Streetcar and Reign Over Me

Before anyone begins to read this blog, I have to warn you that I compare it to the new movie, Reign Over Me. If you plan on seeing this movie, you may not want to read this blog.

I wasn't really sure what I was going to write about in my blog this week. Last night I saw Reign Over Me and immediately saw a comparison to A Streetcar Named Desire. Although the two story lines have completely different settings and circumstances, a similar theme exists. In Streetcar, Blanche tells numerous lies and embellishes many stories. The reason for this is that Blanche doesn't want to face the truth. She'd rather live in a fantasy world than in her real life. By telling these lies, Blanche is creating her own imaginary world, where she can pretend certain things don't exist. In Reign Over Me, Adam Sandler's character, Charlie, has lost his wife and 3 daughters in 9/11. He creates a pretend world for himself as well. He blocks memories of his family and memories prior to 9/11. He buries himself in remodeling his kitchen (several times a month) and video games, so that he has removed himself from his previously normal life. He doesn't even recognize his college roommate, Allen, when he runs into him on the street.

In Streetcar, Stanley tries to bring Blanche back to reality. However, some may believe that he does it in a cruel manner. He knows that Blanche has created a web of lies and he tries to get her caught in her own web. In the end, Blanche is forced to face reality, no matter how hard she wants to hide from it. Reign Over Me takes a different approach. Allen knows that Charlie needs help. Whenever Allen brings up a topic regarding Charlie's family or previous dental career, Charlie goes ballistic. He throws tantrums and mentally shuts down. However, Allen refuses to give up on Charlie. Instead of ruining the fantasy world that Charlie has created for himself, Allen lets Charlie slowly integrate reality.

Both stories show that if you are willing to, you can shut your mind off to anything. If you tell yourself a lie for long enough, you will eventually learn to believe it and live by it. However, facing reality can be hard when you've lived in a fantasy world for so long.

Tea Cake vs. Jody

While I did enjoy Hurston's novel, I was just reading along without really thinking what was going on. The beginning of the novel didn't have too much excitement in it, but once the hurricane scene came, I was embedded into the novel.

Although Janie's relationship with Tea Cake is much more serious than with Jody, I noticed some similarities between the two men. We all know that Jody was very controlling and very demanding of Janie. She felt that he put her on a pedestal, but to keep her away from everyone. Jody wouldn't let her talk to the people of the town, unless she was assisting them in the store. Jody thought that she was too good for the townspeople. He didn't want her talking to trashy people." (p. 54) This was his way of controlling her. Tea Cake also puts Janie on a pedestal, but he does it as a way to praise her. Tea Cake isn't trying to keep her from society and socializing, but to show his love and affection for her. "Dem wuzn't no high muckty mucks. Dem wuz railroad hands and dey womenfolks. You ain't usetah folks lak dat and Ah wuz skeered you might git all made and quit me for takin' you 'mongst 'em." (p. 124)


I also noticed a similarity in the two deaths. Both husbands' deaths had a preceding illness, which made each of them crazy. Both of them seemed to lose their lifes before they were really dead. Although Jody wasn't mentally crazy, he didn't want to see her wife as he lay on his deathbed. I mean, they had been together for 20 years and Jody had nothing to say to his wife as he lay dying? To me, they could at least made ammends just so Jody could die peacefully and Janie could move along with her life with no regrets. (However, Janie never really had regrets about Jody's death.) During his illness, Janie noticed that Jody had no life left to him. One day she noticed that Joe didn't sit down. He just stood in front of a chair and fell in it. That made her lok at him all over. Joe wasn't so young as he used to be. There was already something dead about him.... Eyes a little absent too. (p. 77) Tea Cake's death was similar to this. After being bitten by a rapid dog, Tea Cake comes down with the disease and began to have awful fits. Janie knew that she was going to lose Tea Cake. Tea Cake had two bad attacks that night. Janie saw a changing look come in his face. Tea Cake was gone. Something else was looking out of his face. (p. 181)

Poor Janie, to lose two husbands must be an awful experience. However, the first was probably more of a relief, but her second was heartache. I think Janie was more accepting of Tea Cake's death. With Tea Cake, she had found what she had always hoped to find. She was able to let go of Tea Cake because he had fulfilled her life. But with Jody, Janie had wasted so much time being miserable.

Searching for Identity

I enjoyed reading Zora Neale Hurston's "How it feels to be colored me." I think this piece gives us yet another different perspective of the South; this time through the eyes of a young girl. Even at a young age, Zora knew that white people treated colored people differently. She has many experiences, which help build her character.

As Zora is faced with different situations and different settings, she is treated differently. At first, it seems that Zora can't find her true identity. In her hometown, she was quite a performer. She would sing and dance and "speak pieces" to the Northerners that passed through her town. At this point, it doesn't really seem that there is a big difference between white and black people. Color doesn't really play a role in her hometown, as least from Zora's perspective. But it seemed that the Northerners were poking fun at Zora.

When Zora became a teen, she was sent to go to school in Jacksonville, where she learned what it meant to be a colored person. "I was not Zora of Orange County any more, I was now a little colored girl." (p. 416) Although things in Jacksonville were different from Eatonville, Zora doesn't see being black as a negative aspect. It also seems that every black person in Jacksonville is feeling pity on themselves. But Zora doesn't feel this pity. "I do not belong to the sobbing school of Negrohood who hold that nature somehow has given them a lowdown dirty deal and whose feelings are all hurt about it." Zora does not see herself as a victim, and refuses to believe that she must take pity on herself: "No, I do not weep at the world-I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife." (p. 417) As this is a reference to Shakespeare, Zora is going to try to conquer the world.

At the end of this piece, Zora knows that her true identity has nothing to do with her color. She sees herself as a strong female character, no matter what her race is. Her different personalities are what make her unique. "But in the main, I feel like a brown bag of miscellany propped against a wall." I think we can all relate to her feelings. At one point or another, we have acted differently in different situations. In classes or on interviews we tend to act a little more serious and when we are with our friends or family we are more relaxed and less serious. At times we even may feel a little discriminated against; if we are thrown into a new situation, we may need some time to adjust. I think Zora's different experiences are not only due to her different situations, but also part of growing up. Everyone has had an awkward moment or two, until they realize the right way to act in a situation.