gophers and Doc
i'm not sure what to do with the last two chapters. are the gopher and Doc connected? why write about the gopher if it doesn't have something to do with the town? seems the furry guy had a good life but it got ruined because it wasn't quite everything he needed....
does Doc have an epiphany at the end (the language implies one: high ocean tide, high foam and bubbles in the sink) and if so what is it exactly? i'm usually not too good with ambiguous conclusions.
bl
does Doc have an epiphany at the end (the language implies one: high ocean tide, high foam and bubbles in the sink) and if so what is it exactly? i'm usually not too good with ambiguous conclusions.
bl
posted by belongfellow at 9:48 PM
3 Comments:
Yes...I'm still thinking about it, and trying to fight the urge to go read a bunch of articles and others' interpretations.
i don't think the gopher and doc are anymore connected that doc and a star fish or a gopher and mac...but of course everything's connected in this world at some level.
i like your epiphany idea...
...i'll give myself my thinking time tomorrow
i looked at the last chapter again this morning. i think rather than an epiphany, Doc experienced something more mellow, a subtle realization.
the first thing he sees upon waking is the colorful quilt, a reminder of the party. the next things he sees--spilled wine, fallen books, firecrackers and cigarette butts--are reminders of the mess, the imperfectness of the party. he would never have thrown the party; he would never have purchased a beautiful quilt. but between the melodic music and the lines from the poem, having "savored the hot taste of life" and "the whitest pouring of eternal light," i think Doc understands the night of the party was one of those beautiful moments in the nature of life, where love and joy and happiness exist together. despite its cost to him, he recognizes it like he recognizes the baby squid and understands they can only be collected at a very specific time, not a time of his choosing.
at the same time, the fatalistic view lurks in the last two sentences. the rattlesnakes in a cage with their "dusty frowns" and the white rats scampering indicate that those negative moments (suicides, trips to jail, unpaid bills) will come in arbitrary and helpless moments just as the joy and life of the party came. and Doc accepts it. perhaps even savors it.
Holy shit belong fellow. You just hit that on the head
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