed, the narrator holds power over the arch of the story through her first-person perspective. Additionally, she holds power with her unwavering optimism. Despite being pushed to the dirty floor of the truck, the narrator notices the positive aspects of the her situation: "In a curve of cloth his zipper glinted, gold" (246). By selectively choosing what to narrate and by staying resolute with her optimistic fantasies, the narrator holds power over Jack (and the reader) in a more unexpected way.
As a few of you have pointed out, the unseen wife holds also power over both characters by her very presence and constrains the actions of the two main characters. The power dynamic the three characters have over each other reminds me of the system of checks and balances in the US Government. The legislative, judicial, and executive branches all have power over each other in some way and keep each other from gaining too much power. Similarly, Jack, the narrator, and the wife all have unique powers over each other and constrain each other from achieving full power.
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Post by patricktbutenhoff on Dec 16, 2013 7:27:56 GMT
I think that the power structure in the story chiefly revolves around Jack and the other characters' relations to him. Jack seems to have an ingrained idea that he has authority over the two women in the story (and all women in general). He directs multiple derogatory comments toward his wife, especially his remark on her habit of keeping the headlights on in the daytime (which is recommended by the Oregon Drivers Manual, by the way). He obviously seems to dominate his relationship with the narrator, referring to her as a "little kid" and generally treating her as though she were his child rather than his lover. Jack's relationship with the narrator does seem paternalistic in nature; he is much older than her, and he acts as a teacher to her, both about sex and about the fact that love in real life isn't just a fairy tale. He is clearly the dominant partner in this relationship. But Jack isn't omnipotent, nor does he think he is. We see him extremely fearful at the start of the story, when he shoves the narrator onto the floor of the pickup when he "thought he saw his wife's Cadillac in the distance." Jack isn't really afraid of his wife; he is far too proud to kowtow to a woman. What he's afraid of is the fact that his wife is in the right: he is being a bad person by sleeping with another woman. Jack fears and is constrained by this societal law, and this limits his power over his situation. Jack also removes some of his own power by harboring a pessimistic view of the future. The narrator has the power of possibility: she can see a bright future and strive to make that a reality. Jack can't; he feels that he is helpless to stop the unraveling of his fairy-tale relationship with the narrator, and this pessimism in turn removes some of his control over his life. Jack is more powerful than his mistress and he feels that he is more powerful than his wife, but in the end, he too is constrained by the expectations of society and of himself.
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Post by emilybrinkmann on Dec 16, 2013 17:54:06 GMT
Who wears the pants- that is the question. I believe that the power lies with the wife only because Jack and the narrator do let her control the dialog. But before I try to explain why the wife has the power, I want to define what I think is power. If power was who is the strongest, the biggest, the most controlling, then it would be Jack. He has the power to push down the girl which he illustrates. But for me power is a mental art, and when she chooses to keep on going, keep thinking, and standing up for herself, that is a power that not even Jack has. But like Kevin said,her power is limited. She knows the boundaries. As many of my peers have said, each character holds their own unique power which is not to be forgotten or overlooked. Without Jack the girl would not have any power, and without the narrator Jacks physical power wouldn't be much good. But the narrator has no power to enforce, no physical power, so the narrator has to rely on Jack (and the wife).
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Post by cassiecumberland on Dec 16, 2013 21:58:07 GMT
I agree with Emily and people before that about how the omniscient wife of Jack has the power. She dictates the entirety of Jack and the narrator's relationship through the restraints she has on Jack. I believe that Jack gives her the power though, because he is unwilling to leave her (why?) and he lets her be a "tyrant" in his and the narrator's 2 year involvement. Scaling it down a bit, I believe that Jack holds the power over the narrator because he lets her 1. live in her fantasy land while very well knowing that he doesn't see them working out, 2. pushes her physically below the eye level of the car and holds her down (disrespectful!!!!) and obviously showing of how he holds her in his eyes, and 3. tells her blatantly he doesn't see them working out and tells her she's in a doomed relationship. I believe that the narrator has some power because she isn't being (to my knowledge) abused, and she seems to somewhat truly love Jack. She, however, is somewhat manipulated by Jack because of her age. The age may not be important in the relationship, but because of the emphasis in the story, I'm sure it's an important factor.
