When asked to write about the idea that the previously reviewed piece, Tuscaloosa Knights, was a plagiarized version of Tuscaloosa Nights, I was excited, thinking there might be some lines verbatim that would send the previous piece into humorous submission. However, it's hard for me to say that this is a plagiarized piece.
Take an event that seems catastrophic, such as the September 11th tragedies. The film Loose Changes tries to justify their argument of the twin towers being demolished by internal bombs, asking several New Yorkers what happened and their reply being something along the lines of "It was like someone was blowing up the building." Yeah, it's funny how psychology works. Just because word of mouth travels and people repeat what they heard doesn't make it true.
Two people watching the Klan do their thing by the river would probably describe the act in a similar way. Chances are, they might even use the same analogies. Hell, they might even be witnessing the event close to one another and would have the same perspective of the event. A flaming cross and men dressed in white sheets can only be seen so different from two people.
In Tuscaloosa Nights, we are given a much more in depth look at Southern culture than we are in Tuscaloosa Knights. We are told about what the Klan wants and doesn't want, and doesn't understand or acknowledge, giving them more of an immature and ignorant appeal than in Tuscaloosa Knights. That's not to say the Klan of Knights appear to be an intelligent group, but in Nights Howe proposes questions that elude to a better background for the piece.
I can't say that Knights is plagiarized, considering the perspectives we are given from the speaker. There is less of a focus on the Klan and southern culture than there is on the affair depicted within. Nights focuses on the South and the Klan in a college town, less internal dynamics and more on the topic at hand.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Tuscaloosa Nights... the real version... still not great
Okay, I know that this story is the original to the one we’ve already read and still my reaction is the same. I wasn’t overly impressed with this story. However, I do like the contrasts one can make between Carmer’s version and the plagiarized version. Carmer’s version, we’ll call it the ‘real one,’ gives a lot more detail to the Tuscaloosa area and strives to maintain that picture throughout out the story. I do wish the story would have helped define the time frame of the story. We know from the Ku Klux Klan scene what era this story takes place, but I would like to have seen the era through description – both of buildings, of the University, ect. For some reason, all I kept seeing was a modernized version of Tuscaloosa and the University – not a 1930s – 60s version.
I did like how the real one added more characters and gave those characters depth, unlike the last story we read. Yet I can’t help but want more descriptions of the University, since it is such a staple to the Tuscaloosa area. In comparison to the other story, I thought the plagiarism would occur ‘word for word’ like I have been taught it should. Instead, the plagiarism arrived as different ideas and scenes that each author made their own, for example the cross burning scene and the scene with Lula in the moonlight. I can see why the other story might be justified as plagiarism but I wouldn’t necessarily consider it plagiarism. Too me, both stories present similar ideas and scenes but in different contexts.
After reading this, I’m curious as to the rest of the novel. What other places in Alabama are feature in the book?
I did like how the real one added more characters and gave those characters depth, unlike the last story we read. Yet I can’t help but want more descriptions of the University, since it is such a staple to the Tuscaloosa area. In comparison to the other story, I thought the plagiarism would occur ‘word for word’ like I have been taught it should. Instead, the plagiarism arrived as different ideas and scenes that each author made their own, for example the cross burning scene and the scene with Lula in the moonlight. I can see why the other story might be justified as plagiarism but I wouldn’t necessarily consider it plagiarism. Too me, both stories present similar ideas and scenes but in different contexts.
After reading this, I’m curious as to the rest of the novel. What other places in Alabama are feature in the book?
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Tuscaloosa Knights
I rather enjoyed this piece. I thought that it was well written even if it was plagirized. I thought that the characters were well-developed. I didn't neccessarily like the section implying that Bear was a member of the Klan, ofcourse. I am an Alabama fan and don't like hearing any implications that one of our heroes was involved in horrible cults like the KKK. However, this piece had enough focus on the characters to not fully take over the story. I mean the back story about the KKK was not the focus and I really liked that. I also like the how the action and dialogue flowed. It seemed really natural. This piece had enough tension to keep the reader's attention while not hitting you over the head with it.
