Post by Jeff on Mar 26, 2019 9:06:48 GMT -5
First Grade is a misnomer in a literal sense as Fenn’s time as a first grader is apparently only discussed in the first sentence of the chapter. If we view his TTOTC memoir as a sort of coming-of-age novel wherein his growth and search for answers to life’s great questions is finally achieved in the aptly named My War for Me chapter, then this first chapter’s title may refer not so much to a literal “first grade” of school but rather to the beginning of his life education. As we have seen in the introductory materials and will see going forward, this education is not traditional schooling, but rather a practical, experiential learning about the world: “Savvy 101 and Street Smarts 102,” as Fenn describes it in Jump-Starting the Learning Curve.
Names feature prominently in First Grade. Names, as a representation of a person, is a theme that returns elsewhere in TTOTC. The idea is introduced in the preceding Important Literature, is a the fore in Stout-hearted Men, and reaches its conclusion in My War for Me, when Fenn rhetorically asks: “the name may be remembered if it is written, but what of the person?” A name, that representation of the self, is at best a superficial and incomplete descriptor of a complex underlying person. While we may remember the name “Forrest Fenn” after his death, this name alone will not capture his essence; however, our memories of him or, more permanently, his memoir or autobiography, will provide a much more complete characterization of the man named “Forrest Fenn.” We may now also ponder whether the misnomer that is the chapter's title is related to these ideas.
As the school principal, Fenn’s father had a parking spot and sign with his name on it, which was “a really big deal.” This is on the one hand an appropriate image, as a name is simply a sign, or representation, of a person; however, although it lends a degree of permanence, in the end it is simply the name that is remembered, not the person. Allegedly because of this sign, a fellow student, “John Charles whatever,” intimidated Fenn by waving an olive jar at him. That this student’s name is followed by “whatever” is significant; it discounts him, particularly in comparison to Fenn’s father, by depriving him of that representation of his being--perhaps he is reverting to the “leftovers of history,” doomed to be forgotten.
Other names, or rather better framed as name calling, found in this chapter: John Charles’ mom ironically calls her son a “son-of-a-bitch,” Fenn’s father calls Ora Mae an “old lunch-bucket woman,” Ora Mae calls Fenn’s father a “cheap, one pony show,” and the Ora Mae smokes cigarettes with “no name” on them. A name, that powerful symbol of the self, is not always a “really big deal” but can have a disparaging or malicious intent.
In Jump-Starting the Learning Curve Fenn remarks that “no matter what I lacked or lost, bad grades and all, they couldn’t take away my name.” This is a reflection that all he has at this point in his young life is his name. In these initial chapters, the young Fenn is just beginning his journey through the world--perhaps the point is that his experiences are transforming him from simply a name into a complex, unique person.
Names feature prominently in First Grade. Names, as a representation of a person, is a theme that returns elsewhere in TTOTC. The idea is introduced in the preceding Important Literature, is a the fore in Stout-hearted Men, and reaches its conclusion in My War for Me, when Fenn rhetorically asks: “the name may be remembered if it is written, but what of the person?” A name, that representation of the self, is at best a superficial and incomplete descriptor of a complex underlying person. While we may remember the name “Forrest Fenn” after his death, this name alone will not capture his essence; however, our memories of him or, more permanently, his memoir or autobiography, will provide a much more complete characterization of the man named “Forrest Fenn.” We may now also ponder whether the misnomer that is the chapter's title is related to these ideas.
As the school principal, Fenn’s father had a parking spot and sign with his name on it, which was “a really big deal.” This is on the one hand an appropriate image, as a name is simply a sign, or representation, of a person; however, although it lends a degree of permanence, in the end it is simply the name that is remembered, not the person. Allegedly because of this sign, a fellow student, “John Charles whatever,” intimidated Fenn by waving an olive jar at him. That this student’s name is followed by “whatever” is significant; it discounts him, particularly in comparison to Fenn’s father, by depriving him of that representation of his being--perhaps he is reverting to the “leftovers of history,” doomed to be forgotten.
Other names, or rather better framed as name calling, found in this chapter: John Charles’ mom ironically calls her son a “son-of-a-bitch,” Fenn’s father calls Ora Mae an “old lunch-bucket woman,” Ora Mae calls Fenn’s father a “cheap, one pony show,” and the Ora Mae smokes cigarettes with “no name” on them. A name, that powerful symbol of the self, is not always a “really big deal” but can have a disparaging or malicious intent.
In Jump-Starting the Learning Curve Fenn remarks that “no matter what I lacked or lost, bad grades and all, they couldn’t take away my name.” This is a reflection that all he has at this point in his young life is his name. In these initial chapters, the young Fenn is just beginning his journey through the world--perhaps the point is that his experiences are transforming him from simply a name into a complex, unique person.
Can we try to infuse meaning into the otherwise odd John Charles story--about this incident Fenn provides an aside, “what was that about?” Thank you for astutely pointing that out, I was going to ask--“what was that about?” Although perhaps not the most satisfying explanation, perhaps this olive jar, although seemingly described as containing olives in the story, represents a challenge for the relatively unformed Fenn to fill up his “jar”--to make a name for himself, just as his father has done by virtue of that sign, by engaging in the world. The elements of his life--the stories in his memoir or perhaps even that “20,000 word autobiography” which is placed in a “small glass jar” in Gold and More--that makes him uniquely himself will be placed one by one, like olives, into this jar. Entirely unlikely, we may momentarily entertain the absurdity that “olive” is a poor holorime for “life” or “whole life” (I did say it was an absurd idea...).
Well, there it is, my initial take on the first "real" chapter in TTOTC, without any particular aim to understand the poem puzzle. It's certainly not one of my favorite chapters--the diction is almost painfully simplistic--but at least it's mercifully short.