| December 10, 2009 |
| Symbols |
| There are many symbols present in The Last Picture Show.
Sonny's football jacket: His heart. It was all he cared about getting back after his break up with Charlene. It meant alot to him, like his heart does. "He was amazed that breaking up with her had been so easy: all he felt was a strong sense of relief at having his football jacket back... He was proud of it, and glad to have it safely out of Charlene's hands." (27)
Joe Bob: Disappointment. Everyone was disappointed in Joe Bob when he allegedly raped that little girl. He was always the poster-child, but once he got in trouble, everyone lost respect for him. "Something totally unexpected happened to Jacy, and it was led up to by an event so startling that everyone in Thalia almost went mad with surprise. Joe Bob Blanton was arrested for rape!" (207).
The Picture Show: Past and memories. In the end of the book, the picture show closes down. It symbolizes the future, and the things to come. After the picture show closes down, Sonny realizes many things. "He turned around and drove back past the sign, but stopped again. From the road the town looked raw, scraped by the wind, as empty as the country. It didn't look like the town it had been when he was in high school, in the days of Sam the Lion." (277). Once the picture show was gone, Sonny realized that the town was not all that he remembered. He knew that it was time for him to leave, and move somewhere new.
Sam the Lion: Heart of the town. The glue. Holds the town together. Sam the Lion is the fatherly figure for Duane and Sonny. They grew up not having one, and Sam is the closest thing they have to a father. He keeps the boy in line, keeps them out of trouble. Once he dies, the boys do not know what to do. They instantly miss him terribly, and the town slowly falls apart. It gets dirty, rugged, and the picture show closes down. Without him there, the town is not the same. "He had not thought of Sam the Lion much since the funeral-in Thalia it was no good thinking about him-but for some reason the bitter flats of the Pecos brought him to mind and Sonny remembered the way he used to slop aroundthe poolhall in his house shoes, complaining about the ingrown toenail that had pained him for years." (180). Once Sam died, Sonny realized how much he missed him and how much he had done for him.
Genevieve: Love. Mom. Family. She is everything to Sonny- she keeps his family, or all that is left of it together but not together. She is always at the diner when the boys need someone to talk to, and when they run low on money, she is always first to donate. She loves the boys of Thalia like they were her own, and she is their motherly figure, for they grew up not having one. "She went in the cafe and got a ten dollar bill out of her purse. Afer she had wiped her eyes with a Kleenex she took the money outside and handed it to Sonny." (164).
Thalia: Haven. Home. Comfort. Shelter. The boys have resided in Thalia all of their lives, and do not know anything outside of it. So when Duane and Sonny leave Thalia to go take a trip to Mexico, everything goes wrong. They spend all of their money on prostitutes, on pornographic movies, and alcohol. Outside of Thalia, it is an unknown world, and the boys do not know how to deal with it. Within their haven they are safe, but when they leave, they are succeptable to wrongness.
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posted by Caroline Marsh @ 6:41 PM  |
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| Favorite Moments |
| I just finished The Last Picture Show and overall I thought that it was a very good book. Despite the weird, and sometimes awkward events, this book was very interesting. I really liked the surprises, and adventures that this book brings.
This book contains a little bit of everything- there is a little something that everyone would enjoy. There is romance, a roadtrip to Mexico, a bar fight, a love affair, and the feeling of loneliness. It is full of basically anything that you can imagine.
One of my favorite parts of the book was when McMurtry was describing the young life of Sam the Lion. When Sam the Lion goes into description of that moment on the cliff, he is truly happy. The happiest he has been since he was young. "He sat by the water laughing, running his hands through his hair. Tears began to run down his face so freely that Sonny was not sure what was happening, whether Sam was laughing or crying." (152). He then goes on to describe what he did that day, the day he brought the young lady swimming, always speaking very highly of her. It seems as if he is in awe, like she is the one that got away. I feel like Sam the Lion really misses that woman, and it kills him everyday to have her living in his town. We later find out that the secret woman is Lois Farrow, and she was the one to give him his nickname.
"It's been right at fifty years since the first time I watered a horse at this tank. Reason I always drag you all out here probably- I'm just as sentimental as anybody else when it comes to old times. What you reminded me of happened twenty years ago- I brought a young lady swimming here. It was after my boys were already dead, my wife had lost her mind. Me and this young lady were pretty crazy, I guess. She had all the spirit in the world, and we had some times." (153). Sam was always finding a way to get back out on the cliffs to go back in his memories and remember the times he had with Lois Farrow.
My other favorite part of the novel is when Sonny and Duane have a bar fight. This occurs when Duane returns to town, and him and go to the bar. The boys are fighting over Jacy, and who she "rightfully belongs to."
