The Quarry and the Lot - Research Paper Example

Task Ethnography "The Quarry and the Lot" Every societal setting is defined by its culture. The cultural practices that are within the society are a cumulative product of the interactions of the people within that community. In the Quarry and the Lot, the author, Mark Wallace, gives an introspective insight into the culture that is present in suburban America in DC in that particular time. What is prominent from the literary discourse is the isolation of the culture of the suburban people from the influence witnessed in most cities. The author highlights this from different perspectives which could be perceived as the themes of the book. He draws his references in writing on the suburban culture from the death of Joseph, a character in the novel. Discussed in the novel are the aspects of memory as well as the history of the suburban culture in American life. The novel thematically focuses on love imminent in the community in spite of the conflicts had. This is evaluated in reference to the human limits exposed in the character’s conducts, interactions, and dialect. The author focuses on love as a theme in an insightful way which presents the reader with an interesting literary piece which is both captivating and interesting to read. In as much as there is evidence of instances of conflict in the narration, what comes out strongly is the love that holds most members of the community together. The book starts with the information about Joseph Klein’s death. Wallace states, “The evening after I heard that Joseph Klein had died in a fire… ”1. The events that follow the death of Klein bring the community together. In some way, the death overshadows the conflicts that were in the community. For instance, the narrator calls many people who had been silent from the community for a significant time. Martha insists they call, Joseph’s father, Walter. This highlights the fact that in time of calamity, the sorrow that the people experience could bring the persons together. For Martha to insist on calling Walter, it shoes the inherent love that bounded the community members together. The relationship between Amila and her mother is another incident which portrays the theme of love as well as conflict in the narration. In as much as the two characters do not talk to each, the mutual love between a mother and daughter hold them together. The silence between them portrays the conflict that characterizes the other members of the community. On the other hand, the love that holds them reflects the greater love that brings the community together even in times of grief. The love comes out even in the case of conflicts. For instance, Joseph Klein was not such a loveable character in the narration. His violent ways could have made many to shun him. However, his death revels that in spite of his traits, the members of the community still appreciated him. The conflict in this case comes in the fear they had over him. Wallace states, “We had all been powerless where Joseph was concerned.”2 This highlights the fear the Joseph evoked amongst his community members. However, the love is later revealed when it is stated, “So Martha and I sent the proper flowers and condolences to the family and called a few other people we thought should know.”3 This reflects the twists that characterized the community’s culture. When Joseph was alive, he could have passed for a bad character in terms of behavioral traits, however, the community members assume this on his death. The love in the community makes them overlook what could have been viewed as secrets. Joseph was not a character whose behavior was unacceptable. Therefore, it appears rather ironical that his death causes a stir in the community. The anticipation would have been his death could have been celebrated. The culture reveals that secrets are overlooked. The plausible reason could have been that the overall feeling of love could have been the cause. Love is brought through relationships as well. For instance, the relationship between the narrator’s father and mother is one such incident of what could be perceived as familial love. The relationship between the two had its own conflicts and love. It is stated, “When my father chose to be dramatic, he wanted people to watch. In some ways, my mother was simpler. She stayed married because she had always loved the exact same pain she couldn’t bear”.4 This relationship brings both love and conflict as themes in the narration. The love is in the mother’s relationship with the father while the conflict comes in the pain the mother has to bear. In the novel, ethnography is clearly evidenced in oral tradition involving myth and storytelling. Mark Wallace tells a story told by his grandfather, about a jaguar which came to town after birth of his father. The jaguar was a wild cat which displaced cattle’s, goats and sheep, the cats were feared and were threat to villagers and therefore villagers tried to chase them away to their environment. However, the cats were smart and survived several weeks around taking more animals in the village and finally eluding it. One time the jaguar jumped into grandfather’s roof and was spotted by workers. The jaguar was thought to be stealing human babies and eating children and since grandfather had an infant in the house. Grandfather and his workers owned guns to shoot the jaguar but however much they thought jaguar was gone, it appeared again, with all these efforts they still did not manage to kill the jaguar. After some time, the jaguar clipped out of the floor, vanished and never came back to the house again without being shot. However, the writer did not understand the story and what it was meant for since in his life in the plains of east Texas, he had encountered rattlesnakes and scorpions but not carnivorous cats. The story of the jaguar portrays the conflict in the narration. It is stated, “Whether cats had ever eaten babies, people had certainly shot each other, accidently and often enough on purpose. A jaguar sighting was a moment ripe for that kind of danger. ”5 the shooting of the jaguar could be taken as symbolically highlighting the conflict between the members of the community. This is given by the fact that in trying to shoot the jaguars, people accidently hoot themselves. The conflict comes in the fact that while trying o help by eliminating jaguars which were a menace in the community, human casualties arose. In the quiet Maryland suburbs, local animals such as cats, squirrels, rabbits and dogs. Threat only came from deer, which overrun the area because it was free from predators, cars at