And The Shadows Took Him- Blog Assignment #6
I see from the other posts that some people really enjoyed Chacon’s writing style. At first I had to disagree. When I started reading the story I was rather confused with the way he labeled his characters, switching back and forth between 1st and 3rd person was disconcerting to me. But as I got further into the story, I started to suspect that this writing style was connected directly to the characters and how they interacted with one another. As I saw it, Chacon portrayed the off again, on again family relations as dance (if you will) of these relationships and how Joey viewed the different members of his family at a given moment in time. So with this new insight, hoping that this is what he intended, it was easier to read about the dynamics of the Molina household and I started to really enjoy the story.
In the story I was intrigued with the introduction of the ‘other’ Joeys. I was sure that Fat Boy and Little Joey were a direct result and manifestation of the emotional abuse that Joey suffered at the hand of his father and other family members. I noticed that this abusive relationship was also commented on by other bloggers, and I have to say that if his other personalities stem from the abuse, then it make sense that he would doubt himself and create other versions of him to work through the issues he was presented with.
Joey is an intelligent child, precocious at times and he wants to be. He sees this instigation as a way to get the attention of the other family members. He knows just how far he can push. This brings to mind the old adage ‘negative attention is better than no attention’. Since, he doesn’t get the love that he needs he creates a substitute that he is willing to accept. He wonders about the lack of affection in the home and even asks about it. No one can give him a good answer as to why they do not show affection. Sadly, he is content with the scraps of affection that are given inadvertently. The only common intimacy that I can remember him sharing with family members was described in the story as the sharing floor space with his siblings while watching T.V. and the joy he felt at the time. They all laid out unconsciously touching or laying on each other, he wondered at this, but was content with it happening. Neither Billy nor Vero even noticed, but this was a big deal for Joey. It is no wonder that he starts to view bits and pieces of his life like a play or movie, he then can control the scenarios the way he wants them to play out.
Joey does start to view parts of his life as though in a play. I think this is so he can re-establish some of the control that he feels he does not have over his life. This mechanism especially becomes an outlet for Joey’s anger toward his father. For instance we see this displayed in Kmart. He visualizes himself as the owner of Kmart and William the store manager. Joey then proceeds to throw a paint can, push his father into the shelf and tell William how stupid he is, enjoying the fear in William’s eyes. I think that he creates this scenario as an equalizer in his mind to pay William back for the abuse he gives Joey. It is a way for Joey to maintain that level of control he is missing in his relationship with his father.
Overall I enjoyed the story, though I really would have liked to have found out what happens to Joey. Does he turn into his father or does he fulfill his dream of becoming an actor? Does he stay in Medford and marry Amy? Does Joey end his relationship with Amy and go were his heart was leading, to Leah? Chacon does tell us what happened to William, but since Joey is the star of this book, I would have liked to have had some closure on Joey.
In the story I was intrigued with the introduction of the ‘other’ Joeys. I was sure that Fat Boy and Little Joey were a direct result and manifestation of the emotional abuse that Joey suffered at the hand of his father and other family members. I noticed that this abusive relationship was also commented on by other bloggers, and I have to say that if his other personalities stem from the abuse, then it make sense that he would doubt himself and create other versions of him to work through the issues he was presented with.
Joey is an intelligent child, precocious at times and he wants to be. He sees this instigation as a way to get the attention of the other family members. He knows just how far he can push. This brings to mind the old adage ‘negative attention is better than no attention’. Since, he doesn’t get the love that he needs he creates a substitute that he is willing to accept. He wonders about the lack of affection in the home and even asks about it. No one can give him a good answer as to why they do not show affection. Sadly, he is content with the scraps of affection that are given inadvertently. The only common intimacy that I can remember him sharing with family members was described in the story as the sharing floor space with his siblings while watching T.V. and the joy he felt at the time. They all laid out unconsciously touching or laying on each other, he wondered at this, but was content with it happening. Neither Billy nor Vero even noticed, but this was a big deal for Joey. It is no wonder that he starts to view bits and pieces of his life like a play or movie, he then can control the scenarios the way he wants them to play out.
Joey does start to view parts of his life as though in a play. I think this is so he can re-establish some of the control that he feels he does not have over his life. This mechanism especially becomes an outlet for Joey’s anger toward his father. For instance we see this displayed in Kmart. He visualizes himself as the owner of Kmart and William the store manager. Joey then proceeds to throw a paint can, push his father into the shelf and tell William how stupid he is, enjoying the fear in William’s eyes. I think that he creates this scenario as an equalizer in his mind to pay William back for the abuse he gives Joey. It is a way for Joey to maintain that level of control he is missing in his relationship with his father.
Overall I enjoyed the story, though I really would have liked to have found out what happens to Joey. Does he turn into his father or does he fulfill his dream of becoming an actor? Does he stay in Medford and marry Amy? Does Joey end his relationship with Amy and go were his heart was leading, to Leah? Chacon does tell us what happened to William, but since Joey is the star of this book, I would have liked to have had some closure on Joey.
posted by vholman at 12:44 PM
1 Comments:
Your right about that, I felt a little awkward at first hearing ever bodies review on the ending but you’ll never know until you read it yourself. What I really liked about how the author portrayed Joey is when Joey imagines himself at twenty-six years old eating empanadas (the fat boy) and the little innocent Joey or the present wannabe gang banger Joey. It flows really well with how he loves acting and that in his life he wears a mask or costume like an actor would and changes every time he’s in a new situation. So we never really get to know who Joey really is inside, because it left off where he goes crazy, and it seems like he has a multiple personality syndrome most likely of his abusive father. I liked how those two counterparts of Joey’s creations come together like good vs. evil telling Joey what’s right and wrong, but in the end it’s his decision. Another thing that bugged me too was his relationships with Amy and Leah it leaves us wonder, so its more like a mystery book as well.
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