I really appreciate how the author represented Alabama fans and Tuscaloosa in general. Though there was some obvious bias I think that there was plenty of truth in it as well. Though I have never found a hairdresser that proceeded to argue about what I wanted. Anyways, I like this piece a lot better.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Tuscaloosa Knights Review
“Tuscaloosa Knights” was a story that left me both intrigued and summarily let down, but by no means was a “bad story.” Its strengths lie in its tone; several times I caught myself conjuring up the spirit of Tennessee Williams and “A Streetcar Named Desire” which, for me, was a wonderful thing. The gruff and callous Pinion could have easily been a wealthier Stanley, and Marla could be either of Williams’ leading ladies, though her supposed innocence seemed more in line with Stella.
The narrative itself is simple, but by adding the twist of the Klan and the South, the tale of a mildly unhappy woman keeping company with her husband’s best friend doubles in intrigue tenfold. The readers know an affair is inevitable, but it is presented so timidly and unfolds so naturally—it was lovely.
There were two problems with “Tuscaloosa Knights,” however, that were hard to overlook, even with its abundance of well-rounded characters and occasional beautiful description. Marla’s voice, at times, would change too harshly, jarring me out of the story. An example of this is on the top of page two, “I was pretty upset that my husband planned to abandon me here in this dinky town with nothing to do while he pranced across Europe.” The seemingly educated and well-spoken Marla turned into a fourteen-year-old school girl in one sentence. Also, the ending was too unsatisfying. The build up to the affair, which was mesmerizing and engaged the reader on so many levels, blossoms and subsequently burns out, but not because of the two’s conscience, but rather a group of crazy people from Bryce that come out of nowhere. If there was a message in it, I missed it. I certainly hope the overlying suggestion was NOT as simple as extramarital affairs are crazy, i.e. the parade of insane.
I liked this story, but I wish it could have been more.
The narrative itself is simple, but by adding the twist of the Klan and the South, the tale of a mildly unhappy woman keeping company with her husband’s best friend doubles in intrigue tenfold. The readers know an affair is inevitable, but it is presented so timidly and unfolds so naturally—it was lovely.
There were two problems with “Tuscaloosa Knights,” however, that were hard to overlook, even with its abundance of well-rounded characters and occasional beautiful description. Marla’s voice, at times, would change too harshly, jarring me out of the story. An example of this is on the top of page two, “I was pretty upset that my husband planned to abandon me here in this dinky town with nothing to do while he pranced across Europe.” The seemingly educated and well-spoken Marla turned into a fourteen-year-old school girl in one sentence. Also, the ending was too unsatisfying. The build up to the affair, which was mesmerizing and engaged the reader on so many levels, blossoms and subsequently burns out, but not because of the two’s conscience, but rather a group of crazy people from Bryce that come out of nowhere. If there was a message in it, I missed it. I certainly hope the overlying suggestion was NOT as simple as extramarital affairs are crazy, i.e. the parade of insane.
I liked this story, but I wish it could have been more.
Tuscaloosa Knights
Like others, I'm not entirely sure whether I liked or disliked this story. I felt very much like I knew it already--not just because I'm fairly familiar with Tuscaloosa, but also because I'm familiar with the culture of Alabama: football, Bear Bryant, and the KKK. In fact, the story felt so familiar to me that I don't really know that it added anything new to me.
I thought it was well-written; the prose felt fluid enough to me, detailed, and with a good rhythm and progression of story. He had some excellent images, from But the story never felt like more than the sum of its parts: disjointed in some ways, like it never quite coalesced into a single story. We had bits on Pinion, the husband in Switzerland (Switzerland? Really?), on Bear Bryant, Bryce, the Klan, even on how backwards Tuscaloosa was compared to Poughkeepsie. I get it, I know this stuff already.
Maybe I would have been more interested in the story itself if I weren't from the South. Maybe someone from Poughkeepsie would be interested in seeing the atmosphere of culture that Vice creates--but would they really need to read it, either? I imagine they know as well as we Southerners know, about shooting the breeze on a front porch with bourbon and mint. about the KKK's activities, about the casual indifference of even otherwise 'respectable' people like Pinion toward his black servants. Pinion, incidentally, seemed less to disagree with the Klan than to think they were some watered-down version of the real thing--I suspected he still harkened back to the glory days of the Klan "when there was a reason for it" like when his grandfather was the boss.
