Nov 12, 2009
Jamall's Story
I believe Jamall's Story, or chapter 23, is very significant to the book. While the whole story seems as if there is no hope, and it seems as if he has given up, there is more to it. The underlying purpose of this chapter is to show how the tunnels can be a place of healing. Jamall even says so at the end of the chapter. He emphasizes this when he talks about the different places and communities within the tunnels, and how there is no need to evict the people in the tunnels, because they are using abandoned places as places to heal. There is something for anyone who wants to or is forced to go down into the tunnels. Furthermore his relationship with Cher helps this idea that the tunnels can help heal. The fact that he would stop drinking for Cher's sake is a huge indicator of this idea. He finally found something he cared for enough to begin to heal. When she dies however, Jamall gives up because he has lost his healing aide. He leaves the tunnels because he has lost the one aspect of the tunnels that can help him. However Cher still provided him with a way out with her story of the light taking her away. He continues to look for the beam of light to take him away, back to Cher. In Cher he found a way to heal, but when it is taken away, he tries to find this healing agent that he once found in the tunnels. Just as he found his Cher, anyone who enters the tunnels can find something to help them heal.
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Josh, I think that your characterization of the tunnels as a good place and a place of healing is interesting. We spoke in class about how broken the system of society is for dealing with the mole people, including social services, the police, and the shelters. But, as your post shows there is an effective place of healing for the people attracted to the tunnels, the tunnels themselves. Lexi, I think, brought up the chapters that she read and described the meticulous organization and effectiveness of the communities in them. It is easy to overlook the importance that these communities have for the mole people, particularly the mentally ill and substance abusers that were described as constituting most of the population. This furthers the trend in Toth’s novel of complicating the characters and also the problems that she is trying to describe. One of the major problems in dealing with the mole people is that we deal with them in above ground ways. We must follow Toth’s methods of connecting with the people on a personal level in order to understand them.So, I think that while the system is broken as we have described, our society might benefit more from learning from the mole people’s methods of dealing with the outcasts of society rather than further destroying their stability.
ReplyDeleteAdrienne, I think that your point of the tunnels being a place of acceptance and comfort is incredibly interesting; I had never thought of it like that. However, it seems very clear now.
ReplyDeleteIn the tunnels, everyone is in very similar, if not the same situations. There can be very few judgements made because the status quo is relatively even. Although the majority of the inhabitants are living in a state of depression, they all manage to bond together and form a type of support system or community.
This can be specifically seen in chapter 14. Each of the characters introduced has a separate background involving some type of abuse. By going into the tunnels, these people are comforted by others who understand their situation and do not judge or criticize their actions. They are accepted by their peers and therefore feel like they are a part of a larger system.
In conclusion, I think that Jennifer Toth is able to present the tunnels as a different world than the one above ground. It is full of people who accept each other, and are looking for support. While some have moved to the tunnels because they do not have another option, others decide to reside underground for it cures the pain of loneliness and isolation.