CLOSE ANALYSIS 2 BOOK1 CH VII P.24-26

I. Childhood vs. Adulthood: a rite of passage

1. Sexual awakening
a) The symbolic meaning of the snake and the hole Jim and Antonia re examining are the male and female sex organs. A sexual awakening.

b) - Jim desire to prove himself as a man and not a boy. (l.3 p.24) “I was a boy and she was a girl, and I resented her protecting manner”. - Jim’s crouching position as if he were involved in a sexual relationship (l.3 p.25) “I was walking backwards, in a crouching position, when I heard Antonia scream”. The position of the snake lying in the form of a W which could represent the work Woman (l.8 p.25) When I turned he was lying in long loose waves, like a letter “W”. - The virility of a man (l.11) “His abominable muscularity, his loathsome, fluid motion”.

2. Trying to assert one’s masculinity
a) The elements testifying that Jim asserts himself as a man are; he drives the spade at the snake’s head several times until its head is flat. At the end of this event, when he realises what has happened and realises Antonia’s praise, he begins to think that he has longed for this opportunity to receive praise from Antonia. He continues to assert himself as a man by measuring the length of the snake and counting the rattles to prove its age and again impress Antonia. He allows Antonia to ride home on Dude while he walks behind her, dragging his trophy, as a man.

Jim hailed with joy Antonia’s admiration and longed for this opportunity but he pulls away when she tries to show affection by trying to wipe his face with a handkerchief, he snatched it from her hand.

b) He is still like a child because the size of the snake and its fluid motion made him sick like a scared child. (l.11-12) “His abominable muscularity, his loathsome, fluid motion, somehow made me sick”. (l.22) “I walked away and turned my back. I felt seasick.” He then turned around a yelled at Antonia for having warned him in Bohunk