The Ghastly Ordeal of Tomothy Cavendish
I found this section to be the most interesting yet, for a couple of reasons. Timothy as a character is funny just in his actions, but then the consequences are incredible. He appears to be our oldest narrator, but also the most childish (and kind of a jerk).
He starts off his little story by telling us that he was mugged by a bunch of prepubescent girls he called "Prostitute Barbie," (Mitchell 145) with lollipops, which, really, shouldn't be a problem for a grown man around 60. The next morning he embellishes his story to Madame X, saying he had been mugged by "five louts with swastikas shaved into their skulls." (Mitchell 146) in an effort to not seem weak.
He also is the editor of a man who killed a critic and took all the profit. He then was confronted by the writer's brothers who demanded 50 thousand pounds by the next day. He goes through a couple of contacts and asks for money, but no one has any, so he turns to his brother. His brother responds to his call with "Oh, Satan's gonads, not you," (Mitchell 157) His brother says he has no money, but he does have a place to stay for a while.
He then boards a train, which has complications (no driver?) then stalks his ex. He boards a bus, which also has complications, then gets a taxi. And pays with change. Because little girls stole his wallet.
Throughout this whole ordeal, Timothy is high as a kite because of a "cigar" someone offered him in a public restroom, showing how naively trusting he is. So, as a result, he signs residency papers to a nursing home, thinking its a hotel.
He then wakes up to a nurse going through all his stuff and starts cussing her out. She tells him she wouldn't hesitate to put soap in his mouth. He tries to escape and gets spanked like a child. I guess if you act like a child you get treated like one! He gets all bitter about getting old after meeting the welcoming committee and promptly has a stroke.
Throughout this whole section Timothy is greedy, nieve, generally weak/submissive, and just annoying. Very childish, I think, which is funny considering he is the oldest character so far. I enjoy this section so much because the actions of this old guy are almost immediately followed by hilarious consequences. Thanks for reading!
He starts off his little story by telling us that he was mugged by a bunch of prepubescent girls he called "Prostitute Barbie," (Mitchell 145) with lollipops, which, really, shouldn't be a problem for a grown man around 60. The next morning he embellishes his story to Madame X, saying he had been mugged by "five louts with swastikas shaved into their skulls." (Mitchell 146) in an effort to not seem weak.
He also is the editor of a man who killed a critic and took all the profit. He then was confronted by the writer's brothers who demanded 50 thousand pounds by the next day. He goes through a couple of contacts and asks for money, but no one has any, so he turns to his brother. His brother responds to his call with "Oh, Satan's gonads, not you," (Mitchell 157) His brother says he has no money, but he does have a place to stay for a while.
He then boards a train, which has complications (no driver?) then stalks his ex. He boards a bus, which also has complications, then gets a taxi. And pays with change. Because little girls stole his wallet.
Throughout this whole ordeal, Timothy is high as a kite because of a "cigar" someone offered him in a public restroom, showing how naively trusting he is. So, as a result, he signs residency papers to a nursing home, thinking its a hotel.
He then wakes up to a nurse going through all his stuff and starts cussing her out. She tells him she wouldn't hesitate to put soap in his mouth. He tries to escape and gets spanked like a child. I guess if you act like a child you get treated like one! He gets all bitter about getting old after meeting the welcoming committee and promptly has a stroke.
Throughout this whole section Timothy is greedy, nieve, generally weak/submissive, and just annoying. Very childish, I think, which is funny considering he is the oldest character so far. I enjoy this section so much because the actions of this old guy are almost immediately followed by hilarious consequences. Thanks for reading!
Macayla, you've described his character well. How do you see this section linking to the others, though? And do you ever feel any sympathy for his as a character? I remember not liking him very much but also finding this section really funny because of his narrative voice.
ReplyDeleteI found your commentary on this man's strange actions to be very funny. Still, I have yet to understand how this book makes any sense. How at all do these different stories relate to one another? I understand they go through different issues in history that involve big themes, but there has to be a greater meaning and connection between them. Anyways, great post!
ReplyDeleteBen