When it really gets down to it, it's just an amalgation of all the stereotypical images associated with Alabama--even if those images were well-written.
I thought it was well-written; the prose felt fluid enough to me, detailed, and with a good rhythm and progression of story. He had some excellent images, from But the story never felt like more than the sum of its parts: disjointed in some ways, like it never quite coalesced into a single story. We had bits on Pinion, the husband in Switzerland (Switzerland? Really?), on Bear Bryant, Bryce, the Klan, even on how backwards Tuscaloosa was compared to Poughkeepsie. I get it, I know this stuff already.
Maybe I would have been more interested in the story itself if I weren't from the South. Maybe someone from Poughkeepsie would be interested in seeing the atmosphere of culture that Vice creates--but would they really need to read it, either? I imagine they know as well as we Southerners know, about shooting the breeze on a front porch with bourbon and mint. about the KKK's activities, about the casual indifference of even otherwise 'respectable' people like Pinion toward his black servants. Pinion, incidentally, seemed less to disagree with the Klan than to think they were some watered-down version of the real thing--I suspected he still harkened back to the glory days of the Klan "when there was a reason for it" like when his grandfather was the boss.
When it really gets down to it, it's just an amalgation of all the stereotypical images associated with Alabama--even if those images were well-written.
Ouch
In a nutshell, this story made me a little bit sick. But in a good way. Sort of.
It's always interesting to read and write about a place, and the culture accompanying that place. You realize that some stereotypes are abhorrent, malicious bastardizations of these, yet most exist for a very real reason.
Having been born and raised in Alabama, I've experienced countless secondhand instances of culture shock from peers and visitors from other parts of the country and the world that are shocked both by how stereotypical the South is and by how different it is from their preconceived notions.
This story was, for me, a sickening look at why so many of these stereotypes do exist.
We have the burning, which in many ways was like a county fair, with children, and frat boys bring dates, and the main attraction--a bigot attacking things for biased reasons. We have the hate-language, the terrified black driver, the black maid. And all of this made me sad--I could identify everything physical about this story, and as such was forced to accept, once again, that I am a part of a culture with a background that is, in certain aspects, despicable.
Yet amidst this stereotypical backdrop, we have a story about curiosity, change, and infidelity. I didn't find Marla's desire to attend the rally strange. I've met many non-natives that have wanted to partake in all things southern, for better and for worse. I was much more intrigued by the relationship between her and Pinion.
Vice makes a phenomenal move with the final scene, which I found to be the most compelling of the story. Marla finally submits to the adultery that she had planned, with increasing conviction, to commit. The act is set against the backdrop of the "running of the loons." There is a certain shock and pity associated both with the initial and then the mass of Bryce patients that sets them apart. Yet what is insanity, if not plotting and knowing all of the downfalls and the lack of upside and doing it anything, the world be damned? Marla is the same as these people whether she knows it or not.
Though the topic of religion is never broached directly, the patients serve as a reverse baptism. The elements are there--a river, a cross, a change. When the car is stopped and then washed over by this group of mental patients, she finally connects the last dot, not only knowing what she is doing, but finally feeling it for the terrible action it was.
In sum, I feel like Vice combined a number of intricate elements, set it against a backdrop that is familiar, at least to me, and combined the two to make a phenomenal story that was both a stereotype and the exact opposite.
It's always interesting to read and write about a place, and the culture accompanying that place. You realize that some stereotypes are abhorrent, malicious bastardizations of these, yet most exist for a very real reason.
Having been born and raised in Alabama, I've experienced countless secondhand instances of culture shock from peers and visitors from other parts of the country and the world that are shocked both by how stereotypical the South is and by how different it is from their preconceived notions.
This story was, for me, a sickening look at why so many of these stereotypes do exist.
We have the burning, which in many ways was like a county fair, with children, and frat boys bring dates, and the main attraction--a bigot attacking things for biased reasons. We have the hate-language, the terrified black driver, the black maid. And all of this made me sad--I could identify everything physical about this story, and as such was forced to accept, once again, that I am a part of a culture with a background that is, in certain aspects, despicable.
Yet amidst this stereotypical backdrop, we have a story about curiosity, change, and infidelity. I didn't find Marla's desire to attend the rally strange. I've met many non-natives that have wanted to partake in all things southern, for better and for worse. I was much more intrigued by the relationship between her and Pinion.
