So this story definitely has a strange dream-like quality to it. Cecelia is obviously uncomfortable due to the city being made up of nothing but churches, and not being very religious herself. Worse yet, she seems to have a job with no prospect for business. For a while I thought that this city seemed too odd to be an actual place. However, Cecelia mentions how she can will her dreams in any direction that she wants, which makes me think that she is trapped in a nightmare.
This point is reinforced by the real estate agent, Mr. Phillips, attempts to keep Cecilia in the town. He goes so far as to hold her arm as he tries to drag her away. By the time these things happen, the story lost me, and seemed to take on a complete twist ending. The "Wait and See" at the end seemed to also suggest that this City is not a real place, but a figment of Cecilia's subconscious.
Okay so this story had an incredibly creepy vibe to it and yet I was still left in the dark about what was actually happening throughout the story. I definitely think that this story is a representation culture, specifically the typical American culture because looking at it from a certain view point, so much of everyday life is just like everyone else. I think how Cecelia enters the story with her dreams represents how those special things about people are what makes us different although in the broader spectrum we are so strangely similar. I also did some research about the story and found that it might be referencing the Soviet Union. The city being made up of churches represents the communist ideas about the Soviet Union. I didn’t extract that meaning so this is something that can be expanded on in class. Also I feel that the lack of faith in this story is very important because it’s not what religion is supposed to represent at all. I do feel that for some people this is all they know of religion and that is similar to all they know about certain parts of life. Some people and even more people then what makes up that tiny little town live in this kind of closed world. Maybe it’s trying to say something about all of us or maybe not.
This story was about religion (duh). Cecelia talks about her dreams, while the Realtor was only concerned that she fit into society, and that their society was complete. Barthelme is speaking on the homogeneous and structured, but ultimate bland and unfulfilling nature of religion today, and its effect on society. I was not thrilled with this story, as I am not fond with being hit in the head repeatedly with symbols.
I thought Autumn made a good point when she said that while there is an outward appearance of great zeal for religion, there is no actual reference to God, or worship services. I think that this is representative of the religious culture today, as we hear much about a person's idea of religion, but really we have no way of knowing if they really believe in it or not.
I really enjoyed the creepy vibe Barthelme had going with this story. I'm loathe to reduce the emptiness of the City to an allegorical reading about the Soviet Union because I think a wider statement about faith and organized religion is being made at the same time. While an analysis of how the story relates to the Soviets is certainly applicable, I'm not sure if it's the interpretation I'm happiest with. Of course, that could just be personal bias.
There's definitely something being said here about organized religion, as easy a leap as that may be with the prevalence of the churches within the story and all. It seems to speak to the uselessness of organization without a faithful community. While the churches make a statement, without anyone to fill them they're just useless shells.
I agree with what Autumn said. The fact that her research told her that it was about communist ideals is very interesting. Everyone falls in line with the system - "That's the usual pattern." says Mr. Phillips.
I also liked what Kyle said though about it being a big dream sequence. That makes sense. When she leaves the church, some guy yells from across the street "Everyone in this town already has a car! There is no one in this town who doesn't have a car!" That line tells me this must be a dream.
Perhaps your two points can be combined. Cecilia is having a nightmare that is metaphorical to her life in the communistic Soviet Union. "I'll dream," she said. "Things you won't like." Her dreams are her only escape from communism, but not anymore as Mr. Phillips grabs her arm and won't let her go.
I extremely enjoyed the eerie nature of this story. I think that the city of churches was kind of using the metaphor that people subscribe to a religion, but belief in it is meaningless. Oftentimes people are influenced to become a part of a religion, either from parental belief instilled during their childhood or the desire to assimilate and be converted or pressure from a lover/fiance since many churches do not accept interdenominational relationships. This is is shown in the story when Mr. Phillips insists that it is unnatural for Cecilia to live alone.
The fact that people did not need to leave the city was reminiscent of the way that people are converted or baptized into a religion, esp. Christianity, and just "stay in it", claiming to be whatever faith they are whether they believe in it or their church is merely just a "barbershop" or a social scene. Mr. Phillips trying to force Cecilia to stay is like how many insist their religion is the most true and do their best to convert you, despite your beliefs. Whether Cecilia was an atheist or just an agnostic, she was different and held power because she could think for herself and not merely follow along like all the other residents of the town.
Barthelme definitely brings a surreal and absurdist tone to this story. The religious theme is apparent from the beginning and builds throughout the story, becoming cultish and creepy. The way that the people live inside the churches and do business there gives an impression of sacrilege. The three bells were a nice touch as well, they seemed to symbolize the harm that religion can bring about sometimes. This seems like another purely allegorical short story, where every little detail down to the very last crumb means something.
I'm intrigued by what other people are thinking about the story's connection to Communism and Soviet Russia. It could be about that, but from reading the intro on Barthelme I'm inclined to disagree. Barthelme doesn't seem like the person to tie down his metaphor to one isolated time period. I'd rather see it as a story about religious belief, or communal thought.