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Post by fionabyrne on Dec 16, 2013 23:18:30 GMT
At first I thought that her power came from her lack of guilt. It seemed that Jack and the narrator forfeited their power when they did something wrong, and that the wife was not committing that bad act so she had the only power. Now I am beginning to realize that power is subjective and so to the narrator, it may seem that the wife has the power because the narrator may have deemed herself powerless because she is doing something "bad". In reality, it now seems to me that Jack really has the power, because he has the power to leave his wife, he just isn't using it. I also see it as possible that Jack intentionally made the narrator see his wife as the one with the power, so she would not put the pressure on him to leave his wife. Power totally depends on perspective, and it seems that that perspective can be manipulated.
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Post by madisonarmst on Dec 16, 2013 23:30:25 GMT
Although the wife does hold a certain amount of power over Jack, as has been discussed, I think her power is more limited than we realize. Jack is in love with his mistress, not his wife, but he still feels the need to hide his mistress from his wife. He keeps the two separate because he is afraid that his wife would leave him if she discovered that he was having an affair. He is not afraid of this because he would miss his wife, he is afraid because he does not want the social stigma of being labeled an "adulterer" and causing his wife to divorce him. Thus, the only power the wife holds is that of fear. If she finds out about the affair, she will leave Jack, which scares him. She, however, has no power beyond that. She would leave Jack, Jack would have a bad reputation, but in the end he would be ok because he would likely end up with his mistress.
The character who holds the real power in this story is the mistress. she has the power to stay with Jack, leave him, tell his wife of their relationship or even come clean about it to the general public. All of these options have different negative aspects for Jack. Jack realizes the immense power she has when he pushes her head down to hide from his wife. If his wife would have merely seen her, both of his relationships would likely be over. The mistress' lack of a name is also an interesting aspect to power dynamic. At first glance, it seems that both her and the wife do not have names to show that they are subservient to Jack, the ever-powerful man. But perhaps, it's just the opposite. Jack has a name, thus he has a reputation that could be ruined. Without names, the women do not have a reputation to risk ruining. They are free to act however they want, while ignoring the potential social stigma. Jack, on the other hand, is bound by his reputation. Using this reasoning, the women are both more free and more powerful than Jack.
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Post by pjharris on Dec 17, 2013 0:02:11 GMT
I'm gonna rep for the girl having power. Her existence in Jack's life is like an undisturbed bomb. At any moment, she could cause their marriage to explode. As the cars passed, if she had stuck a single hand into the air to show that Jack was not alone and he was hiding something it would all unravel. I also call her a bomb because in her naive and young state (if it is not too bold for me to assume she is painted in a naive light) if he angers her she can go to his wife and with one conversation put him in a fight that he does not want to be in. Especially if she gets cocky and decides to confront his wife, saying that he loves her more. But that's a lot of stereotyping that I frankly don't believe in.
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Post by jessicalee on Dec 17, 2013 0:21:21 GMT
At first glance, Jack obviously has more power over the narrator. In the beginning of the story, the narrator establishes that Jack gave her a diary. The relationship between the narrator and Jack is kept hidden in this diary, with the lock and key acting as a barrier from the outside world. That Jack gave her the diary exemplifies the power dynamic between the two. Jack has the means to keep her quiet and keep their relationship hidden. In a physical sense, Jack clearly holds more power. For example, he pushed the narrator onto the floor of his truck. Yet, Jack does not hold all of the power. No matter what he does, Jack can not deter the narrator from her aspirations. The narrator clearly holds hope, while Jack seems to have lost all sense of that because he feels the need to look at his situation realistically. Thus, although Jack seems to carry more physical and emotional power over the narrator, he will never be able to take away her imagination- possibly the most powerful tool of the human mind.
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Post by sheridanf on Dec 17, 2013 0:29:17 GMT
I definitely thing the main character is more powerful than she originally seems. Of course, Jack has the power in the relationship- he calls her a "kid," he is the one driving the car and her (which is a metaphor for how he is the one propelling her in her life), and he acts as if he's superior. The way he acts superior is a bit scary, too, because although the main character defies him a few times (saying "You're wrong," etc.) Jack acts as if there's no power struggle, as if his position in the relationship is very secure and will not change. The main character, however, seems to believe she has the ability to take some of Jack's power away, and not even his harsh realism can dim her dream of the future. In her naive state, she is actually very powerful, but she's not really using all of her power to her advantage, since she still holds none of the power. I have to wonder what she would do if and when the relationship ends. I fear that her idealistic view will shatter and she will lose all of the power she once held.
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