Writing Prompt:
In a topic-driven, well-developed, and tightly focused paragraph, offer a brief, limited literary critique of PART III: The Pilgrim.
In a topic-driven, well-developed, and tightly focused paragraph, offer a brief, limited literary critique of PART III: The Pilgrim.
"Don't you love me?... Why can't you forgive me?" Isn't Corrinne a good Christian mother? As a mother shouldn't she forgive her child who made this mistake? As a Christian mother, why isn't she showing the same grace and mercy that Christ showed her? "Corinne prided herself on never having been a mother who fussed over her children; it wasnt just that the Mulvaney children were so famously self-reliant and capable of caring for themselves..." (27) This entire scene takes the readers back to the beginning, although the Mulvaney children had no rules, they were also held to the standard of being "The Mulvaney's". "As Dad used to say, in that way of his that embarrassed us, it was so direct, you had to respond immediately and dared not even glance away --- 'We Mulvaney's are joined at the heart.'" (14)
ReplyDeleteMikkaela Bailey
ReplyDeleteProfessor Kirk
ENGL 3353
7 September 2015
Marianne’s Pilgrim and Progress
In Part III of her novel, We Were the Mulvaneys, Joyce Carol Oates writes about Marianne’s internal struggle as she works to regain her pride through humility. The section is entitled “The Pilgrim” to parallel the thoughts Marianne had about the painting in her mother’s antique barn to her current situation. “She [the pilgrim] was alone – why? She seemed quite young, only a girl…. Yet she did not appear injured or exhausted; in her very posture of humility, head bowed, hands clasped and uplifted in prayer, there was a suggestion of pride” (80). This is an example of the line of thought Marianne follows throughout her time away as she tries to gain approval through her works, selflessness, and piety. She deliberately tries to make herself unattractive so that she would not be accused of potentially misleading someone (345, 347). “Marianne was so happy at the Green Isle Co-op, where everyone liked and respected her, maybe sometimes took advantage of her trusting nature but nonetheless respected her – sometimes she felt guilty about wanting in secret to go home” (313). Marianne feels as if she should express gratitude in every situation and work as hard as she possibly can to somehow redeem herself. She goes so far in her endeavor that she exhausts herself but refuses to acknowledge that she is overworked (312). Perhaps it is because she knows exactly what is expected of her while working that she chose this route to redemption after failing to meet the family’s standards for behavior.
Katy Dyches
ReplyDeleteProfessor Kirk
ENGL 3353
7 September 2015
“The Pilgrim” Critique
In Part III of Joyce Carol Oates’s novel We Were the Mulvaneys, “The Pilgrim”, a quote from Charlotte Brontë— “Out of obscurity I came– to obscurity I can easily return”— is repeatedly referenced (313). It depicts Marianne’s mentality in the years following her rape, especially her time at the Green Isle Co-op. Her self-esteem and self-confidence have fallen so far that she has convinced herself of her own obscurity. Even though at the Green Isle Co-op “everyone liked and respected her” (313), “she couldn’t believe anyone would care much, anyway” (320). She thinks that she came from nothing, nowhere. She has no home. No family. As far as the others in the co-op are concerned, Marianne’s past is completely obscure. This makes it easier for her to slip away when Abelove tries to get too close, to disappear into the night. After Abelove declares his love for Marianne she, “headlong in flight” refers once again to the quote: “Out of obscurity I came. To obscurity I can return (351). And she does return to obscurity when she, as Abelove states, “[vanishes] off the face of the Earth” (352).
