I think yesterday’s discussion of “Goody Blake, and Harry Gill” covered a lot, but looking over it again brought something to my attention that we didn’t cover. In the second to last stanza, the speaker includes the description that “And Harry’s flesh it fell away;/ And all who see him see ‘tis plain,/ That, live as long as live he may,/ He never will be warm again” (Lines 117-120). That’s a pretty intense image. Not only has Harry been cursed to be cold, he has also been cursed to have his flesh fall off! After he loses his flesh, he then tries to replace it with all of his clothes. This further ties him to the production system of which he and Goody are both members. It also ties him closer to his materialistic disposition. Literally, his physical self is replaced by material goods, though the material goods are not sufficient replacements.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
A Surprising Image
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I wouldn’t say that Harry Gill’s flesh is literally falling off as part of the curse, but if he is constantly shivering he is probably losing weight. I like your point about how he’s forced to replace his physical self with material goods though. Before he was cursed, he was a strong man and could afford to be careless with his belongings (like being able to leave a fire burning at home whilst he was out hunting Goody Blake). It’s now impossible for him to avoid or escape the things he took for granted before and he is now forced to recognise the inadequacy of the mere material goods that were all he valued (like the hedge, the loss of a few sticks of which would not have cost him much). It certainly seems a fitting punishment for his callousness.
ReplyDeleteI see Harry's flesh falling away as an extreme sensitivity to the events around him. He is unstable. Any external event has the ability to derail him and cause him internal suffering. I see the literal falling away of his flesh as a metaphor to being extremely sensitive. Its like the opposite of "thick skin." He is materialistic in the way that society controls his behavior. Harry is not a strong person because of this push and pull and therefore he is always plagued by some external event bringing him anxiety or confusion. This is why his soul is constantly cold.
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