I was certainly left with an uneasy feeling after reading this short-short story, especially because of the way that strange Mr. Phillips continuously spoke in seemingly robotic styles (and it didn't help that he kept grabbing Cecelia's arm and telling her that she was theirs). The fact that this story was about a city strictly containing churches and what seems to be the perfect world, a utopia..and to quote the ol’ Puritan leader, John Winthrop, they were as a “city upon a hill”. And, if you ask me, that is exactly what they were going for, considering their entire civilization seemed to have a complete structuring to the point of perfection. I’m in complete agreement with Fio, I felt strong Communist vibes from this story, and as others have stated, when Cecilia claimed that she would escape their control through her dreams and the insides of her mind (places no control can ever reach), she found her strength to rebel. The used car rental seems to be exist as a strange symbol, I haven’t been able to completely stick with any single theory, but my guess is that the transient, temporary need of a car rental is similar to Cecilia’s beliefs in the church system, that she will likely desire to just rent a spot in the system, but eventually move out.
I feel that this is the story of a dream. It's an unrealistic world that can change directions quickly, and Cecilia seems to have an unspoken power in the story that we don't know about. She threatens to dream the "Secret". This is not to say that the dream has no meaning. I found the dream to be a statement about religion today. Every church in the City of Churches has other things as a part of it - car rental businesses, post offices, barbershops, etc. They also have apartments - nice places, cheap places, single rooms, places with roomates. And as we are walked through Cecilia's process of finding a place to live, the actual name or religion of the church is almost completely irrelevant. What she picks on is which is the easiest for her to live in. To me, this speaks about religion in today's world. People choose a religion based on convenience, not true deeply held beliefs. And just like Cecilia tries to find a church to live in, many people today choose a religion based on how easy it will be for them to be a part of it.
Ok, I completely agree with the creepy vibe that everyone has talked about. I kind of felt she was in her own sort of forced reality instead of a dream because of when it says she is able to will her dreams into any direction that she wants, I feel as if she wants to be in that city and is kind of forcing her will rather than having a dream. I felt the story to be a little bland in a lot of ways, especially with the religion part because I know there are a lot of churches so a lot of the story has to do with religion and how Cecilia fits in with the society. That comes up with the real estate agent when he is trying to get her to stay in the town. I agree with Brian and what he said about religion in society because we really don’t know if anyone believes in their religion or not, I mean people now hide things very well and it is sometimes very hard to know what people are thinking, especially about religion.
So this story definitely has a strange dream-like quality to it. Cecelia is obviously uncomfortable due to the city being made up of nothing but churches, and not being very religious herself. Worse yet, she seems to have a job with no prospect for business. For a while I thought that this city seemed too odd to be an actual place. However, Cecelia mentions how she can will her dreams in any direction that she wants, which makes me think that she is trapped in a nightmare.
ReplyDeleteThis point is reinforced by the real estate agent, Mr. Phillips, attempts to keep Cecilia in the town. He goes so far as to hold her arm as he tries to drag her away. By the time these things happen, the story lost me, and seemed to take on a complete twist ending. The "Wait and See" at the end seemed to also suggest that this City is not a real place, but a figment of Cecilia's subconscious.
Okay so this story had an incredibly creepy vibe to it and yet I was still left in the dark about what was actually happening throughout the story. I definitely think that this story is a representation culture, specifically the typical American culture because looking at it from a certain view point, so much of everyday life is just like everyone else. I think how Cecelia enters the story with her dreams represents how those special things about people are what makes us different although in the broader spectrum we are so strangely similar.
ReplyDeleteI also did some research about the story and found that it might be referencing the Soviet Union. The city being made up of churches represents the communist ideas about the Soviet Union. I didn’t extract that meaning so this is something that can be expanded on in class. Also I feel that the lack of faith in this story is very important because it’s not what religion is supposed to represent at all. I do feel that for some people this is all they know of religion and that is similar to all they know about certain parts of life. Some people and even more people then what makes up that tiny little town live in this kind of closed world. Maybe it’s trying to say something about all of us or maybe not.
This story was about religion (duh). Cecelia talks about her dreams, while the Realtor was only concerned that she fit into society, and that their society was complete. Barthelme is speaking on the homogeneous and structured, but ultimate bland and unfulfilling nature of religion today, and its effect on society. I was not thrilled with this story, as I am not fond with being hit in the head repeatedly with symbols.
ReplyDeleteI thought Autumn made a good point when she said that while there is an outward appearance of great zeal for religion, there is no actual reference to God, or worship services. I think that this is representative of the religious culture today, as we hear much about a person's idea of religion, but really we have no way of knowing if they really believe in it or not.
I really enjoyed the creepy vibe Barthelme had going with this story. I'm loathe to reduce the emptiness of the City to an allegorical reading about the Soviet Union because I think a wider statement about faith and organized religion is being made at the same time. While an analysis of how the story relates to the Soviets is certainly applicable, I'm not sure if it's the interpretation I'm happiest with. Of course, that could just be personal bias.