Vice makes a phenomenal move with the final scene, which I found to be the most compelling of the story. Marla finally submits to the adultery that she had planned, with increasing conviction, to commit. The act is set against the backdrop of the "running of the loons." There is a certain shock and pity associated both with the initial and then the mass of Bryce patients that sets them apart. Yet what is insanity, if not plotting and knowing all of the downfalls and the lack of upside and doing it anything, the world be damned? Marla is the same as these people whether she knows it or not.
Though the topic of religion is never broached directly, the patients serve as a reverse baptism. The elements are there--a river, a cross, a change. When the car is stopped and then washed over by this group of mental patients, she finally connects the last dot, not only knowing what she is doing, but finally feeling it for the terrible action it was.
In sum, I feel like Vice combined a number of intricate elements, set it against a backdrop that is familiar, at least to me, and combined the two to make a phenomenal story that was both a stereotype and the exact opposite.
"Tuscaloosa Knights" by Brad Vice
I enjoyed "Tuscaloosa Knights." It was entertaining and thought-provoking. And apart from the quality of the story, Vice did a good job to make it vivid and give it many layers. While reading it, I always had the sense of the action being just part of a much bigger world. The reader is much like Marla and Pinion; spectators who want to get as close to the action as possible. I was also always aware of the presence of Marla's husband, even though he is only mentioned. The background Vice gives is short, but very effective. I got a sense of who these characters were and of the enormity of the events happening around them. Marla, the passive protagonist, doesn't drive the story forward, but merely participates in it. She doesn't even understand everything that's happening. She is curious about what's going on, but soon realizes she's in over her head.
It was very interesting to read a story that takes place here in Tuscaloosa. I recognized all of the geographical landmarks and streets. This automatically let me connect to the piece in that way. But I can't help but wonder how differently the story reads to someone not living in Tuscaloosa. To be honest, I felt like Vice used a few too many references to the town. I'm sure someone not from here probably wouldn't feel the same way. But sometimes, I got the feeling as if Vice wanted to pack as many references into the story as he could. To me, this cheapened the story, but only marginally.
Because, in all, this is a very good story with interesting characters, and a fascinating backdrop. Vice creates an array of great images. Picturing the Klan rally going down Queen City was pretty crazy, and the mystery of Bear Bryant's participation was really intriguing. And then, there's the final escalation at the end, when escaped Bryce inmates pass the car in which Marla and Pinion are having sex, and run toward the burning cross illuminated the night sky. Crazy.
It was very interesting to read a story that takes place here in Tuscaloosa. I recognized all of the geographical landmarks and streets. This automatically let me connect to the piece in that way. But I can't help but wonder how differently the story reads to someone not living in Tuscaloosa. To be honest, I felt like Vice used a few too many references to the town. I'm sure someone not from here probably wouldn't feel the same way. But sometimes, I got the feeling as if Vice wanted to pack as many references into the story as he could. To me, this cheapened the story, but only marginally.
Because, in all, this is a very good story with interesting characters, and a fascinating backdrop. Vice creates an array of great images. Picturing the Klan rally going down Queen City was pretty crazy, and the mystery of Bear Bryant's participation was really intriguing. And then, there's the final escalation at the end, when escaped Bryce inmates pass the car in which Marla and Pinion are having sex, and run toward the burning cross illuminated the night sky. Crazy.
A Touch of Home
This story was quite fascinating, for the most part. I never really found myself bored at all or having to try and skim ahead to see if it got better. The story followed a good progression that paid attention to detail while keeping the plot moving at a good pace.
Obviously, the thing that really stood out to me was the reason I believe this story was selected for us, which was how it is a retelling of another story by making it closer to our own homes and giving it a sense of reality for us living in Tuscaloosa. I personally found it much easier to picture everything happening and where it was happening with the details of the town and the locations of the events that were happening in. To be honest, I actually really liked this aspect of the
story. I think it made the story come more alive to me, and it gave it a greater sense of interest because it was taking place in “my town.”
