If you did not have a chance to share your ideas during today's Loved One discussion, please share your thoughts here. Consider some of the following questions:
1. Is Dennis heartless or realistic? Did he love Aimee?
2. Does Waugh criticize British as well as American culture?
3. Why does Waugh begin and end with a suicide?
4. What is Waugh's main target in this satire?
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4 comments:
In response to Meghan and Mrs. Ferrill's first ideas on Dennis, I think that humanity is defined by more than simply mental capacity. I believe the soul is the most important part of a person. The emotional state of humanity is one aspect tied to the soul. I argue that Dennis is a heartless character. Although he may be unemotional and reserved he still needs to be held responsible for his actions. His cruel actions and responses to the other characters are maybe able to be explained by his difference in upbringing, culture, or his treatment, but they do not justify them. It is important to classify Dennis’s behavior because that is our only opportunity and clues to discover his motives, morality, and distinguish between him being heartlessness or realistic. Actions are results of emotions and the heart. So by examining his actions, they can serve as a mirror into his heart.
Dennis along with Sir Ambrose share in the attitude of English arrogance in their intellect and perceptions, implying, as Mrs. Ferrill said, that they do see through the surface of American culture and life, in a sense proving their awareness of their actions. Dennis, contrary to his arrogance of his elevation from the petty criticisms of American culture, begins to mimic the immorality and manipulation he observes. By describing Dennis with a higher intellect than the characters of Aimee or Mr. Joyboy, Waugh seems to also criticize Dennis in his emotionally detached and insensitive spirit.
Dennis and Mr. Joyboy both had a part in hurting Aimee emotionally, which in turn led to her death. Comparing the two characters, does Mr. Joyboy’s lack of awareness of how he is affecting Aimee, pardon him from his share in her death? And with Dennis, is he guiltier because all of his actions and manipulations of Aimee were knowingly done? Which character holds the blame for Aimee’s death? Is it none of the characters but rather the culture and environment?
Chelsea
You share excellent insights, Chelsea, and your understanding of the absence of "soul" in this novel is especially perceptive. If modern man only focuses on tangible, materialistic values, he becomes capable of "disposing" of people as easily as Dennis burns Aimee at the end of the novel. It might be interesting for you to read some background on Waugh to discover his religious background and his scorn toward those who make Death a religion itself.
3. Why does Waugh begin and end with a suicide?
By doing this, he is satirizing the idea that we are always in control of our destiny, even in death. The suicides are examples of people taking their lives because he or she believes that death is the one thing that he or she can control. Throughout the novel, the characters start to flip out when they realize that they cannot control everything. The suicides serve as a reminder that this need for control can have dire consequences.
I don't have a lot of time, but I did want to get my thoughts out here!
As you may remember, I was one of the people that rated this novel without mercy. After individual group discussions, I may move that rating up a bit, purely on literary value. Waugh gets his point across thoroughly, I just didn't understand the style.
Waugh's purpose in writing this novel was to outline how void of depth society is. People are self-centered and only concerned with appearances. These same characters blindly follow others around like lemmings, believing other people hold the answers they are desperately searching for. In a more general sense, underneath it all, humans are not inately "good". He demonstrates this by writing a book that was also without depth, which is probably the reason that it seemed so frustrating to me.
To answer Chelsea's question, I believe it wasn't the responsibility of Dennis or Joyboy so much as it was the environment/context of the book. In a way, it was Aimee's own fault because she put all of her faith in the "guru". And no, I don't think Dennis feels guilty. I'm not sure he can feel anything, as he makes obvious after Aimee's death.
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