Sonny says, "I haven't screwed here, but she ain't your girl anymore, anyway. Hell, you don't even live here anymore." Then Duane says, "She's my girl and I don't care if we did break up. I'm gonna ger her back, I'm tellin' you right now." (233-234)
So Duane believes that she is rightfully his because he had her first-like a toy. Then, the boys start to fight and Duane hits Sonny in the eye with a beer bottle. Sonny almost goes blind. I really like this scene because of the irony of the situation. What brought them apart is now bringing them together in the end. Jacy is the reason that Duane left town, leaving Sonny all by himself. But then, once Duane hits Sonny with the beer bottle, he immediately feels remorse. He forgets all about Jacy and how he had "stolen his girl." He immediately begins to apologize to Sonny for hitting him with the bottle, and he becomes really nervous about his eye.
"Duane was really worried, and it made him so nervous and stiff that Sonny was almost glad when he left." (236). This really shows the strong bond between them. Duane felt sick to his stomach that he had hurt Sonny badly and had put his vision in danger. Sonny had already forgiven Duane, and even though he had almost lost his vision, he did not really want Duane to leave his side. |
| posted by Caroline Marsh @ 3:14 PM |
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| December 7, 2009 |
| UniversalThemes |
Another theme in American Literature today is coming of age. In The Last Picture Show, the characters that Larry McMurtry all become mature and wiser throughout the book. They all begin to realize what matters.
A theme in the book, also commonly seen in American literature, is the loss of innocence. In the beginning of the book, Sonny is a pure, innocent boy. He loves to hang out with his best friend Duane, and his somewhat girlfriend Charlene. But throughout the book, Sonny conveys the theme of loss of innocence. It all begins when he meets Ruth Popper. From the beginning, he knows that there are feelings between them, and that they are inappropriate and should be stopped- but he pursues them.
"When Sonny kissed Mrs. Popper outside theLegion Hall it seemed to him that a whole spectrum of delicious experience lay suddenly within his grasp. No kisses had ever been so exciting and so full of promise, neither for him nor for Ruth." (115). Sonny knows it is wrong and that Ruth is vulnerable and fragile, he still leads her on and pursues her. Sonny has an affair with a married woman, and when he decides to continue it, despite the absense of feelings for ruth, he becomes a grown man, not an innocent child.
Joe Bob is another example of a character that lost his innocence. Joe Bob was training to become a minister, and devoted all of his time to God, and to preaching God's word. "Joe Bob was sort of religion crazy, but nobody could blame him for it, considering the family he had. He was even a preacher himself, already; the summer before he had gone to church camp and got the call." (36). Everyone thought that Joe Bob was destined to be a preacher, but he proved everyone otherwise. One night, Joe Bob molested a little girl.
"'Sheriff, Johnny Clarg's little girl has kinda been kidnapped," he said. 'They seen the preacher's boy putting her in his car about an hour and a half ago, in front of the drugstore.'...'Miz Clarg's afraid Joe Bob might be goin' to mo-lest her or something.'" (212). Joe Bob went from being a perfect, innocent, poster-child to being a hated, unwanted, guilty man.
Another theme present in the book is the pursuit of love and happiness. This theme can also be seen in many other American novels. -Follow your heart, pursue what you want- Throughout the book, everyone is looking to be loved, wanted, or just to be happy. Sonny just wants to be loved, mainly by Jacy, but he takes what he can get. "So far as he was concerned Jacy and Duane knew true love and would surely manage to get married and be happy. What depressed him was that it had just become clear to him that Charlene really wanted to go with Duane, just as he himself really wanted to go with Jacy." (21) He looks for love with three people: Charlene, Ruth, and Jacy. He doesn't find true love with any of them.
Ruth is just looking for happiness, and to be appreciated. She wants someone to love her, to have sex with her, and to just appreciate her. She does not find that in her husband, Coach Popper, but in Sonny. "He tolerated the chocolate and the clothes mending, but Ruth knew very well that what they did on the quilt was what he really liked, what he enjoyed doing with her. It thrilled her that that, of all things, would be what made a person want to come and see her. She expected, almost from day to day, that he would tire of her, and when she saw him coming in the door wanting that same thing of her, she was always happy for a moment." (126) This quote is talking about how, even though Ruth knew that Sonny was only in their relationship for the sex, she was okay with that. She liked the feeling of being wanted, and did not care how she got that.
