Rule of the Bone: A Quest for Independence - Literature review Example

of the Concerned Researched Literary Analysis 30 July 2008 Rule of the Bone: A Quest for Independence Russell Banks novel ‘Rule of the Bone’ most appropriately qualifies to be the book of its times. The end of the twentieth century seemed to lament the demise of the age of innocence. Cynicism and disbelief stood to be the predominant mood of the changing times, where the sacrosanct spirit of endless enquiry had shockingly lost its way into a stifling cesspool of doubt and nihilism. Considering this scenario, it would be safe to say that Russell Bank’s ‘Rule of the Bone’ appeared on the literary scene at just the right time, when the chain reaction of crumbling values obtrusively enquired into and perhaps successfully tried to redefine the age old art of storytelling. The traditional prim pram conventions like pristine landscapes, innocent boys, loving parents, perfect mentors, and the security provided by an impeccable moral order had degenerated to the plight of some cheap and outdated joke. In contrast, the Bank’s narrative is set in a comparatively macabre ambience where the teenagers play with guns and marijuana, little girls are exposed to sexual abuse and pornography, death and violence always lurk in the background and everything ultimately seems to come down to sex and money. ‘Rule of the Bone’ appears to be a bloody spoof on the traditional notion of American Dream where the world order is defined by a burgeoning middle class whose popular idea of success hovers around cars, dish washers and the Sunday mass. Chappie, the protagonist in ‘Rule of the Bone’, if one could call him a protagonist in the true sense of the word fits nowhere in this cozy world order. Infact the only way he manages to infiltrate this sophisticated world is by breaking into a rich family’s summer house, along with his friend Russ. However, the accompanying filth and grime that seems to be his fate soon come to settle around him even in such polished quarters. Banks nowhere in his novel makes a conscious or deliberate attempt to make his characters likeable or tries to coax out the unguarded sympathy of his readers for his characters (Kakutani 2). The escapades of a teenager, who has problems with drugs, who puts in with violent bikers who love to bludgeon homosexuals, who breaks trigger happy during fits of rage and frustration will certainly not make a good bed time story. Yet, the irony is that Banks never intends his book to be just another bed time story. On the contrary, ‘Rule of the Bone’ is a work of art that jolts the consciousness of its readers out of their cherished notions of what is acceptable or normal. Chappie’s story forces its readers to think and rethink their notions of decency. In ‘Rule of the Bone’, Banks has successfully managed to exploit the power of the narrative. The direct and the most obvious exercise of this power lie in Banks’ ability to bring in the sordid world of the slum to a white collard reader’s living room. This successfully creates a juxtaposition of the contrasts that is so typically fertile and stimulating. The reader is immaculately and tacitly introduced to and led into the world of a tramp that is Chappie, which in no way appears to be sane, affluent, moral, ordered or polished. This very juxtaposition of contrasts leads to many relevant and pressing questions. The white collared reader is forced to think whether the freedom is a luxury that is only available to the elites whose world obviously happens to be so moral, cozy, soft and organized? Is the promise of a future not viable for the denizens of the so called world of the slum? Does Chappie stop being a regular little boy with regular dreams and aspirations because of the grotesque and sordid realities of his life? Above all, is the possibility of emotional and psychological evolution open to a ragged and jagged personality like Chappie? The beauty of this work is that it not only raises such potent questions but also successfully manages to convincingly resolve them before the story ends, if it really ends. The underlying theme of this engrossing story is the protagonist’s quest for independence (Study World). By placing his main character that is Chappie in the most undesirable of situations and circumstances, the writer in fact desires to extend the implications of this theme to all his readers. If a character like Chappie can discover personal independence and space amidst his depressing and cramped circumstances, what can stop some other individual, placed in some other times and restrained by some other circumstances from doing the same? The plight of Chappie may not be every person’s plight but the hope personified by Chappie can certainly be shared and cherished by every person. The world of Chappie is a desolate suburban landscape marred by unemployment, despondency and frustration, a graveyard of premature dreams and festering morals. The entire drama unleashed in such a bleak scenario not only eclipses the possibility of independence for Chappie but in a way tries to redefine the reader’s traditional notions about independence. The slow but sustained evolution of Chappie from a dependent and impulsive teenager to an emotionally independent personality successfully delineates Bank’s concept of independence. What one seems to conclude after reading this novel is that personal independence is primarily about having the ability and the freedom to make the right choices. If somebody says that the readers like Chappie because of his dire circumstances, it would be being too simplistic and the writer never wanted the things to be that facile. Infact the readers like Chappie because of his knack for making the right choices and by doing so, each and every reader becomes an inheritor of the hope exuded by Chappie. The writer skillfully uses the ancient literary concept of journey, but with a peculiar and sinister twist to it that flawlessly blends into the overall mood of the narrative. Right from the dawn of Anglo-Saxon literature, there exists a tradition of errant knights in the English story telling (Daiches 9). However, unlike those noble knights of the yore backed by the tradition, established