Those of us reading The Sun Also Rises, I'd like you read "Running" by Gil Scott Heron (this is only a remix of his spoken word works, find the lyrics on your own) and I'd like you to analyze the words. Once doing so, please compare the narrator of the poem to Jake and perhaps attempt to clarify what this perception of "running" is. Please do not be afraid to incorporate other poems by Heron or to research his story and life of addiction. But please, don't cut and paste. Speak with your own words.
OK I finished reading TSAR, but this was really interesting.
ReplyDeleteSome research for you guys! I found these points interesting.. (these are important to understanding my points) Wikipedia says: Gil Scott Heron was born in 1949. He went to a school filled with rich white kids because he impressed his teachers with his writing, and he was one of the five black students there. He went through a lot of racial tensions throughout his life. Because he was born in 1949, he saw all the civil rights movement in the 60s. He was a musician, poet and activist all his life. His music, poems and books showed his political positions, such as his political views regarding apartheid, racial tension and nuclear energy. He was an influential figure to all hip hop artists with his poems.
In 2001, he went to jail for having cocaine. He got in more legal problems, and went to jail again in 2007. He said he was HIV positive as well. He died in 2011.
Here is "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" by GSH. It's supposedly one of his noteworthy work, and it has a good social message. I like it more than "Running".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGaRtqrlGy8
Now about his poem "Running."
I believe GSH was running for his entire life. I think running is synonymous with living. We all live for something, and run to the goal. GSH certainly had many values to run for. He produced many poems, such as "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," and wrote books, such as "The Nigger Factory" to decry racism in the United States. When he was young, he ran because of racial tension at his school, and when he was older, he ran to fight against racial inequality.
In his poem, he says, "Because if I knew where cover was, I would stay there and never have to run for it
Not running for my life, because I have to be running for something of more value to be running and not in fear." When he was young, he probably wished that he could live in a more peaceful and fair society, but he realized that there was no such thing as a fair world. In his poem, he says he was running for something of more value. He did not run in search of cover or to run from fear, but he ran because he wanted to make a change.
But the line "the thing I fear cannot be escaped, eluded, avoided, hidden from, protected from, gotten away from" shows that his fear was haunting him down. It may refer to his addiction to cocaine, and how it started to ruin his life. He went to jail for possessing cocaine, and was released in a few years. But he went to jail again a few years later despite having spent time at a rehab. His addiction was something that he could not stop because it was not within his control. He just did not have the power, but had to watch his addiction destroy his life, career, health (HIV, and yes it's from drug/sharing) and reputation. So in the end, his passion of running was ruined by his addiction, or fear.
We can see how this idea of running can apply to Jake. Jake is a strong believer of masculinity. He is (nearly) homophobic. He becomes a soldier (possibly out of admiration for masculinity). But ironically, Jake becomes dysfunctional after suffering an injury in a war. Ever since then, his injury has haunted his life. He wanted to get together with Brett, but he was never able to because it just was not possible. In other words, his problem was completely out of his control. He tries to run away from his problem by drinking, hiring prostitutes (Georgette anyone?), and trying to have a relationship with Brett. He tries to look for a cover, a better world (just as GSH did) where his problem will not hinder him. However, he is rejected by Brett. He keeps on running in search of such cover. However, he learns that he cannot find such sanctuary because it does not exist(end of the book). In the end, he accepts his problem, and continues running, but this time for his life and passions.
Also forgot to mention that in "Running," GSH mentions that he has to run without fear. It has to be for something of a great value, and at the end, he says that he will not tell us why he will be running again (which means that his "fear" stopped him from running, like Jake). But it is clear that he will run again, just as Jake does.
DeleteOne of the main points that Heron emphasizes about his running is that he is not running away from something, but rather toward somewhere better than where he started. Because he lived during the civil rights movement as a Black American, he must have personally experienced the ostracizing effects that racial discrimination has on individuals. Although he lived during a time when his whole Black American community was discriminated against, he mentions himself a lot in his poem “Running”. The dominating presence of “I” expresses Heron's loneliness amidst an endless era of racial prejudice against his community as a whole. In other words, he feels alone in the world, even when everybody else around is suffering the same through the same thing. He does mention, though, that running makes him look like everybody else. If you think of a marathon race, a bystander would only see a river of runners—they appear to be running at the same pace and rhythm. However, as a participant in the marathon, one can clearly see that the race is one of the individual. In his poem, Heron also mentions how the thing that he fears cannot be avoided. This relates to the cyclical lifestyle of Jake. Jake tries to “run” away from his problems by attempting regain his masculinity. He thinks that by hiring Georgette, drinking alcohol in excess, and belittling Cohn, he is able to be more of a man. However, his handicap continues to wind around to not only haunt him, but also daunt him. Heron says that he will run soon, meaning that he either has not begun running yet or has stopped running midway. There is a sense of hesitation and uncertainty; this makes me think that he doesn't want to run yet, because he is afraid that once he does start running, the thing he fears will stop him once again. Jake, similar to Heron, is also lost. He doesn't have a clear idea of what he wants from his life. Jake seems to want Brett for himself, but he doesn't stop her from her affairs, nor does he attempt to break her engagement to Mike. Jake runs, but to where he doesn't know. Jake tries to run, blindly hoping that he'll end up in a better place than where he came from.
