This next section cuts to a whole new story. A man named Jackson is sitting in his car lost in the middle of nowhere. "He was alone. Not another car in sight. no tractors or Land rovers, no other drifters on the high plains, no fellow travelers at all. No farmhouses or sheep barns either, only grass and barren limestone and a dead December sky. He was on the road to nowhere"(52). When one can get alone time memories usually come back. This quote is describing how alone he is. He could see nothing. The author does a very good job of describing what the setting looks like, after reading this passage I could really imagine the emptiness. This emptiness makes the reader start to wonder what Jackson is doing the in middle of nowhere. As he sits there he thinks back about his past life because he has nothing better to do. First it flashes back to his ex-wife Josie. Then later he drifts to thinking about his daughter, Marlee. This section really tells the reader a lot about the character Jackson. His memories are mostly about his old life and family so one can tell that his family means a lot to him.
Later in this section a figure appears in the distance, which seems crazy because earlier the author describes the emptiness of where Jackson is. When a human appears is says, "There was someone else ahead, on foot, walking towards him. The sight was so unexpected that for a moment he wondered if it was a kind of mirage brought on by staring for too long at the road, but no, it wasn't a phantom, it was definitely a human being, a woman even"(57). This sight is so unexpected he thinks its almost a miracle. Jackson is lost and when he sees a person it surprises him. This again makes the reader wonder why he is in the middle of nowhere. The book then goes on to describe Jackson, "He was a man on the road, a man trying to get home. It was about the destination, not the journey. Everyone was trying to get home. Everyone, everywhere, all the time"(59). This quote describes Jackson as a man trying to get home. This implies that he is looking for a place to be, a home to live at, most likely a family.
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4 comments:
Based on this description, Jackson sounds like someone who lives in the past a lot. It seems like he doesn't have anything currently happening in his life, and is perhaps too lazy or depressed to do anything about this. It seems to me that when people are too focused on their pasts, it takes a big change in their life to force them to face their current situations. Maybe the person walking toward Jackson will bring this change for him.
It sounds interesting with its mysterious and eerie capturing moments. When I was reading about the scene of him being alone, I imagined some emptiness and being there in his seat. Did he isolate himself in order to think to himself? How did he get there? As Katherine said, it also seems that he is focused onto the past, and not letting it go, just like the character in "The Ex-Basketball Player."
Reading this post makes me feel sorry for Jackson. I know that some people enjoy being alone with their memories, but the emptiness Annie describes makes Jackson's memories seem sad. Maybe the memories are even bittersweet because Jackson must have had good times with his ex-wife in order to marry her and his daughter must have made him happy at some point during his life. It seems to me that Jackson is lost in life. He might be running through his memories in attempt to determine where he is and how he got there. The mysterious person walking towards him could be good or bad. This person could pull Jackson from his memories and help him live a good life, or he/she could be a negative influence. Hopefully things work out for Jackson!
This book sounds so interesting and mysterious and it sounds like Jackson is staying in the past. I would like to know why Jackson gives off this depressed vibe that seems to be keeping his life in shambles. The fact that he was alsne when we meet him also adds to the eerie feeling of the book has. you describe the emptiness of the scene well and I'm pretty sure that the unknown perso walking toward him isn't a good sign.
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