religion and political authority, who ventured into the realms of the dark in the search of man-eating monsters or the Holy Grail or to rescue some princess in distress, here we have a brutalized and deromanticized warrior of the twentieth century in the form of Chappie, wallowing his way through muck and filth to seek his destiny. Still, though our very contemporary protagonist is disrobed of all the accompanying romance and chivalry, there is no denying the fact that his tale is no less inspiring or enlightening. His personal quest for independence is no less exalted then the adventures of some knight in the shining armor. Death has been a recurrent theme in most of the literary and theological works, right from the biblical times. As per most of the established literary, theological and philosophical traditions, death is not merely a senseless ejection of some being into the bowls of some god forbidden black hole. Infact, according to the established English literary tradition, death carries with it a promise of redemption and resurrection. Banks has skillfully interwoven the recurring theme of death in his tale to highlight the possible resuscitation of our woebegone protagonist. Infact, the death turns out to be the common fate of most of the important characters in the story, whether it is the I-man, Froggy, Bruce or Willie the cat. The recurring and intermittent instances of death in ‘Rule of the Bone’ not only accentuate the brooding pessimism that envelopes the overall environment in the story, but also to the contrary, magnifies the personal sanity and initiative of Chappie that ultimately leads to his exceptional, unexpected and secular redemption and revival. ‘Rule of the Bone’ is characterized by a rich use of symbolism. The entire text is fraught with many symbols and symbolic events that carry a sense of reference beyond themselves (Abrams 311). Infact, Chappie’s decision to change his name to Bone is fraught with symbolic significance and elucidates the very theme of this novel (Daws 1). This act of conversion represents Chappie’s metamorphosis from a helpless 14 year old teenager to somebody who is gradually progressing on the road to personal independence. This phenomenon is later manifested by many of the decisions taken by Bone. At one stage in the novel, Froggy and Bone manage to fly away with Buster’s money. Though Bone initially appears to be happy and triumphant about laying his hands on that money, he soon develops an irresistible aversion for it when he finally realizes that it was perhaps earned by selling child pornography. Thus Buster’s ill begotten money becomes a symbol of the unjust social and economic dichotomy existing between the whites and the blacks in the American society (Daws 1). Infact that dirty money becomes a symbol of everything that Bone detests and abhors in his social setup. Similarly we come across many other objects like the Jah-Stick, the map of Jamaica, the paper clipping, the plane ticket that are interspersed throughout the text and are imbued with deep contextual meaning, literary relevance and narrative significance. Every thing said and done, there lies no doubt pertaining to the fact that the story of Chappie alludes to “two other youthful narrators” that is Holden Caulfield and Huck Finn (Kakutani 1). Yes, Banks has definitely tried to “capitalize” on these classics of American literature “to add resonance to his tale”, but the times and the climes in which the story of Chappie unravels itself are “light-years removed from those depicted by J.D.Salinger and Mark Twain (Kakutani 1)”. The story of Bone is infact a study into the murky side of American life rather then being a merely engrossing elucidation of the adventures of a happy go lucky lad. The other unique thing about Bank’s style is his panache for apt characterization. Almost all the characters seem to be minutely crafted with an eye for detail, so as to make them fit into the social milieu for which they were created and they flawlessly blend with the specific cultural background that they are made to represent. All the Banks’ characters in the ‘Rule of the Bone’ are generously endowed with specific moral, intellectual and emotional qualities that make them generously smack of the seedy temperament that they are expected to exude. This motley characterization on the part of Banks thoroughly creates the environment of an urban battlefield where each one is for himself. The much needed human touch to this grim tale is extended by the fact that though most of the characters in the narrative hale from the unscrupulous side of life, yet they do succeed in exhibiting the so vital emotional sensitivity and integrity when expected to do so. That makes this story so intensely human, believably realistic and pleasantly tolerable for a sophisticated and well informed reader. It would be totally justified to say that the ‘Rule of the Bone’ is an engrossingly interesting modern day story that keeps its readers hooked till the very last page. Every event and incident in the book is marked by a brooding sense of apprehension and one just cannot help frantically turning the pages to find out how the story unfolds. No matter how shattered or disorganized may seem the life of Chappie to a regular reader, the underlying fact is that the adventures he gets into and the spooky characters he comes across keep the reader entangled till the very end (MWP 1). Considering the Banks’ elaborate style and his knack for long drawn and winding passages, it will certainly require more then one reading to grasp the story (MWO 1). Works Cited Abrams, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. Singapore: Harcourt College Publishers, 2000 Daiches, David. A Critical History of English Literature. London: Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd., 2000 Daws, Lau. “Rule of the Bone: Symbolism”. BookStove. 25 January 2008. 30 July 2008. Kakutani, Michiko. “BOOKS OF THE TIMES; In the Footsteps of Huck and Holden.” The New York Times. 19 May 1995. 30 July 2008. MWP. “Rule of the Bone.” Gentleman’s Book Review. 10 January 2008. 30 July 2008. “Rule of the Bone”. Study World. 30 July 2008. Reports and Essays: Literature-Novels . 30 July 2008. Read More