Once again, we are brought to the idea that fire gets rid of things and leaves everything clean and tidy. First we saw this with the burning of the leaves, Mr.Lisbon attempted to control the leaves as if fire was something controllable. Now, Mrs.Lisbon has a fire going in attempts to control Lux by forcing her to throw her rock records into it. However, it is clear that this isn't just her ideal way of getting rid of them because after it begins to smell, Mrs.Lisbon orders her to stop and throws away the rest of them. What is the significance of the fires?
Lema Crawford highlights the topic of the town being not as much of a luxurious haven as the other folks who live their try to make it seem. "Lovely weather down here. Best thing i ever did was to throw down the old shovel and hoe and get out of that town" (144). This shows that there was a large effort and work with attempting to keep your appearances perfect to be accepted in the town.
Going back to what we talked about in class with the idea of the only thing in life the girls are ever exposed to and able to experience is death, on page 160, the boys talk about how Mr.Lisbon is seeming to now be experiencing that very same feeling. "...his swallow complexion dying in sympathy with them; and his lost look of a man who realized that all this dying was going to be the only life he ever had".
I think you actually answered the purpose of fires in your first paragraph. They serve as manners of controlling. Like you said, fire makes everything clean.
ReplyDeleteThe description of Mr. Lisbon is very sad. Mr. Lisbon, being forced to take a "leave of absence", seems like he is dying as well. The inner life of the Lisbons matches their lawn; very depressed.
I also love your analysis of the "put down the shovel and hoe..." I hadn't thought about that: it was hard work for her to keep up appearances in that town! Great thinking, Callie.
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