Monday, February 3, 2014
Iida Blog One
Alcohol consumption as a sign of agreement or disagreement is one of the most definitively Southern aspects of the first chapter of All the King’s Men. When the narrator, Jack Burden, first meets Willie Talos, “The Boss,” he knows that there is something different about to happen because of the way that Willie refuses to drink with Tiny Duffy. “‘All round.’ Mr Duffy ordered. ‘Not for me, thank you kindly,’ Willie said.”(p24) This back and forth between Willie and Tiny continues for several minutes until the barkeeper finally sides with Willie. “‘I sells beer to them as wants it. I ain’t making nobody drink it.’” (p24). This refusal to drink alcohol and the winning of that battle shows very early on that Willie is a new power in town and that he is not going to play by the rules of Tiny Duffy and those already in power. Ironically, Willie later uses the power of alcohol to try to force the Judge to cede to his demands. “‘Aw, have a drink,’ ...The Judge didn’t pour himself a drink. And he didn’t sit down.” (p65). This refusal to drink with “The Boss” shows the Judge’s unwillingness to compromise with him. An agreement to drink is like an agreement to break laws, to cede to bribes and the other power in the room and both Willie and the Judge show their refusal to defer to power through their refusal to drink.
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I completely agree with the interpretation of the importance of a drink together and the bond that creates within the Southern culture. The way you described the scenerios reminded me of the pride they each have and the general lack of openness or surrender to being wrong. An example I found was something Willie said to Mr.Duffy "I reckon I got one habit, Mr.Duffy. I got the habit when I feel a movement coming on of just going off by myself to the back-house and shutting the door . Were you raised that way Mr.Duffy?"(28). This shows Willie's upbringing to store bad emotions and walk off when he feels them becoming present but the pride is still there, the need to be a man and only have "one bad habbit" is still there.
ReplyDeleteDid you get the huge insult in that quote? When Willie says "movement", he is talking about bowel movements, and the "back-house" is the outhouse. He's implying that Tiny Duffy doesn't bother with the politeness of taking a dump in private.
DeleteThis is really insightful and stands out to me among the other posts. I like that you picked two specific scenes and used symbolism to tie them together, something that gets a little lost in extensive, thick language of this book. It's interesting that between those scenes, when Jack and Willie are standing in the field at night, he asks for a drink from Jack. "'Gimme a slug.' It was the Boss's voice. 'Take it,' I said, 'You know where it lives.' He lifted up my coattail and pulled out the bottle. I could hear the gurgle as he did the damage." (p. 44) Here the alcohol is a symbol of how they are joined in odd relationship, sort of friendship, sort of business partners. When Jack comments on his drinking, he says "Pappy doesn't favor drinking. Never did." (p. 45) similar to his response in Slade's place, saying he 'never got in the habit.' More generally that agreement/disagreement, maybe drinking is used throughout the book to either bring people together or split them apart? (note: funny how what is essentially rotten wheat carries so much meaning)
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