We talked a bit in class about Jones's history and maybe he's not totally crazy. There was the argument made by Mrs. Hedges that he'd been kept up in basements for too long. But why would he go so far as to commit crimes (ripping up the mail) to hurt Lutie?
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
The Street
Jones intrigues me and terrifies me. His efforts to control Lutie are prevalent through the novel, efforts to control her, have her, possess her. And he will stop at nothing. The animal imagery that we talked about in class is certainly prevalent with him, all the time. He is always, essentially, preying upon Lutie. And when she refuses him, he preys upon her through her son. He is a master manipulator because he knows exactly what will make her react and how she'll react.
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ReplyDeleteMaggie, I thought Jones's actions with the mail were bizarre, too. I did not understand how that would get him closer to Lutie, besides using Bud. It frustrated me that he makes Bud a criminal with him because Lutie tries so hard to make sure that Bud is a good kid, even if she is not successful. In the conversation between Jones and Bud on page 350, it reads, "'Supe,' Bub said, 'oughtn't those letters that ain't the right ones -- oughtn't those others be put back?'" (Petry 350). Here Bub expresses the common sense that his mother has taught him, that he arguably cannot learn from living on "the street" if you look at this from a deterministic point of view as we discussed in class, but he still falls short. At the end of their conversation, Jones says, "'The more you work, the sooner the cops'll catch the crooks'" (Petry 350). It is ironic that they are the criminals when Jones is teaching Bud that other people are.
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