States of Paralysis

Paralysis is not necessarily limited in definition to physical captivity. It can be a state of being or a way of life defined by inaction and monotony. Paralysis, in this sense, is explored in the short story “Eveline”, written by James Joyce. The main character, Eveline, is defined primarily by her captivation in her mundane and often unhappy lifestyle. Eveline struggles through multiple levels of paralysis and then comes to the realization of what she must do.

Eveline is in a state of paralysis throughout the entire piece. She has lived a life of unhappiness, one in which she has settled for. However, when she has an opportunity to escape, she presumes that will leave quietly and not come back. As she ponders the choice she has to make, to run away and marry Frank, she enters a new sort of paralysis. Unlike her other case of paralysis, characterized by a mundane lifestyle, this paralysis is one of indecision. She seems like she wants to go, stating that in her new life “people will treat her with respect” and she will not have to live in fear of her father’s violence. However, the longer she sits the more and more she justifies staying. She considers what people will say of her when she leaves. She thinks, “What would they say of her in the Stores when they found out she had run away with a fellow? Say she was a fool”. She almost insinuates that she agrees. Still, the first large sign of her indecision is when she thinks about her father. We learn that her father is abusive towards her, and now that one brother has died and the other has left home, she has no one to protect her. Despite the pain her father inflicts on her, she acknowledges that her father can “sometimes be very nice”. Eveline is trying to justify not leaving, and convincing herself that it is not always the extreme, things are not always that bad. She is already on her path to making the decision to stay with her family. She, however, is still in a state of paralysis over what to do even though the reader can foresee her choice.

Still, it is not her father, her childhood friends she’ll miss, or the house she grew up in that truly help her make her decision. Instead it is a promise made to her dying mother. When Eveline’s mother was dying, she made a promise to “keep the home together as long as she could”. Eveline, by leaving, feels that she would be abandoning the last wish her mother had asked of her and therefore disrespecting her. This is the moment where Eveline begins to move away from paralysis and headed toward her epiphany. There is a shift when she remembers this promise, a shift that keeps her from running away. As Eveline goes to leave with Frank, she realizes that she must stay and as she looks at Frank, there is no sign of “love or farewell or recognition” in her eyes. Eveline recognizes that the love she has for Frank is false. She does not love him, but instead clings to the idea of him because he was her way out. This is Eveline’s great epiphany. She stays.

It is difficult to say whether Eveline, despite her epiphany, ever left her state of paralysis. In some sense she has because one level of her paralysis was indecision. Eveline finally made the decision to stay with her family. Perhaps, her freedom to choose to stay or leave, and act of making a decision itself is the way of escaping paralysis. Her entire life had been characterized by the lack of freedom to choose, but she finally made the choice. However, on a deeper level Eveline’s entire life is a state of paralysis not just her indecision. So although she did take action with her life, she chose to live in a state of paralysis. It seems whether she has the freedom to choose or not, Eveline’s life is in some way or another characterized by paralysis, whether it be her lifestyle, state of mind, or lack of freedom.

Eveline experiences multiple levels of paralysis, much like the main character in “Araby”, also written by James Joyce. The young boy is paralyzed by his infatuation with a girl in the entirety of the story. On a more material level, he is also paralyzed by his Uncle’s tardiness when he wants to go to the bazaar in order to buy a gift to reveal his affections for the girl. He too has an epiphany. He realizes that his long hours of waiting that he suffered were merely a waste of time, since the bazaar was essentially over and everything there was too expensive. He had waited for hours, stuck in a state of paralysis, only to have the epiphany that he was too late. On the deeper level, he realizes that his effort to buy a gift for the girl is also a waste. H realizes that he was “a creature driven and derided by vanity”. A gift cannot show affection without intent behind it. For the girl it will just be a gift because he never expressed to her his feelings. His eyes “burned with anguish and anger”. He realizes that all the time he spent admiring this girl from a distance has been a waste because she will never know his true intentions. Much like Eveline, he becomes aware of his inaction and must choose whether to live with it or change it. Eveline chooses to live with it, and it is ambiguous whether this boy will choose to act, instead of being in a constant state of paralysis.