One thing I didn’t like was the use of Bear Bryant and how he was a football player and not a coach. I’m not going to be all crazy and say that it was “disrespectful” to Coach Bryant (which I’m not), but I really just found the usage of his name with that specific character to be silly. It really was the only thing that I felt hindered the drama of the story. Everything else, as far as Tuscaloosa goes, was used properly and appropriately.
As far as the plot goes, I thought it was solid. I kept wondering if Marla was going to get with Pinion, and I kept wondering what kind of man he really was. I thought the subtle hints dropped throughout the story of how Pinion treated certain people really helped build up his near rape at the end.
Which, speaking of the weird sex thing at the end of the story – that was really weird. It was out of nowhere, and just seemed to completely change what happened in the story. I felt like I went from John Grisham to Danielle Steele.
Obviously, the thing that really stood out to me was the reason I believe this story was selected for us, which was how it is a retelling of another story by making it closer to our own homes and giving it a sense of reality for us living in Tuscaloosa. I personally found it much easier to picture everything happening and where it was happening with the details of the town and the locations of the events that were happening in. To be honest, I actually really liked this aspect of the
story. I think it made the story come more alive to me, and it gave it a greater sense of interest because it was taking place in “my town.”
One thing I didn’t like was the use of Bear Bryant and how he was a football player and not a coach. I’m not going to be all crazy and say that it was “disrespectful” to Coach Bryant (which I’m not), but I really just found the usage of his name with that specific character to be silly. It really was the only thing that I felt hindered the drama of the story. Everything else, as far as Tuscaloosa goes, was used properly and appropriately.
As far as the plot goes, I thought it was solid. I kept wondering if Marla was going to get with Pinion, and I kept wondering what kind of man he really was. I thought the subtle hints dropped throughout the story of how Pinion treated certain people really helped build up his near rape at the end.
Which, speaking of the weird sex thing at the end of the story – that was really weird. It was out of nowhere, and just seemed to completely change what happened in the story. I felt like I went from John Grisham to Danielle Steele.
Knight Moves
From now on whenever I hear a bugle I will no longer think I'm semi-awake through an episode of Gomer Pyle.
Brad Vice's Tuscaloosa Knights is a startling tale of how two apparently smart people end up going to a Klan rally. It's very disturbing to see how something so terrible as a racist rally with the potential for murder can evoke curiosity, even with those who stand against the ideals.
Pinion is a fine southern man who spends many a day with Marla, his friend's wife. They flirt, drink and smoke on the porch on Queen City. Marla is bored because her husband John is working all the time and has left her to drown in the Druid City. Fortunately, she has some company who could also provide for some sweet adultery action.
The images given in this piece are amazing, depicting sounds of horses with great imagery and language. The way Vice describes the rally makes it as though you are actually there. You can almost smell the incest and degeneration.
What I found most disturbing about this piece is how nonchalant Pinion is towards Puddin, his driver, when Puddin comes back home with some groceries. "I'm too old for this aggravation," he says. Pinion tells him to go inside and get some coffee.
The end of the piece is especially bizarre, seeing as how the horny couple ends up almost doing the nasty in a broken down car while a bunch of Bryce escapees run towards a flaming cross. Christ.
Brad Vice's Tuscaloosa Knights is a startling tale of how two apparently smart people end up going to a Klan rally. It's very disturbing to see how something so terrible as a racist rally with the potential for murder can evoke curiosity, even with those who stand against the ideals.
Pinion is a fine southern man who spends many a day with Marla, his friend's wife. They flirt, drink and smoke on the porch on Queen City. Marla is bored because her husband John is working all the time and has left her to drown in the Druid City. Fortunately, she has some company who could also provide for some sweet adultery action.
The images given in this piece are amazing, depicting sounds of horses with great imagery and language. The way Vice describes the rally makes it as though you are actually there. You can almost smell the incest and degeneration.
What I found most disturbing about this piece is how nonchalant Pinion is towards Puddin, his driver, when Puddin comes back home with some groceries. "I'm too old for this aggravation," he says. Pinion tells him to go inside and get some coffee.
The end of the piece is especially bizarre, seeing as how the horny couple ends up almost doing the nasty in a broken down car while a bunch of Bryce escapees run towards a flaming cross. Christ.
