I apologize for not posting the last two discussions according to the schedule. I had my sister in town for my birthday weekend two weeks ago and I've been sick on and off since that weekend. Ugh. It has not been the fun October I planned. Anyhoo, I somehow managed to finish the book and I'm here to discuss it as a whole before our watch-along of the movie tonight. More details on that at the end of the post.
Here are my thoughts on the book as a whole:
The idea of self acceptance is very present in the book. The carnival feeds on self-doubt. In the case of Charles Holloway (Will's dad), he feels old. Too old to be a father which in turn causes him to question his ability to be a proper father. It is acknowledged in the book that we are not born with self acceptance. It is something we develop over time. In this book, with self acceptance comes power. Only when Charles realizes this is he able to defeat the carnival which survives by exploiting people who are unhappy with who they are.
I liked how the book touched on common cause. Charles Holloway talks about people who have a common cause are more willing to do things they would not normally do. Our ultimate commonality as human beings is that we are all going to die. If we use that commonality to gain common ground, the world would be a better place. In the case of the carnival, its evil preys on isolation. Toward the end, when Charles is getting ready to do the rifle "trick" and shoot the Dust Witch, he gets the crowd involved. Although we know that Charles ultimately defeats her with his happiness and self acceptance, it can't hurt to have the crowd rallying behind him.
I enjoyed the book. I always like how Bradbury is able to spin a disconcerting tale while subtly adding in social commentary. That the beginning sparks of this story began with his fear of a carousel when he was four years old is proof that stories are very much a part of life, whether we realize it or not.
What are your final thoughts on the book?
Join us for a watch along of the movie tonight at 9:00 pm CDT/10:00 pm EDT. We will be discussing while we watch on the Facebook event page here.
I was unable to find the movie available on any of the streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime), but I did find a free version on YouTube (although the quality is not the best). It's how I'll be watching. You can find it here.
Hope you can join us!
I found that, this time around, the ending didn't sit well with me. Maybe it's because I'm a naturally "down" person and a person who likes to be alone. And I'm okay with that! I understand what Bradbury is trying to get at, that through community and joy we can overcome obstacles, but it's sort of like when an extrovert tries to convince me that parties on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights are *exactly* the kind of relaxing weekend I need.
ReplyDeleteAnd also, what happened to Miss Foley? The childless spinster. Considering what Halloway thinks about woman's immortality ("How men envy and often hate these warm clocks, these wives, who know they will live forever."), are we to assume Miss Foley's new youth is ultimately a second chance for her to be happy? I'm probably reading too much into it...
I took it more like common cause in joining together to fight evil, such as political or social causes, etc. I'm a generally positive person, but I too like my alone time. I'm not much for parties, etc. either.
DeleteI kind of like how the movie depicted Miss Foley's story. In the movie, she is described as "once the most beautiful woman in town." So, she is made younger, but not a little girl. However, after she sees younger self in the mirror, she goes blind. So, it's like "you can have what you want, but you're going to pay for it, or you're not going to enjoy it." In the book, they talk about how if Jim was to be made older on the carousel, he would still be a 14 year old boy inside so I think that was how it was with Miss Foley. She got to be younger, but she was an old woman trapped in a child's body. At least, that's how I took it.
Bradbury had very interesting and insightful commentary on human nature.
Yeah, I liked the change to Miss Foley in the movie. I wonder, though, if there isn't a story to be written about young Miss Foley, growing up all over again.
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