(urth) Babbiehorn?: Was: a sincere question mostly for roy

Marc Aramini marcaramini at yahoo.com
Wed Nov 16 10:30:10 PST 2011



--- On Wed, 11/16/11, Marc Aramini <marcaramini at yahoo.com> wrote:

> From: Marc Aramini <marcaramini at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: (urth) Babbiehorn?: Was: a sincere question mostly for roy
> To: "The Urth Mailing List" <urth at lists.urth.net>
> Date: Wednesday, November 16, 2011, 10:26 AM
> 
> 
> --- On Wed, 11/16/11, James Wynn <crushtv at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> 
> > From: James Wynn <crushtv at gmail.com>
> > Subject: Re: (urth) Babbiehorn?: Was: a sincere
> question mostly for roy
> > To: "The Urth Mailing List" <urth at lists.urth.net>
> > Date: Wednesday, November 16, 2011, 10:17 AM
> > On 11/16/2011 12:07 PM, Marc Aramini
> > wrote:
> > > The entire tone shift "I should have said how
> nice he
> > smiled and how positive he was" in paraphrase at the
> end of
> > OBW - it's very clear what has happened.  Horn was a
> > negative unlikeable guy. Silk positive.
> > 
> > I think this viewpoint is an aspect of how Wolfe chose
> to
> > tell the story and the fact that the reader does not
> realize
> > during OBW all that has occurred before. Horn's
> relationship
> > is quite close with Sinew based on how Sinew speaks
> him. But
> > the narrator at that time is not *merely* Horn however
> one
> > interprets his resurrection. The narrator addressing
> Horn's
> > attitude to Sinew is viewing him as the one who
> rebelled on
> > Green and killed Horn's body. To him, Sinew is a
> > judas.  How else is Horn portrayed as unlikeable? He
> > was entrusted with the mission to find Silk. Marrow's
> > conversation with him seemed affable. Mucor seems to
> respect
> > him.
> > 
> > At the end of OBW, the narrator is reconciled to Sinew
> in
> > his own heart. Thus, what he says about Sinew has a
> change
> > of tone as well.
> > _______________________________________________
> 
> I disagree with that assessment: Horn is violent and seeks
> to beat the  man who stole or did not watch his boat,
> he cheats on Nettle but claims he loves her at times, he is
> more a "might makes right when I can get away with it" kind
> of guy (and this is seen with the staff fighting in Rttw
> when Horn is dominant in Silk in the 3rd person sections)
> 
> Silk is completely different: Horn says GOODBYE then the
> tone shifts immediately.  That's how Silk's characer is
> shown: he rereads and says, I should have said this nice
> thing about that man, I should have said that nice thing
> about that other guy - Horn dwells on the negative, Silk
> does not.  I am certain this is how Gene was showing
> character of the narrator here, read the last two chapters
> of OBW again and see that after Horn says good=bye, the Silk
> type talk starts.
> _______________________________________________

Also at the beginning of IGJ he starts praying before food and telling people to go clean to their wedding bed - not horn like advice.

Silk is clearly in control of the narrator, who is much more proselytizing and more of a do gooder than the narrator of OBW.

(I like obw the best because I like that sinful bitter feel Horn's voice has)



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