night and could wonder along the road without danger. However, the writer does not understand the world in which a jaguar can live on the roof of a house. This shows complete conflict of cultures during the time his grandfather lived and present life he lives. The culture has changed from tradition to modernized world .The writer relates the story to the current real life situations especially the death of Joseph, Joseph was a brilliant, talented and dangerous boy who was unlike jaguar and unlike any other boys in the village. He died at an age of 32years. This shows that, some community activities such as burial ceremony were used to unite and bring people together. Joseph’s death is received with shock and people are afraid to ask about it, the writer is afraid to ask the father of the diseased about it. The narration given by Wallace should not be viewed just as consequential reactions by community members to death of character who was their neighbor. In all aspects, the death could have been viewed as untimely. It was such an unprecedented occurrence. It is conclusive to assert that it was what was akin to a call for a duty as the responsible of an artist. From the narration, there is a character who was a professor. The professor is named Luke. Luke, whose parent is also a professor, points out that the role of an artists within such societal settings is important given the predicaments that surround human life. In the narration, Luke points out that an individual person is incapable of shaping the world in conformity with his own wishes. However, he asserts that an artist has the ability to point out how people should live within social settings. The expectation in this case is that the kind of lifestyle that is expected of the people should bear moral and ethical relevance to the stipulated norms witnessed in most contemporary societies. That was the role of Joseph, the young artist whose untimely death evoked reactions from the members of the suburban community. In reference to the novel, Luke can be viewed as being pragmatic in a way similar to the way most patriots would live their lives. The novel is akin to a pictorial representation of the artist both as a young person as well as in adult life. This is what is seen as being in tandem with assertions of Kerouac as subterranean lifestyles. Joseph was more like a champion who wanted a better social place for those he lived amongst. This is highlighted by the incident of storming the Bastille. This was more relevant as practical as highlighted by the philosophical perspective presented by Luke. He was destructive and at tender age of fourteen, he could speak three different languages fluently and play violin beautifully. He was silently carrying weapons and set off bombs. He had damaged houses, flattened tires, smashed bicycles and mailboxes, vandalized schools, cars and taken drugs which snapped his mind and lived into the streets or in a special house where is father had gotten him to stay. The writer describes some boys who liked to torture animals and each other and gravitated into petty things finally into serious violence. The story of jaguar was with mission to understanding danger in life, jaguar like men did not intend to live on the roof but like men had its own reasons to live there. Maybe it was running away from problems the same way men would look for measures against lack of food, hunger and desperation. This explains that something’s happen for reasons to explain mystery and is beyond human control. The subculture is well illustrated since the story by grandfather symbolizes the current happenings in that community. It’s strange how history turns out to be full of uncertainties and stories we know can turn out to apply to our lives if looked closely and translated to happenings in our lives. Theme of symbolism is evident and dictates beliefs and myths which people believe and associated real life situations with. The community believed in solidarity, not only in time of death but in all other aspects of life. When his grandfather left for Mexico to upgrade his studies funded by Mexican government, on his return a ceremony was organized to honor his arrival. A house was purchased to for him and his wife as a first doctorate ever in Mexico. The poor villagers and landowners were also grateful about him. They community believe in prosperity of any individual is a source of prosperity to entire community. Like any other community, contradiction of culture is highly witnessed. For instance, the jaguar eating children and violent people shooting and booming human life it shows graduation of culture from one level to another. Theme of exaggeration is clearly illustrated; the truth about how the wild cat stole and ate babies has no evidence to support it. The situation of shooting people instead of the - shows a lack of knowhow and ignorance amongst the people, if not carelessness. The cultural diversity in the suburbs of America has progressively moved into the current city life. The growing influence of Joseph till his death illustrates that the strengths and weaknesses faced during his entire life should be a learning point for the rest of the people in the community. The present day society has a lot of vices facilitated by modernization and current lifestyles which have overtaken traditional lifestyle. Traditional lifestyles involved interaction of natural calamities which were inevitable. The current cultures are influenced by modernity and can easily be corrected through fears as people get to learn lessons. The aspect of subculture is important in every society to enhance smooth running and proper co-ordination in terms of social, political, and economical development of the society. Cultural practices act as laws to guide against any unwanted behaviors in the society and to ensure good relationship of the people. However, some cultural practices are outdated and can mislead people leading to lack of development and cultural shocks. Therefore, proper attention must be paid when dealing with cultural practices. Traditions and culture go hand in hand; it’s difficult to differentiate between the two Tradition, on the other hand, deals with ancient practices while culture in cooperates both traditions plus other beliefs that society finds important into their lives. It’s important to study and carry out research on subcultures to enlighten people of various cultural practices. Therefore, this project is important to the entire community in view of educating people about their environment. Works Cited Wallace, Mark. The Quarry and The Lot. New York: BlazeVOX, 2011. Print. Read More