Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Jones The Phantom?
When we were talking about Jones in class, and while I was reading the account of his previous occupations and lifestyle, I couldn't help but thinking of a parallel between him and the phantom in The Phantom of the Opera. Now, I have to start by saying that I didn't even want to make this comparison, because I love the character of the phantom and sympathize with him a great deal, while I contrastingly do not care at all for Jones nor do I excuse his behavior at all. Yet, I feel that both of them experienced a life of loneliness and hunger for companionship, and in their isolation forgot or un-learned all senses of being with people and how to even interact with others. Of course, the phantom has many redeeming qualities such as a genius intellect and musical ability, but he also kills people. Though the audience may sympathize with is love for Christine, it is obsessive and aggressive and disregarding to her wants (except in the end, when he does let he go). Jones has a similar infatuation with Lutie, although she is less involved with him, and I am curious to unfold the future of this infatuation and see where it goes. Each carries an association of desire with an overly violent desperation. What I am saying is that these villainous characters hold deep within them roots of loneliness and insecurity at their previous lack of love and acceptance, and consequently channel that into an overly aggressive sort of attack on others, and that there is more to them than simply a violent man.
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I thought it was interesting how our discussion of Jones started as him being a pedophile to him simply being lonely. I think Petry does a great job delving into the individual's consciousness and examining the complexity of the mind and actions. I think this is further illustrated as she contrasts his own narrative with Lutie's perceptions of him (which are often of disgust). In short, I agree, and I think Jones projects his true emotions of what he really wants, which is, at the core, loneliness.
ReplyDeleteI agree a lot of time the villains in the story are misunderstood and I definitely feel that Jones is a character that is misunderstood. He is a character that definitely makes bad decisions but has good intentions, but it is almost as if he is unaware that he is even doing so.
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