ReplyDeleteThere's definitely something being said here about organized religion, as easy a leap as that may be with the prevalence of the churches within the story and all. It seems to speak to the uselessness of organization without a faithful community. While the churches make a statement, without anyone to fill them they're just useless shells.
I agree with what Autumn said. The fact that her research told her that it was about communist ideals is very interesting. Everyone falls in line with the system - "That's the usual pattern." says Mr. Phillips.
ReplyDeleteI also liked what Kyle said though about it being a big dream sequence. That makes sense. When she leaves the church, some guy yells from across the street "Everyone in this town already has a car! There is no one in this town who doesn't have a car!" That line tells me this must be a dream.
Perhaps your two points can be combined. Cecilia is having a nightmare that is metaphorical to her life in the communistic Soviet Union. "I'll dream," she said. "Things you won't like." Her dreams are her only escape from communism, but not anymore as Mr. Phillips grabs her arm and won't let her go.
I may have gone too far...
I extremely enjoyed the eerie nature of this story. I think that the city of churches was kind of using the metaphor that people subscribe to a religion, but belief in it is meaningless. Oftentimes people are influenced to become a part of a religion, either from parental belief instilled during their childhood or the desire to assimilate and be converted or pressure from a lover/fiance since many churches do not accept interdenominational relationships. This is is shown in the story when Mr. Phillips insists that it is unnatural for Cecilia to live alone.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that people did not need to leave the city was reminiscent of the way that people are converted or baptized into a religion, esp. Christianity, and just "stay in it", claiming to be whatever faith they are whether they believe in it or their church is merely just a "barbershop" or a social scene. Mr. Phillips trying to force Cecilia to stay is like how many insist their religion is the most true and do their best to convert you, despite your beliefs. Whether Cecilia was an atheist or just an agnostic, she was different and held power because she could think for herself and not merely follow along like all the other residents of the town.
Barthelme definitely brings a surreal and absurdist tone to this story. The religious theme is apparent from the beginning and builds throughout the story, becoming cultish and creepy. The way that the people live inside the churches and do business there gives an impression of sacrilege. The three bells were a nice touch as well, they seemed to symbolize the harm that religion can bring about sometimes. This seems like another purely allegorical short story, where every little detail down to the very last crumb means something.
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued by what other people are thinking about the story's connection to Communism and Soviet Russia. It could be about that, but from reading the intro on Barthelme I'm inclined to disagree. Barthelme doesn't seem like the person to tie down his metaphor to one isolated time period. I'd rather see it as a story about religious belief, or communal thought.
I was certainly left with an uneasy feeling after reading this short-short story, especially because of the way that strange Mr. Phillips continuously spoke in seemingly robotic styles (and it didn't help that he kept grabbing Cecelia's arm and telling her that she was theirs). The fact that this story was about a city strictly containing churches and what seems to be the perfect world, a utopia..and to quote the ol’ Puritan leader, John Winthrop, they were as a “city upon a hill”. And, if you ask me, that is exactly what they were going for, considering their entire civilization seemed to have a complete structuring to the point of perfection.
ReplyDeleteI’m in complete agreement with Fio, I felt strong Communist vibes from this story, and as others have stated, when Cecilia claimed that she would escape their control through her dreams and the insides of her mind (places no control can ever reach), she found her strength to rebel. The used car rental seems to be exist as a strange symbol, I haven’t been able to completely stick with any single theory, but my guess is that the transient, temporary need of a car rental is similar to Cecilia’s beliefs in the church system, that she will likely desire to just rent a spot in the system, but eventually move out.
I feel that this is the story of a dream. It's an unrealistic world that can change directions quickly, and Cecilia seems to have an unspoken power in the story that we don't know about. She threatens to dream the "Secret".
ReplyDeleteThis is not to say that the dream has no meaning. I found the dream to be a statement about religion today. Every church in the City of Churches has other things as a part of it - car rental businesses, post offices, barbershops, etc. They also have apartments - nice places, cheap places, single rooms, places with roomates. And as we are walked through Cecilia's process of finding a place to live, the actual name or religion of the church is almost completely irrelevant. What she picks on is which is the easiest for her to live in.
To me, this speaks about religion in today's world. People choose a religion based on convenience, not true deeply held beliefs. And just like Cecilia tries to find a church to live in, many people today choose a religion based on how easy it will be for them to be a part of it.
Ok, I completely agree with the creepy vibe that everyone has talked about. I kind of felt she was in her own sort of forced reality instead of a dream because of when it says she is able to will her dreams into any direction that she wants, I feel as if she wants to be in that city and is kind of forcing her will rather than having a dream.
ReplyDeleteI felt the story to be a little bland in a lot of ways, especially with the religion part because I know there are a lot of churches so a lot of the story has to do with religion and how Cecilia fits in with the society. That comes up with the real estate agent when he is trying to get her to stay in the town.
I agree with Brian and what he said about religion in society because we really don’t know if anyone believes in their religion or not, I mean people now hide things very well and it is sometimes very hard to know what people are thinking, especially about religion.