In Last Year's Jesus we follow the journey of a young girl as she watches a Passion Play set in the streets of Hamtramck, a Polish community near Detroit. We are given the events from her perspective which allows for in depth character knowledge. However, the reader may find themselves picking up on information about the girl, Theresa, from her comments that she herself does not realize.
From the very beginning we are presented with details of the Passion Play that indicate it is a poorly done imitation of the Passion of Christ.
Mary should have been weeping at the fate of her son, but instead she scowled, preoccupied with keeping her blue pillowcase veil from blowing off her head. Simon wore thick wool socks inside his sandals. How loyal was that? A dozen other Israelite mourners, men and women hugging their arms in the cold, followed a troop of Roman foot soldiers who cracked whips of frayed rope at Jesus's feet and back, urging him to get a move on.The sham Passion Play is reflective of many other shams occuring in Theresa's life, inclusive of her Grandmother's beliefs about religion, the way she acts around different groups of people, and the relationship she believes she has with last year's Jesus.
Perhaps the most important character in the story is the nun, who is portrayed as a generally rude and obnoxious woman throughout the story. At the very end, this nun facilitates the revelation Theresa experiences. While Theresa is upset about her realization that she was delusional about last year's Jesus, the nun, "patted my shoulder with a touch more genuine than any I'd felt in months." The girl wants to find something real in her life, and it is found in a very unexpected place.
The final lines also reflect this search for a true God amidst all the false actions of people.
Jesus on the cross cried out again, this time as scripted, "Father forgive them, they know not what they do." As he finished his lament, a shaft of sunlight broke through the leaded sky, and everyone bowed to its glare.The timing of the sunshine is not something that was within human control and breakse the feeling of the scripted lines, said out of memory rather than feeling.
Tomato Watch
Tomato Watch was strongly focused on personal relationships. At it's center is a young woman named Lucy and her elderly grandfather, who she cares for throughout the story. Her grandfather is a senile 96 year old Polish immigrant who speaks very little English and has trouble functioning on his own.
The first event which demonstrates the growth of their relationship is the planting of tomatoes together in the front yard. These tomatoes act as a metaphor, for as they grow throughout the summer so does the bond between Lucy and her grandfather. They communicate through actions rather than conversations, and rarely speak to each other because of the language barrier.
During this metaphorical growth, a rather literal growth occurs. Lucy is pregnant and the father is her ex-boss with whom she was having an affair. Lucy does not believe she has the means to care for a child and considers an abortion. However, as the reader we can see that she is a good caregiver. She looks after her grandfather all summer and is capable of great protection and love.
The final scene contains the revelation for Lucy, in which she finally realizes what she wants out of life. Here, the tomato takes on yet another symbolic meaning. At the very end the tomato is ripe and has been picked, just as Lucy has allowed a decision to ripen in her mind.
Connections
In both stories we are faced with a female protagonist who must come to realization about herself. There are references to a Catholic way of living in each. In Last Year's Jesus we are literally taken through the journey of the girl through a Catholic tradition, a Passion Play. In the second story the grandfather is very religious and Lucy takes him to church. Also, Lucy finds her way through a connection with her grandfather, alluding to the sense of community Catholics utilize to become closer to God.
Interestingly, both stories also contrast modern characters with their elderly family members. These elderly characters help show the contrast between old ways of thinking and those that are more modern.
I like the connection you made between the two stories regarding Slezak's comparison of old and new ways of thinking. I think you could even take that a step further and claim she is comparing the modern and traditional Catholic. As you pointed out, she uses very specific characters to demonstrate the disconnect between the older, conservative, traditional Catholic generation and a modern, progressive, sort of confused young woman. Yet despite this disconnect, both of these stories illustrate an unexpected revelation or understanding brought on by this older, once dismissed or even repudiated presence.
ReplyDeleteBethlyn, I really enjoyed your interpretation and connections between Lucy and her Grandfather, and Lucy and the garden, with the focus on a metaphor of growth when comparing the situations. I also think, a third relationship is present, one between Lucy and her unborn child. Like you said, as she realizes her capacity to be a successful caregiver for her grandfather and for his garden, she starts to have faith that she can raise her child and begins to also develop a relationship with him/her in a similar way that she does with her grandfather. At the end, when the tomato is ripe, so is her growing child, as he/she now has a sure chance to live and grow in a life with his/her mother.
ReplyDeleteI found "Last Year's Jesus" to be a rather interesting short story. As a South East Michigan native, I appreciated the local setting and references. The local setting helped me to relate to events taking place in the story. Although Theresa is at a religious event, she has many desires and thoughts that I would not consider appropriate for the situation. I enjoyed Theresa change in opinion of the Nun. I think this is an example of the power of the church to offer new meaning in people's lives. The "Moviegoer" reminded me of this short story. Both protagonists are searching for something more.
ReplyDeleteI really like the description here about "Last Year's Jesus" and I, too, found it to be a pretty interesting story. I found myself feeling bad for Theresa throughout the story, almost as if I wanted to jump in and give her advice. The connection you (Bethlyn) drew between the relationship between the nun and Theresa was great. I definitely think that the nun was the most important character here, as she showed how you cannot always draw conclusions about people right away, and especially not based on physical qualities. The nun was perceived as the "bad guy" from the beginning, but surprisingly turned out to be the most genuine person there, or at least the most genuine person to Theresa. This can also be related to the idea of a sacramental imagination: despite how awful things may seem and how horrible you may think your life is: God is there. Perhaps the nun here symbolizes God- she seems to be only making things worse but if you look a little deeper and give her a chance to show you, she is actually there in a much more positive light.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed both of these short stories myself. This may be due to a bit of a bias, also being a Polish Catholic from Southeast Michigan who can identify with the generational gaps shown in both stories. I connected with her characters in both stories, from quite literally having the Stony Creek park mentioned in "Tomato Watch" in my backyard to having a bit of a generational gap with my Polish Catholic grandparents. My connection with Lucy and her grandfather's relationship in "Tomato Watch" is perhaps the most important, however. My own grandpa had Alzheimer's disease and though I did not directly take care of him, I grew up watching his health decline. It began with him asking my siblings and I if we needed something to drink every 5 minutes, progressed to him no longer being able to call his own children by name, and began to end as he could no longer eat because of his inability to control his chewing and swallowing. This connection I share with both Lucy and her grandfather as they experience this memory loss themselves allows me to bring out the Catholic understanding of the world so present in this short story. Lucy, formerly with little connection to her grandfather and little care for her developing child, grows in her relationship with her grandfather, allowing her to also grow as a person. She comes to realize she can take care of another human being and that she can be a good mother to her developing child. This growth gives light to a Catholic understanding of the world through the care we can have for each other - how we can build each other up to reach our potentials and to reach God.
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