Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Sandman
This was an interesting one. There seemed to be a lot going on here, from the assembly warning the kids about stranger danger to Ms. Hempel's two girlfriends to her fiance and their sexual incompatibility to the field trip and Jonathan Hamish's sand burial. What do you think was the connection between these things?
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One thread that ran through much of it was the difficulty she sometimes finds asserting herself.
This story was filled with tension, and a lot of things in it made me uncomfortable -- much more than anything in the first two. That's a good thing -- the variety of feelings evoked by these stories is amazing.
Yeah, this story is very dense. There are also the anecdotes about her father, including his worrisome trip. Not exactly sure how it all fits together.
Why does she feel such an affinity for Jonathan? Because he's so vulnerable beneath his trouble-making bravado? Because there's a certain romance about him? Remember how his use of the word "lover" in the sex questions impressed her? I also found the scene touching because he asks a question that displays interest in the feelings of one's sex partner rather than in oneself, which seems pretty damn remarkable in an adolescent boy. By contrast, Ms. Hempel's own adult lover, who she claims is the best she's ever had (do you believe her?), seems maybe more interested in his own sexual agenda than in her comfort.
Jonathan at the beach is the literal "Sandman" in the story, but how can one hear that word without also thinking of the plea for rest and dreams? And the popular song, of course, which is maybe more apt and which we perhaps understand Ms. Hempel to be silently singing throughout. "Make him the cutest that I've ever seen," i.e., the REAL best lover that I've ever had. (I just looked up all the lyrics to "Mister Sandman" and found this less familiar line: "Give him a lonely heart like pagliacci." Funny. Pagliacci is a clown! Though let's hope not a sodomizing clown. Speaking of sodomy, though, the next line in the song is about Liberace. Hehe)
I was struck by the sexual nature of Jonathan's imprisonment in the sand. How the boys formed breasts and genitals (at his behest). They sort of feminized him (they couldn't get the penis right — it was a flop) and then abandoned him. And there was no audience left for him to display his manliness to (his strength in freeing himself from the sand) except Ms. Hempel. The suffering and humiliation that he invited on himself — to make his escape look all the more bold — has no opportunity for redemption.
And Ms. Hempel's mad dash to prevent Amit from appearing in public with the underwear on his head seems related somehow. There's an element of sexual humiliation, the fear and pity of a male being seen in an unmanly and foolish light.
Yes, very interesting ideas. Nice ties to the "Sandman" song.
I also noticed how Ms. Hempel seems to feel obligated to live up to a certain image she's created for herself, like she's the cool, young teacher so she can't intervene in the boys' ill-advised activities even when her gut tells her she should. And she can't tell her fiance that his sexual preferences make her uncomfortable because she still wants to live up to her high school self with the nose ring and punk attitude.
I think you're right about Jonathan. She feels a tenderness toward him because she sees through his tough-guy act and knows he has an emotional depth. The "lover" question certainly does seem remarkable for an adolescent boy. (And no, I don't believe Ms. Hempel's fiance is the best she's ever had. I think that was just a tidy answer to the question.)
Yeah, good point. I agree that the disparity between who she really is and how she wants to see herself or to be seen by others is important to the story — and, really, to every story in the collection.
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