Big Read, Part Four

Question # 9
Why can’t Biff Brannon confide in Singer? How does he feel after his wife’s death?
If Singer’s role in the story is confidant, than Biff’s role is that of facilitator/observer. Other than Singer’s room at the boarding house, Biff’s restaurant, “The New York Café”, is the focal point where each of the main characters interacts and it is his good nature that facilitates their interaction. McCullers introduces Biff in chapter two as an observer, “Biff waited stolidly, his elbow resting on the counter and his thumb mashing the tip of his long nose. His eyes were intent. He watched…” (Page 16). Being in the position of observer, Biff believes he knows people; he acts as philanthropist to freaks and is somehow detached from the goings on in the restaurant. “… he watched them. It was a funny thing. The reason—was it in them or in him? He sat very still with his hands in his pockets, and because he did not speak it made him seem superior. What did that fellow think and realize? What did he know?”(Page 161). I believe that although Biff is curious enough about Singer to leave the safety of his restaurant to visit Singer at his room, he cannot bring himself to lower his position to confide to the freaks that he likes to observe. It would be like a Greek god, confiding in a human. He is also detached from his wife Alice, “With her, silence was better. After her sudden death, he heroically takes the responsibility of seeing to the arrangements. He does this methodically and without emotion, adapting and eventually moving on with his routine.

Question #10
What is the role of religion in the novel? How does this affect the actions and beliefs of the characters, especially Jake and Dr. Copeland?
There is an underlying theme of religion throughout the novel. At the end of chapter two Biff Brannon reposes on his bed in the position of Christ on the cross, “Biff stretched both of his arms outward and crossed his naked feet” (Page 39). We are introduced to Mick Kelly on a Sunday morning while her brother Bubber is attending Sunday school (Page 40). Both Jake and Dr. Copeland seem to have lost God somewhere along the way toward becoming educated people. Jake states, “My first belief was Jesus … I was angry and I drove the nail all the way through. My hand was nailed to the table… I began to read… it was like being born a second time” (Page 181). Portia describes her father as having, “…done read more books than any white man in this town. He done read more books and he done worried about more things. He full of books and worrying. He done lost God and turned his back to religion. All his troubles come down just to that” (Page 59). It is Jake and Dr. Copeland, who seem to be weighted down with the troubles of the world. McCullers suggests that their devotion to improving the world stems from becoming educated, and their failure or inaction is due to their having forsaken God.


Question #11
How and to whom does each of the characters in the novel express love?
John Singer demonstrates his love for Antonapoulos through his devotion to him both before they are separated and after.
Mick Kelly loves her father, but more so, John Singer, he is the only person that is in both her inside world and her outside world.
Biff Brannon has devotion for his wife Alice, but I do not believe there was ever really love present in their relationship. Biff loves the people in who come to his restaurant and the idea that he is somehow better than them.
Jake Blount loved John Singer, but not more than anyone can love their confessor. In my opinion Jake’s one true love was himself.
Dr. Copeland loved his family. He expresses it with every shred of disappointment he can muster when he thinks about them. But in the end it is his family that takes care of in spite of all that has transpired.

Question #12
Do you find the ending of the novel disheartening or hopeful?
Without wanting to give away the ending I will only say that it made me angry.

Question #13
In what ways do the themes of the novel resonate with issues of class and race today?
Martin Luther King Jr. was born in 1929 and was ten years old when The Heart is a Lonely Hunter was published. Although it is obvious that not all viewpoints stated in the text have merit, I wonder if he was influenced by it in any way. Statements such as the one made by Lancy Davis in his essay, “I want to be like Moses, who led the children of Israel from the land of the oppressors” (Page 219) clearly illustrate the ideals of change that lead to the civil rights movement.

--Larry G.