William Bell's Crabbe is based upon Polti's dramtic situation of enigma. He is faced with practical teenage problems and is unable to resolve them until he goes out in the woods and meets Mary who also is faced with a problem.
Crabbe has problems in school and with his parents. When he was telling Mary his conflicts he puts down his "teachers, my "friends," especially my parents, especially them"(Bell 79). His parents did not give him the freedom to think or express thoughts. They would always go for "another party"(Bell 29). Crabbe is isolated from his family. The only trip he made with his father was when "he had taken me camping with him a few years earlier. It was the only trip we'd ever done together. I guess it was supposed to make up for all the years when he didn't know I existed"(Bell 20).Likewise in school the teachers were not interested in Crabbe's input towards a problem or statement because he was too clever. He would "play their game and won all kinds of points and prizes and [rubbish] that I secretly hated"(Bell 32). In these two scenarios his parents and school were treating Crabbe as if he never existed in the first place. Crabbe was not given room to explore and dig into himself to really find out the true meaning of his character.
Similarly, Mary Pallas also has a problem within herself(Person vs self) because she committed euthanasia on her husband which is why she spent time wandering in the woods for one year. Her husband got injured in "an anti-nuclear demonstration"(Bell 125) and figured out that if he were to live "he would be totally paralyzed or mentally deficient"(Bell 126) or "plugged into the machines"(Bell 126) in the hospital.In those days euthanasia was illegal, but she felt that it was right thing to do so with her husband.
However Crabbe overcomes his enigma by meeting Mary. Mary "cared about me, not my clothes or my money, not my high marks at school or my father's job or where I lived-me.I never met any one who made me feel necessary. Not important:necessary. I mattered to her"(Bell 124). It is critical to note that "important" and "necessary" are different words in this situation because being "important" only signifies his/her role in society and "necessary" signifies why he/she is important, not just of their role in society but as a normal person. In contrast Mary solves her problem but by doing so she had to leave society because what she committed was an act of crime. In terms of enigma Crabbe escapes from his conflicts and Mary flees from society because she resolved her dilemma.
One thing in common with these two characters is that they have a problem with society. Mary overcomes her conflict personally but by doing so she has created another enigma which is with society. With Crabbe he is also not treated with the respect he deserves in society (school) and his parents, which is why he drinks in the first place, something exciting at least before his adventure.
After Mary passed away in the tragic incident "by her fall to the jagged rocks on the valley floor"(Bell 119) Crabbe felt that he owed Mary "a lot. Not only my life, but the way I was trying to live it. And I knew that in a way she was part of my self, and she would be long after I stopped remembering her. My Mother brought me into this world but Mary got me ready to live in it"(Bell 166). Mary was also "'Lonely? Of course. That's why I'd like you to stay for a while, if you want'"(Bell 80) before Crabbe encountered her in the woods.
All in all Crabbe by William Bell succesfully creates one of Polti's thirty-six dramatic situations, enigma,to generate a realistic novel that relates to real life situations amongst teenagers.
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Godd start Abi! Continue to build this piece to the point that you are satisfied with the result. Also, try to create a little more coherency with the paragraphs by using transitional phrases. Above all, continue to explore the book, and the use of Polti's situations within the text.
ReplyDeleteOkay, good progress so far. The only thing that I can say is that you shouldn't start a paragraph with a quote. This is easily fixed by just introducing your problem paragraphs with a topic sentence.
ReplyDeleteI am a bit puzzled by the application of the word "enigma" in the explication. According to the dictionary, "An enigma (from Greek αἴνιγμα, plural enigmas or enigmata) is a puzzle, something mysterious or inexplicable, or a riddle or difficult problem. The word can also be used to describe a mysterious or secretive person." So, I understand how Crabbe might be an enigma unto himself and others. Fair enough. When you write that, "Crabbe overcomes his enigma by meeting Mary", it doesn't quite make sense. Can one overcome an enigma? One can solve it. Is Mary the means by which Crabbe solves it? What is Crabbe's enigma? If himself and his self-destruction, what is at the root of it? Late your write that "In terms of enigma Crabbe escapes from his conflicts and Mary flees from society because she resolved her dilemma." I'm not sure about the use of the word here, either. You're on the right track, but you get side-tracked with summary. As a result the true application of the concept is never fully accomplished.
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