I think that this paper will be a good way for me to connect the non canonical and the canonical books. I think I am going to take Middleton’s suggestion and compare Dilsey to Clare or Irene. I think that it would be interesting to see how both compare to her but I don’t know which to choose.
Dilsey was such an attentive, caring, soulful character. She was the care taker of the house. Dilsey tried to protect each of the children she raised that were white. She didn’t care how they acted she still defended them. What I found humorous though was that she did not treat him the same way. Dilsey was not shy to threaten her son at all when he upset Benjy. Dilsey also took care of the up keep of the house.
Irene was a home maker. She took care of her house. She raised her boys and tried to protect them from the cruelness of the world. She had more luxury time and acclaim to her society. She was a hypocrite also. Irene looked down on Clare for Passing but then
Irene
Passes when she is alone in public so she could drink tea in nice restaurants and shop in the high style stores.
Clare is the opposite of both Dilsey and Irene. Clare had a love hate relationship with her ethnicity. She kept switching roles from a black woman to white and then the reverse. She was a modern day example of the grass is always greener on the other side. It’s quite sad. Clare was also all about the materials and wealth. It was really a shame.
Maybe I’ll do a paper comparing the three. It would fill the pages more.
March 19, 2007 at 8:59 pm
Dawn, as being part of your group I think Passing was an interesting book. I think it would be a great idea to compare Dilsey and Irene because they are so very much alike. They both care about keeping up the household and are involved in their families. Both of these novels contribute to both the canon and non-canonical themes. I think you could do an excellent job on the paper using those examples!