Cultural and Genetic Baggage in "Tuscaloosa Knights"
"Tuscaloosa Knights" is a story about two progressive intellectuals who find themselves observing a primitive, malevolent display of ideology. I think the realization that comes about from the action, dialogue, and undertones of this story is that these two individuals, though their politics differ sharply from the world around them, are ultimately the same as the people they despise. This sameness, I think, exists for two different reasons, and these reasons are the theme of the story: from cultural influence, which runs so deep one can apparently never completely escape it, and from genetic determinism, which creates an innateness in all of us that is so strong, neither the most obedient nor the most subversive politics can overcome it.
Pinion is very quick to distance himself from his alleged cousin, who must be at least his half cousin, unless the despicable uncle is his aunt's husband. But Pinion is a case study in the unreformed southerner, most overtly through his violent temperament. If you recall, the author implicitly mentions that his servant is black. While Pinion is in no capacity a slave-owner, or someone who acts like it, it is a curious thing that someone so consciously against that old Dixie mentality would employ a reminder of it. It is both symbolic and diegesisical evidence that Pinion hasn't completely shaken off the world of his grandfathers. Also, while drunk driving is not exclusively a southern vice, it stands out as unrefined behavior, especially for a congressman.
The theme of genetic determinism comes in when the narrator brings up Pinion's shooting of his cousin. His Klansmen kin, he is quick to point out (albeit with a flimsy denial) that this guy is very different from him, and they could not be from the same "family." But Pinion is very much like him - after all, he shot him! This is something given to him by genetics, and Pinion must be conscious of this, because he is extremely upset when the narrator vocally starts to piece together his past.
The narrator shows her primitive side in the sex scene. This woman is a feminist. You can tell in both her despising of the town she is forced to live in, and in the way she interacts with Pinion. Yet, notice the language she uses to describe the sex - "what he was about to do to me," "what could I do - go limp, fight, scream?" Sex is now a receptive act for her, the female, the opposite of who she wants to be, and just what this culture she hates would want from her.
But why consciously be the primitivism we hate so much? The answer, I think, is in the metaphor of Bryce patients running lost through the woods and toward the burning cross. The running, confused patients represent humans in their existential state, especially for our two characters who find themselves living in a culture they sharply disagree with. Lost, and seemingly directionless, they run toward the familiar, easily achieved primitivism of things drinking too much, sex in a car, and violence. In times of confusion, primitivism is a bright, burning oasis, both because it is the social norm and because it was innate in them all along.
Pinion is very quick to distance himself from his alleged cousin, who must be at least his half cousin, unless the despicable uncle is his aunt's husband. But Pinion is a case study in the unreformed southerner, most overtly through his violent temperament. If you recall, the author implicitly mentions that his servant is black. While Pinion is in no capacity a slave-owner, or someone who acts like it, it is a curious thing that someone so consciously against that old Dixie mentality would employ a reminder of it. It is both symbolic and diegesisical evidence that Pinion hasn't completely shaken off the world of his grandfathers. Also, while drunk driving is not exclusively a southern vice, it stands out as unrefined behavior, especially for a congressman.
The theme of genetic determinism comes in when the narrator brings up Pinion's shooting of his cousin. His Klansmen kin, he is quick to point out (albeit with a flimsy denial) that this guy is very different from him, and they could not be from the same "family." But Pinion is very much like him - after all, he shot him! This is something given to him by genetics, and Pinion must be conscious of this, because he is extremely upset when the narrator vocally starts to piece together his past.
The narrator shows her primitive side in the sex scene. This woman is a feminist. You can tell in both her despising of the town she is forced to live in, and in the way she interacts with Pinion. Yet, notice the language she uses to describe the sex - "what he was about to do to me," "what could I do - go limp, fight, scream?" Sex is now a receptive act for her, the female, the opposite of who she wants to be, and just what this culture she hates would want from her.
But why consciously be the primitivism we hate so much? The answer, I think, is in the metaphor of Bryce patients running lost through the woods and toward the burning cross. The running, confused patients represent humans in their existential state, especially for our two characters who find themselves living in a culture they sharply disagree with. Lost, and seemingly directionless, they run toward the familiar, easily achieved primitivism of things drinking too much, sex in a car, and violence. In times of confusion, primitivism is a bright, burning oasis, both because it is the social norm and because it was innate in them all along.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
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