ReplyDeletesorry i totally missed the assignment for TBJ :(
ReplyDeleteIn Heron's poem Runner, he mentions that it is not possible to run away to a better place because such a place doesnt exist. Even Jake believes so when he tells Cohn, "You can't get away from yourself by moving from one place to another. There's nothing to that." (19) Even though he says this, his actions clearly show that he is contradicting himself. Like what Matthew and Shirley says, he drinks a lot and makes fun of Cohn to make himself feel better. Also, when he goes on a fishing trip with Bill, the trip symbolizes an escape from the problems of the real world. They go from Paris to the countryside in Spain. To me, since Paris is a more deveoped place, it represents the present but the countryside is most likely not as developed and thus represents sometime in the past. So going from Paris to the countryside represents Jake wanting to run away from reality back to a time in his life that was happier and more satisfying. In Chapter 13, we see that the steer, or a castrated bull, clearly symbolizes Jake since they cant reproduce and lost part of their masculinity. In the bullfighting events, steers try to run away from the wrath of the bulls but they realize that there is no safe place. This relates to Jake because he can't escape reality. Furthermore, it goes back to the poem because Heron says he's "not running for cover because if [he] knew where cover was, [he] would stay there and never have to run for it." This shows that there is no way to escape your problems.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Jake is similar to Heron in some ways because they are both constantly trying to run away from their problems but they are unable to find a better place so they are constantly running.To add on to your point on Jake running away from reality by going to the countryside in Spain, while Jake was talking to Bill about his relationship with Brett, he says, "I don't give a damn anymore" (pg128). However Jake clearly goes back to Brett and he clearly stills love her greatly."I liked to see him hurt Cohn"(pg152). ALthough Jake knows that it's immoral, he still revels in seeing Cohn getting hurt, because misery loves company and Jake disliked the fact that Cohn slept with Brett. The relationship between Brett and Jake is "Off and on for a hell of a long time." which means their relationship is like a cycle. Liker Heron, Jake has to keep on running because he can not escape, elude, avoid, hide, protect himself or get away from his problem
DeleteAfter much thought, my idea of what the song's lyrics mean in relation to Jake is that running is symbolic for the high speed, luxurious, drunken, and exciting lifestyle that Jake leads. It is contingent to the idea that when when you run, there is a lot of adrenalin, high speeds, and high exertion. The intensity of running can be correlated to how Jake lives his life recklessly. Furthermore, the author of Running, Heron, was a strong activist, an addict, and also a frequent jail convict. It is clear that the author did not live a quiet and reserved life.
DeleteThe running, while not knowing where to go, is also a resemblance of the idea of the lost generation. Living the exciting life, but not knowing where their course of life is headed is a major theme. Furthermore, Jake is very much like his contemporaries. This corresponds to the lines of the poem describing how Heron runs because he doesn't want to be the one lonely man who doesn't. He wanted to "look like everyone else." This shows how Jake is a product of his era, and influenced heavily by his colleagues.
What the "cover" represents in the poem is Brett. My reasoning is that Jake truly wants Brett deep down, but he is unable to have her.So instead, he lives a self-destructive drinking and partying lifestyle. If he were to find "cover," in other words, obtain Brett, he would never "run for it" again, meaning he'd settle down. But once again this is impossible, so he copes with it by "running the other direction away from cover." But unfortunately for Jake, this is impossible as well. Heron's lines, "not away because there is no such place," describes how even though Jake tries to run the other way, he can't escape Brett because the two of them are linked together by such a strong interdependent friendship. To support this, in the story, Jake goes away to Europe first, but later, Brett catches up to him. Although Jake has to jealously endure the idea of Brett sleeping with Cohn and hates Cohn for doing so, Jake is still stuck in his unfortunate relationship situation with Brett in the end.
David Lin, period 7