Jacy is looking to be wanted as well. Throughout the book, she moves on from boy to boy. She gets with each boy because she can tell he wants her, and that is all she wants. It begins with Duane, but when she meets Bobby Sheen, all she can think about is him. Then her life becomes controlled by her need to be wanted by Bobby. "It seemed to her she had come off vvery badly with Bobby. He didn't call her for any daes afterward, and every other boy who had ever been near her had promptly called her for dates. The only conclusino possible wwas that Bobby found her backward and country. It was clear that she was going to have to get rid of her virginity." (138). After she met Bobby, she couldn't get him off her mind. She was even willing to lose her virginity to be loved by him. And then, when that failed, she moved onto Sonny. She even convinced him to marry her, just to make other boys jealous of what they couldn't have. She supports the theme of love and the need to be wanted. |
| posted by Caroline Marsh @ 7:18 PM |
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| December 5, 2009 |
| Rhetoric Study |
| "Sonny looked at her curiously and she smiled at him, and honest, attractive smile, as she kept stroking the back of his neck lightly. He drank more bourbon and watched the intermittent lightning yellow the plains. He felt as thought life was completely beyond him. In a little while they crossed Red River, the slap of their tires echoing off the old stone bridge abutments. The water in the channel was shallow and silvery. "Anyhow, I know why Sam the Lion liked you," Sonny said, and it was Lois' turn to be startled. "Sam?" she said. "Who told you he liked me? Genevieve?" Sonny nodded. Lois was silent for a moment. "No, it was more than that," she said. "He loved me, honey." They were silent almost to Burkburnett, but Sonny noticed that Lois kepy wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands." "I get sad when I think about Sam for long," she said in explanation, her voice unsteady. "I can still remember his hands, you see. Did you know he had beautiful hands?" (252).
This passage is a perfect showing of Larry McMurtry's style of writing. The main portion of his book is dialogue between the characters. This keeps the reader interested in the story, and makes it much easier to read. McMurtry uses short, choppy sentences when he is writing what people are thinking and speaking. This helps keep the reader enthralled in the story, in addition to the dialogue.
In this specific passage, and all throughout the book, he describes the setting constantly. But he does it in the perfect, small amount, that is enough for the reader to understand what it looks like, but not enough to bore the reader. In this he describes the lightning and how it makes the plains look. This imagery is not too descriptive, but just enough to get the point across.
He also uses alliteration in some parts of the book. "The water in the channel was shallow and silvery." This helps to get a point across, to convey a feeling of slipperyness, like a snake.
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| posted by Caroline Marsh @ 7:17 PM |
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| December 4, 2009 |
| Characters |
Sonny Crawford Sonny is the main character in the book. It is frequently given from his point of view. His best friend is Duane Jackson, and his girlfriend (for a little while) is Charlene. In the book, Sonny is a bland character, with not much going on. He takes a big risk when he begins to have a secret affair with his basketball coach's wife, Ruth, and when he runs away to marry Jacy. But other than those few spur of the moments, Sonny is a very bland character. He represents the average Joe, the one that always follows the rules, until he is corrupted.
Duane Jackson Duane is the best friend of Sonny, and is dates (on and off) Jacy. Duane is "a tall boy with curly black hair... he held himself a little stiffly." (9) He loves Jacy, and their relationship is great until she leaves him at the prom to go to a pool party in Wichita Falls with Lester. Even after they break up and he leaves the city, Duane is determined to get back together with Jacy. His feelings for Jacy really show when he finds out that her and Sonny have been talking and hanging out. "Duane couldn't take that. He came out of his chair and slammed Sonny in the face with the beer bottle he had in his hand. It knocked Sonny backward." (235) This entire fight began because Duane and Sonny were arguing about Jacy and whos girl she was. This shows how protective he was of her, and how much in love he was.
Sam the Lion Sam is the owner of the town's poolhall and restaurant. He is beloved and respected by all in the town. He cares for all the boys in the town like they were his own. He had three sons before, but they all died, and it took Sam a while to get over it. "He began to come out of it when he bought the picture show, or so people said... Then Sam bought the poolhall and the all-night-care and he perked up more and more." (4) The city of Thalia really helped get him through the tough times of his life. He was well respected, loved, and a favorite of everyone in the town before his death. He was also in love with Lois Farrow when he was younger and free.
Jacy Farrow Jacy is the daughter of Lois Farrow, the mysterious woman from Sam the Lion's teenage years. Jacy dated Duane on and off until she goes to a pool party in Wichita Falls and it changes her forever. Later, she dates (and tries to marry) Sonny, just to make her parents mad. She constantly talks about how beautiful she is, and is used to getting by with her good looks. She is willing to do whatever it takes to become one of the Wichita Falls people, and to be with Bobby Sheen. "Jacy had begun to be very attracted to Bobby Sheen, the leader of the wild set. He was not especially handsome, but he combed his hair in a rakish fashion and he was always merry and lustful." (136) Jacy goes after what she wants, and always tries to get what she can't have. She's full of drive, perseverance, and she is very reliant on her looks.
Ruth Popper Ruth is the wife of Coach Popper, and the secret lover of Sonny. She and Sonny have an affair that continues throughout the entire book, and abruptly ends in the end. She is very fragile at heart, and becomes very jealous when Sonny looks at other girls-even though he is not tied to her in any way. Their affair is supposed to be secret, but everyone in the town knows about it. Throughout the book, she just wants to be loved, appreciated, wanted. That's why she lets the affair get as out of hand as it does. "And when she saw him oming in the dorr wanting that same thing of her, she was always happy for a moment." (126). His wanting kept Ruth alive and happy.
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| posted by Caroline Marsh @ 3:32 PM |
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