Robert’s Comments (group member since Oct 04, 2011)

Robert’s comments from the The Sleepy Conscience Club group.

Really? That was my vs David Foster Wallace.

Oh my God. I hope you both appreciate me as much as I'm appreciating myself right now.

Oh, How about one more just for fun. Who is this?


1. the pronoun of the second person singular or plural, used of the person or persons being addressed, in the nominative or objective case: You are the highest bidder. It is you who are to blame. We can't help you. This package came for you. Did she give you the book?
2. one; anyone; people in general: a tiny animal you can't even see.
3. (used in apposition with the subject of a sentence, sometimes repeated for emphasis following the subject): You children pay attention. You rascal, you!
1. present indicative plural and 2nd person singular of be.
are[ air, ahr ]
noun
1. a surface measure equal to 100 square meters, or 119.6 square yards; 1100 of a hectare. Abbreviation: a
be[ bee, bee, bi ]
verb (used without object)
1. to exist or live: Shakespeare's “To be or not to be” is the ultimate question.
Main Entry: 1ug·ly
Pronunciation: \ˈə-glē\
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s): ug·li·er; ug·li·est
Etymology: Middle English, from Old Norse uggligr, from uggr fear; akin to Old Norse ugga to fear
Date: 13th century
1 : frightful, dire
2 a : offensive to the sight : hideous b : offensive or unpleasant to any sense
3 : morally offensive or objectionable
4 a : likely to cause inconvenience or discomfort b : surly, quarrelsome Main Entry: 2ugly
Function: adverb
Date: 14th century
: in an ugly manner

Your ugly,vs you are attractively chalanged, vs your beauty could only ever be appreciated by a forgiving afficianoto of unique asametric placement.

I've been thinking.

Stephen king, vs John Kennedy Toole, vs Nietzsche.

King talks about piss and shit. Toole talks about the essence of piss and shit. And Nietzsche makes you want to eat piss and shit.

Thus is the essence of the three of our differing opinions concerning literature.

It is not that one is better then the other. It's all piss and shit or sugar and rainbows but it's how we digest it.

I will let the two of you determine the methods of decomposition.

I think Toole was deliberate in his vagueness. The whole story is David saying things like I don't know but I think. And then he will make some profound point like The sun light shining through the fabric of a harlot. But the father on the surface does not want the light to shine on him because of lack of respect for aunt Mae, or on a deeper level he does not want to be judged by a person like Aunt Mae. Its extremely deep and Toole even mentions the room looks like Hell. He knows exactly what hes doing. Its vague but profound.

Have you ever talked to someone and agreed with them on there points and then after they have lowered there defenses you say I agree with everything you just said and its spot on, but did you ever consider: enter your opinion here. This is what Toole does. As David he says the inside of the bus smells and everyone is grossed out, and he says hes smelled that before but he cant figure it out, then he says oh yeah its like my teachers breath. Whats that. It could be cigarettes or booze or any number of vile things that might make your breath smell stank. Brilliant.

I am listing to the gunslinger on Audio and I hate it. Hate it!!!! Every sentence makes me cringe. I remember some sentence about a golden stream of urine or such when hes pissing on some corn.

I am trying to enjoy it and give it its due. But come on. Did Bevis or Butthead write this. Cornholio for your bung hole? "Why Yes I think I just might."

I was thinking about whether or not it is possible for the author of a fiction novel to be sexist if he is not sexist. For instance If you are an Author and you are not sexist but you write a fiction book that has tones of sexism in it does that make you the author sexist, or does it just make the reader an idiot. Another for instance, if you write murder mysteries does that make you a murderer. Or does it make the person who reads your books and accuses you of being a murder an Idiot.

Unless Jordan writes a nonfiction essay about some Women being Idiots for thinking that a man is sexist because characters in his books have tits and wear skirts because that's the style that women wear and they are anatomically correct in his fiction book then he might be a jerk for wasting time to write an essay about some Idiot women. But even that still does not make him sexist. But it sure does reinforce the idea that a women who might call him a sexist is without a doubt an idiot.

page 61.

"You could tell by all the trucks covered with hardened clay that were trying to park along the streets by women, with most of the men overseas. They drove them pretty well, too, and it made me think of how people can sometimes do things you never would have thought they could."

I think this passage sums up a lot of Tooles early epistemology. He thought he could do anything. He was that kid that knew he was capable of obtaining the pinnacle. He offed himself because he realized the world generally does not reward or encourage genius but often resents it and will have a heavy hand in suppressing it. Toole was brilliant but not a fighter.

