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Originally Posted by astrangerhere
Okay, I took extensive notes when I read this, so this might be lengthy.
Religious Themes
I am surprised that no one else has mentioned the apparent anti-semitism in the book. Irene and her friends mock the Claude "the black jew" saying that he is no longer Christian or black because he converted to Judaism. [...]
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I did notice the "black jew" thing, which was Gertrude's description, and obviously derogatory in context. But I wondered more about the narrator's phrasing: "he was no longer a Negro or a Christian but had become a Jew." Is that an anti-Semitic statement or a pro-Semitic statement? The implication seems to be that race is relevant to Christians but not to Jews. When said by a person that is part-Negro, part-white, might this apparent lack of racial distinction be an appealing attribute of Judaism?
Quote:
Originally Posted by astrangerhere
Unreliable Narrator
Looking back on all the things Irene said about Clare, I wonder if from the very beginning we are not dealing with an unreliable narrator. [...]
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I agree. Unreliable and unlikeable to such an extent that very early on I was questioning what the author wanted of me. What was I supposed to believe and where were my sympathies expected to lie? I never really found an answer to that question.
Quote:
Originally Posted by astrangerhere
Whodunnit[/B]
As for the murder itself, I believe that John pushed Clare, but that Irene was wholly complicit in it. [...]
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That's an interesting take on it. I don't think it's a likely scenario (too many in that room would have been looking for just such violence from John Bellew for him to get away with it), but it's a neat way of interpreting some of Irene's internal struggles leading up to the tragedy.