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Subject: Percy-L: Literary, Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical Discussion on Walker Percy

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  • From: "RHONDA MCDONNELL" <rhonda_mcdonnell AT msn.com>
  • To: percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [percy-l] hurricane in Lancelot
  • Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2005 23:21:15 -0700

The thing about feeling good in bad situations seems predicated upon NOT being fatally injured, NOT losing people you love, NOT having your home crash down around you--in other words, it's that supercharged feeling that, in part, is the result of being thankful for being alive in a world newly charged with meaning because of the imminence of danger--but in Percy, Lancelot excepted, it's a danger that doesn't cause permanent damage--remember Binx in the MG with Sharon when they have the fender bender and all the malaise is swept away? Or Will and some girl in the hurricane (was it a hurricane?) when they take the child into the diner and feed him chicken soup and, in the end, everyone is okay? Sort of like the end of War of the Worlds . . .

--Rhonda

The best lack all convictions, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity. --
WB Yeats


From: dabeck AT iupui.edu
Reply-To: "Percy-L: Literary and Philosophical Discussion" <percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org>
To: "Percy-L: Literary and Philosophical Discussion" <percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [percy-l] hurricane in Lancelot
Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2005 20:21:53 -0500
>
>First, I want to applaud Henry, who has taken some undeserved shots, for
>trying to bring the list back to the literary/philosophical discussion for
>which it is intended. When those who disagree are labeled as Nazis and
>Klansmen, it's time to step in and bring some integrity (and maturity) back to
>the discussion. Maybe the tree needed to be pruned. Regardless, I appreciate
>his input (why can't members correspond with each other instead of the list? I
>carry on off-list conversations with several members of the list).
> But, since some want to discuss the hurricane, I thought I'd throw out this
>experience. In my fiction class, I have a "displaced" student from New
>Orleans, who, with her family, lost everything (she had two changes of clothes
>as of last week). She came to Indianapolis a few weeks ago, several weeks into
>the semester.
> Anyway, today I began my lecture on Percy and, in particular, Lancelot. It
>wasn't until I was into my spiel on Percy's "hurricane syndrome" that I
>realized I had just (possibly) stepped into a mess. I wasn't sure if I could
>convey the anticipation, the rush, the break from everydayness, without
>seeming pretty shallow (in her eyes anyway). She is pretty shy, so I didn't
>want to "push" her to respond, but I was interested in hearing her take on it.
>But last week, when she came to my office to get "caught up," we talked
>briefly about her situation. She said that they couldn't return, and so she
>didn't know the extent of damage to her home; she did say, however, that the
>area in which she lived was hit hard and not much was left standing (based on
>news reports). But she started to get choked up, so I backed off.
> She is way behind in class work, and I don't think she has been able to buy
>the books (I'm meeting with her tomorrow to work something out). Still, I
>wonder how she will see the whole hurricane effect and the hurricane in
>Lancelot.
> Any suggestions?
>-David
>
>
>--
>An archive of all list discussion is available at https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/percy-l/
>
>Visit the Walker Percy Project at http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy



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