Supawit Post #4

This part of the reading was quite fascinating to read, as all of the events tie in with each other and we began to see why Jack restrains himself from intimacy. I find it interesting how Jack keeps these important memories of his past relationships with women hidden until he finds out about Willie and Anne's affair. Warren develops Jack's character as a very private person, who does not open up to people very easily. For that reason, Jack decided to leave out his very personal, meaningful past with his audience until he had no other choice. His heartbreak with Anne before she and Willie had an affair is one of the biggest influences on his distant nature. After he begins having issues with his newly wedded wife Lois, he thinks that, "...as long as Lois was merely the machine-Lois, as long as she was simply a well dressed animal, as long as she was really a part of innocent non human nature, as long as I hadn't begun to notice that sounds she made were words, there was no harm in her and no harm in the really extraordinary pleasure she could provide" (424). Jack views Lois in a very primal way. The mere fact that he is uncomfortable with her having any sort of opinion in itself shows that he is only attracted to her sexually; distancing himself from any kind of personal connection that married couples should have. Though this was not a memory of the past in this section particularly, the fact that his mom continues to have husbands that come and go adds to his intimacy issues. Jack's mother is the women he is supposed to look up to. Since she sets this example starting at an early age, it subconsciously pushes Jack further and further away from being a committed friend and husband. This intimacy mentioned is not only in regard to his relationships with women, but with Willie as well. After Jack confronts Anne about the affair Anne responds, "You don't know him..You've known him all these years and you don't know him at all"(454).  She makes a good point that I had not really taken notice of before.  Despite all the years that Jack had been working with the Boss, they never really seemed to have any conversations regarding Jack's personal life. Though he does work for Willie, they spend a lot of time together that is open for conversation. Perhaps if Jack had opened up to Willie, this whole messy affair would not have occurred in the first place.