John K

[John K @johnkling_21st]

Interesting how Saunders never tells us what happened to the Reverend/Bevins/Vollman. Maybe the final destination isn't the point #21lit.

[John K @johnkling_21st]

Even Betsy Baron recognizes her reality (that she mistreated her children and lived a life of sin). She then disappears. #21lit

[John K @johnkling_21st]

Could this be an escape from the bardo? #21lit

[John K @johnkling_21st]

We're getting scenes of recognition: Willie recognizes his status, Linc. recognizes racial injustice, Francis recognizes her children #21lit

[John K @johnkling_21st]

@21stCenturyLit 308 offers an answer - to protect the inherent beauty of individual freedom. Is this the true answer, or is it Lincoln rationalizing? #21lit

[John K @johnkling_21st]

Chapter XCIV offers the question that @21stCenturyLit predicted: How does Lincoln grieve for the death of 1 while leading a war? #21lit

[John K @johnkling_21st]

Are the small figures' excuses on 269-270 sinfull in themselves? Is a relience on deterministic theory rather than free will a sin? #21lit

[John K @johnkling_21st]

268: 'Are you in Hell?', 'not the worst one', seems to endorse a dante-esque view of Hell. Can anyone familiar with Dante comment? #21lit

[John K @johnkling_21st]

Note the juxtaposition of freedom: Thomas wants freedom from slavery (220) while the Bachelors want freedom from responsibility (261) #21lit

[John K @johnkling_21st]

I love the language on 258: "bent to the ground with regret, shaped like one half set of parentheses topped with a sad sprig of hair" #21lit

[John K @johnkling_21st]

Interesting how Saunders expresses silence with *'s; as if Litzie Wright is not silent by choice, but is censured by her experiences. #21lit

[John K @johnkling_21st]

The scene on 206-207 interests me. Is there an element of chaos that goes along with storytelling? Then, is truth violent/chaotic? #21lit

[John K @johnkling_21st]

In the New Yorker Story, is there an element of fate when three slightly-suicidal people converge in one scene? #21lit

[John K @johnkling_21st]

The heart-weighing on 190 is an allusion to Egyptian religion: https://t.co/IFYFLx8U7a. What does this say about religious conflict? #21lit

[John K @johnkling_21st]

Wow. Certainly a lot of questions answered in this reading, but new questions also emerge. How does one switch between the world? #21lit

[John K @johnkling_21st]

Truth allows Prince to leave (140); the Rev. indicates that duty permits spirits to stay (123). Is duty the opposite of truth? #21lit

[John K @johnkling_21st]

Interesting that the spirits themselves are unsure of their own purpose (123) -- is the Bardo a state of not knowing? #21lit

[John K @johnkling_21st]

Saunders doesn't stray from the racial realities of the time-period (82-83), another example of real-world issues in the bardo. #21lit

[John K @johnkling_21st]

Powerful metaphor for parenting on 78-79 with the orbs. Interesting how real-world problems appear in The Bardo. #21lit

[John K @johnkling_21st]

Willie's lines use periods (.) sparsely. A period is an ending, maybe this means he's only "half" ended, in a liminal state? #21lit