As to the chapter. I was impressed with the pace and style of young David telling his story. Then was equally impressed with young Toole maximizing his talents in order to write for Bobbie Lee. The style changes dramatically and the book deviates from a child's memoir to a polished preacher giving a sermon. Very well done

As too the story Aunt Mae continues to be a matriarch in young David's life, he learns from her gallivants and trysts. I believe he see's that life is meant to be fun and he deserves to be able to smile and dance despite what Bobbie Lee thinks about the behavior.

Although I don't think Bobbie Lee is trying to perpetrate an elaborate ruse. I think he believes its for the best if people live a structured God fearing existence. Bobbie Lee is trying to help people the best he can. Save there souls and prevent people from succumbing to the temptations of the Devil.

Back to David, I think David sees Bobbie Lee for what he is, generally well-intentioned. I think the Deacon is not well-intentioned, and David will continue to have problems with the Deacon and his wife. They are definitively the antagonists.

I think that is all I got.

I expect it's forced. It's the town pressure on the family. That's why I don't fault the father. I think the women hated that there husbands took an intrest to aunt Mae and the whole family suffered. Once the men were off to war they stopped hating aunt Mae so much.

One other point you both ask about David's age in chapter one while on the train. If you read it he is running away from his life. His legs are numb after 200 miles. His story starts when he was a kid with a train that he is reminiscing about. So I expect his story starts when he was 3 or so and he's on the train at age 15 or 16 or so. I'm just guessing.

If anything it was the bitch teacher and the deacon and or the constraints of society in the deep south. I feel bad that Toole didn't decide to see how his life might end had he let it come to fullrition. All the changes that have taken place for better or worse. Definitely a lot more tolerant.

Its not fair that I do not have a 100 more hours a day. I will read what I can, post when I can. I love it and miss it as well.

This is an Awesome discussion, I thought when I read about the Fall that it was justice and an answered prayer. I thought in a sense that David was praying for a sense of justice because in his young mind he knows that things are not right. I think the deacon and his wife were swatted down by the hand of God to teach them humility and that religion is not to be wielded like a sword but to be used to help others, not hinder them. I think Davids experience with Religion is going to be more of an understanding of the way evil pollutes good, in the sake of righteousness and how that is a bastardization of the true purpose of God and religion.

I could be completely wrong. I am excited.

I happen to love the style of writing. I think it is refreshing to read a book written by someone who is doing there best to get a point across in quick succinct sentences. I enjoy the rapid fire and simple syntax. I am all to unimpressed with authors whose main purpose in writing is to impress themselves and others while in the process come off as pretentious jerks. I think that a simple approach is definitely best for a young author or an author new to the medium. I think its an additional testament to Toole that he knows his limits. Most people do not like to acknowledge there limits and often will push to the detriment of there work.

As far as the story goes, I think its a young persons perspective of a world and society that is glaring in its hypocrisy. I think Toole is doing his best to point out all the different incidents of the hypocrisy in his daily dealings with adults and other children. I think this is common for most children, but most children are unable to point it out. Toole takes the opportunity in his work to make it obvious, I think that since it takes place in the deep south and there is a religious aspect to all of this, it makes it even more apparent. All religious people are hypocrites, Its kind of the point of religion. The first test in thinking biblically is to acknowledge when you sin and are being a hypocrite so you can try to learn how not to.

Aunt Mae is great, I think the Dad is just stressed and unhappy, I think he wants to be more and is sad he it not. I think the Mom does her best, I think the teacher is a mean cruel person at heart. I think David is a tender loving little boy doing his best to navigate through a world that is not fair.

The Introduction was interesting, I like the background story about Toole and his family and the state law, it seems even after his death Toole was getting dirt kicked on him. In a Way the Neon Bible and the way his Aunt Mae was treated and the way his mom was treated after his suicide is similar.

So my favorite passage so far, and it is as good of line that I have ever read in any book is: On one of the smaller windows Aunt Mae Put a curtain she made out of a shroud she wore in some murder play, and on the other one she had a red satin costume from a minstrel show. When the sun came through all three windows, it made the room so red and bright that Poppa said it reminded him of Hell, and he would never sit with us in there. I think This was because the curtains were Aunt Mae's Costumes, too, and he didn't want the sun to shine on him through them.

This says so much about the mind of Toole, At 16 he understood an intimate detail of the Human condition, The way in which we see ourselves and others. It is almost biblical, and that blows my mind as well, That last sentence is like scripture, An entire essay could be written on why a person would not want light to shine on them through a piece of material because of the origins of the material. Fascinating to me.