Sadie Wyant
ReplyDeleteProfessor Kirk
ENGL 3353
6 September 2015
“The Pilgrim”—Obscurity—Limited Literary Critique
In Part Three of Joyce Carol Oates’ We Were the Mulvaneys, Marianne contemplates the idea of obscurity. A recurring quote throughout this part is, “Out of obscurity I came. To obscurity I can easily return” (313). The first time it is used, on page 313, it is explained to be a quote from one of Charlotte Brontë’s letters. Marianne latches on to this idea of obscurity. Since being raped, she tries so hard to become insignificant and overlooked that she cannot even look at herself in the mirror. She loses her past self: the peppy, cute, cheerleader named Button. She is just Marianne now: melancholy and skittish. Through the persona of Button, Marianne was able to come out of the obscurity that was being a Mulvaney. She was able to make a personal identity as a cheerleader and the “good girl.” After being raped and then sent away, she can no longer cope by being Button. When she is in town with Hewie, she reminisces about her cheerleader days, saying, “Why should it matter so much? Haven’t you put that all behind you, silly sad vanity…how sad to be left out of their circle of friends, how sad not to be them, pity the plain girls…Girls like poor Della Rae Duncan, their smudged skin, hunted eyes” (335). She seems to want to get away from her vanity, but then she cannot help but judge other girls that she went to high school with. However, what she does not realize is that she has become that same “plain girl” with “hunted eyes” on her return to obscurity.
Ashton Dickerson
ReplyDeleteProfessor Kirk
ENGL 3353
7 September 2015
Marianne’s Journey into Obscurity
Part III of Joyce Carol Oates’ novel follows Marianne’s pilgrimage from a happy-go-lucky, good Christian girl to a complex and obscure young woman. When we first met Marianne, she didn’t seem like the type to cry because she thought, “Crying is nothing but a childish indulgence, crying is mostly self-pity” (307). This idea has been repeated by Marianne and Corinne throughout the entire novel. However, in part III it seems that Marianne spends the majority of her time crying mostly due to the fact that her family has almost completely written her off. Her entire family relationship has transformed so much so that she finds herself wondering if her family even loves her at all anymore (311). This shift in family dynamic is what has caused her to become deeply troubled, not what happened to her. She has completely forgiven Zachary Lundt and put him in the past. The fact that her family cannot do the same and blames her for what happened is what drives Marianne crazy. She makes this realization on page 332 that she can “… barely force herself to contemplate her reflection, not just in a mirror but in her mind’s pitiless eye.” Marianne does not recognize the woman she has become. “Out of obscurity I came –to obscurity I can easily return” is representative of the real Marianne, before everything that happened, vanishing (313). She has already returned to obscurity at this point in the novel, perhaps never to be the same again.
Kelsey Wheatle
ReplyDeleteProfessor Kirk
ENGL 3353
7 September 2015
Part III 'The Pilgrim"
Part III of We Were the Mulvaney's entitled "The Pilgrim" focuses on Marianne's internal struggle with being separated from her family for so long. At the beginning of this section, Marianne is awaiting the call from her mom telling her that she could come home. In order to cope with being away from home Marianne struggles internally by crying by herself, avoiding closeness, and rarely speaking of her family. 'Out of obscurity I came-to obscurity I can easily return'(313). This quote is referenced a lot throughout this section by Marianne. While working at the co-op she believes that it is easy to be unknown or of unimportance because that is how she felt she was viewed from her family. 'The Pilgrim" painting that Marianne loved as a child is a direct contrast to her life now. In that painting, a young pilgrim girl was alone with her head bowed and hands clasped praying to Jesus(80). It was unclear if she was hurt, or why she was alone, but yet she still expressed humility. Marianne, just like the pilgrim girl, was alone and was facing an internal struggle unknown to the people at the Green Isle Co-Op, however she still secretly prayed to God that she would soon be able to come home. Just like the young pilgrim girl, Marianne continues to show humility even in the midst of her pain and suffering.
Amanda McMahon
ReplyDeleteProf. Kirk
ENG 3353
6 September 2015
“The Pilgrim” Critique
In Part III of Joyce Carol Oates’ novel We Were the Mulvaneys, it becomes more apparent that Marianne Mulvaney, much like a painting, is only concerned with how she appears on the outside. Part III of the novel focuses on Marianne and her life at the Green Isle Co-op, a place where she can work so hard, she doesn’t have much time for self-reflection. While at the co-op, she does not allow anyone to see her for who she is or know anything about her past. When her façade begins to crack and tears from her past leak out, she suffers “extreme embarrassment” (309). The hard working life at the co-op suits Marianne because she trying to only reflect outwardly, not inwardly. When she sees her family at the cemetery, she hides, when she returns home, she swiftly leaves, when Abelove and Hewie confess their love, she runs away. When Marianne is faced with situations where she must focus inwardly, she can simply “vanish off the face of Earth” (352).