Lucy Lurie

For a woman who does not reject progress and owns her own farm in South Africa, Lucy Lurie, could be referred as a well positioned woman. She was a woman who took care of her farm and did not need a husband to take care of here. Lucy Lurie lived an okay life until her father David Lurie came to live in her farm. She was happy to see her father visiting her but the happiness soon ended as he was not used to this life of hers. She was tried to make his feel like he was at home, for he was having a rough time and had recently lost his job. Lucy was trying to help her father adapt so that his stay at the farm would be somewhat permanent. David and Lucy got along well enough to live with each other even though their ideals where different. One evening David and Lucy where coming back from a walk with the dogs, in which she takes care of, and three men attack them in the farm. I don’t know what happens to David but the three men I could not hold of the men anymore and one of them did the deed. I was too ashamed that I went to take a shower. I tried to forget what they had done to me and I pretended that these men were just trying to get even with the white society which I represented. I found my father with a burnt ear in the restroom, so I decided to take him to the hospital and leave him there. In those few hours that David was in the hospital I was able to clear my mind a little because I knew he was going to try to question me. David, my father, was never really a comprehensive and caring father, but during the trip to the hospital I noticed a change. I like to believe I know how to take care of myself, but I am also sacred that I will get pregnant from this intrusion, from this thing called rape. Ever since this incident my life has changed I do not act like the woman I once was. I keep wondering if this was a form of payment to society to the Africans that lived in these areas with some or no rights. My father and I started to distance ourselves mostly because I knew he would not understand me. After all he is a man and men justify other men for their actions. I do not care about the house or myself or the farm I just want to be left alone. I don’t want to be questioned about that dreadful incident that ended my life figuratively speaking. Days have passed and David keeps trying to invade my privacy I just cannot take this right now. Petrus my neighbor, the person that bought some land from me is having a house warming party and must go out of curtsy, for he I cannot stay in the house for ever. As I walk in to the party that evening the atmosphere is somewhat tense and I can fell the stares. The evening gets worst as I spot one of the rapist in the party. All the memories from the rape come back into my head and I tell David one of the rapists is here at the party. David does not take the news well and makes a scene. This is not what I wanted. We leave the party and a few days later I permit myself to tell him I was raped. He then leaves the farm unwilling days later, for our relationship is hitting rock bottom. Now that he is gone I can truly say and confront my fear “I AM PREGNANT” and this time I will not abort this baby. David calls every so often to check up on me and he seems to be on the verge of finding out that something is terribly wrong. He come back to the farm with some excuse that there was a job offering and I tell him the truth he is upset but what may have hurt him the most is Petrus proposal of marriage or shall I say I will give up my farm , my possessions for the protection only a man can offer a lonely woman. I will have this child no matter what even if he reminds me every day of the offense that was done to me. I will give up my land if that is what it takes to live somewhat at peace.

Analysis

The story above represents a possible version of what Lucy Lurie was feeling and thinking as she saw her life demolish into pieces. This version of Lucy’s starts off just like David Lurie’s story which lets the reader know that the story will be narrated by Lucy herself. Lucy is a woman living in South African land, in the post- apartheid era, who has been rapped and abused by three black men. Her life and the life of her father were put in danger and there is the possibility of a pregnancy. She believes that there is not much that can be done to help her for the deed was done and the child was on its way. Abortion is not an option like she states in the book “that is something I am not prepared to go through with again.” She felt this was the price she had to pay for the bad conduct that was imposed to the Africans while apartheid was still in process. Finally she decides that she will accept the protection of a man as long as that incident never happens again. She is willing to give up everything “Yes, I agree, it is humiliating. But perhaps that is a good point to start from again.”

you can't change a person in one day

“You can’t teach an old dog new trick” but he adapt to new atmospheres.

In the novel, “Disgrace,” written by J.M. Coetzee the main character Professor David Lurie is a man who has still abides to the rules of apartheids. Apartheid was a system established in South Africa to segregate the Africans from the “white” which basically made the Africans the “majority minority.” David Lurie is a white man who has been divorced twice and is now relying on a prostitute to make him happy at least once a week. He is a man with no ambition, who does not enjoy his profession, and he is basing his life by the “adventures” that Byron had because he cannot have any of his own.

David Lurie’s life gets complicated when he decides to get involved with a student in his class. The relationship with this student, Melanie, would not have been a great impact on David’s life if he would just have controlled his lust love. David Lurie was not in love with the student or the prostitute, rather he felt comfortable and at ease when he was with them. When his involvement with the student became public David admit he was guilty but he did not admit he was wrong.
Being guilty of something does not always been that it is seem as wrong. David Lurie did not consider his affair with the student to be wrong because they are after all mature adults. David also tried to justify himself by saying that he was under the influence of Euros. For the professor this was his ways of saying he cared about Melanie more than he wished he did. That is why he did not wish to hear the charges that were causing him his career as an educator. He preferred to not get hurt and believe that she maybe liked him in some sort of way.

Coetzee creates a character that at first is just seen as someone who wants to have fun and does as he pleases because he believes he is still at his peak in life.
David’s life changes when he moves to his daughter’s house in the country and has his ear set on fire. Any author would have set this traumatizing experience as a climactic moment when the main character realizes he needs to change because he himself wants justice but he does not let justice be done in his own life. Coetzee on the other hand does not make this experience change his main character extremely and the reader can see that no real change has been made in David’s attitude toward his life because he still does not have an internal conflict with himself.

“You cannot teach old dog new tricks” this saying can relate to Coetzee’s main character, David Lurie, because he has not changed. He is still holding on to his traditional believes and does not except the new life that South Africa has adopted. David Lurie has not changed in the novel even though he has been accused of sexual violence with a student, his daughter has been raped, he has been tortured and set on fire because he still holds on to his believes. He cannot change until he has an inter conflict with himself.