Prompt: Choose
one line of dialogue you found particularly intriguging, and explain how it
reveals something about one or both of the characters and/or their
relationship.
The exchange on page 93 was particularly revealing: "I'm going to Bangkok with a friend... Good, he said Molly. You'd like her. Molly." In this subtlest of exchanges, we watch as Hollis realizes that Carol is going with a girl, not another boyfriend. That one word, "Molly," reveals his assumptions, and the pang of jealousy that went with it. Some small part of Hollis is still very much in love with Carol, enough so that he would be upset with the idea of her traveling to Bangkok with a man other than him. I feel like this was likely intentional on the part of Carol, to see if she could elicit an emotional response from him; she is successful, but only slightly. Hollis is too good at concealing his confusion.
The line that caught my attention was: "Let me like you a little bit."
This is on page 95, near the very end of the story, where we can tell Carol has given up on Hollis and Hollis is trying very hard to give up on Carol. It's particularly revealing because Hollis and Carol, when describing their feelings previously, used words and phrases that implied much greater intensity than mere "like." Hollis says he "loved everything you did...you were incomparable...I adored you" (91). Carol says, "I had true happiness with you" (92). In contrast, Carol tacitly belittles Pam throughout the conversation, reminding Hollis that his silly marriage is inconsequential compared to the time they spent together. So when Hollis says "Let me like you a little bit," he seems to be trying to reduce Carol to that same level, and what goes unsaid is: let me like you, but only a little. Let me think of you fondly, not passionately.
Carol, of course, immediately rejects this: "I don't want you to like me. I want you to curse me" (95). Which seems to be an excellent summary of their relationship--full of games, provocation, and, above all, strong emotion.
My favorite line from “Bangkok” is when Carol says: “I didn’t know that real happiness lies in having the same thing all the time.” This quote has a double meaning, and it is notable because it is one of the first times that Carol lets go of her façade and shows true vulnerability, other than her earlier question, “Tell me, Chris, did you love me?” This quote reveals Carol’s deep regret for having been so naïve, foolish, and impulsive as to cheat on Hollis with a man she cared nothing about and thereby lose Hollis who she loved. In this quote, she implies that the thing is Chris. The “I didn’t know” part is especially significant because leading up to this quote, she had been in the antagonistic position, purposefully provoking Hollis with her questions.
However, in realization of her sudden change in tone, Carol quickly corrects her mistake and reverts back to her hostile self and spins the quote to accuse Hollis, since the quote could also be applied to him. In other words, she, as an adventurous person, criticizes Hollis for living such a life of routine. The mentioning of the word “happiness” is what likely causes Hollis’s doubts and insecurities about his decisions to resurface at the end of the story.
The most powerful line in “Bangkok” occurred on page 91, in the midst of their very heavy and very personal conversation. Carol says, “Tell me, Chris, did you love me?” At first, the line spoke to me as being a very fundamental necessity. We all feel the need to be loved. In fact, Yann Dall'Aglio defines love as the desire to be desired in his TEDParis talk. This is epitomized in her question. It is something that conceivably any of us would want to know. Had their history meant something to him? Did she still mean something to him? But upon rereading this fundamental line, I realized she had made a faux pas. The male protagonist’s name is Hollis. Not Chris. Who is Chris and why would she care about Hollis’s opinion of her if she were thinking of someone else when asking such a poignant question? That short line brings into question many elements of these characters’ past and personality and is a key moment for the reader to make choices about these characters.
The dialogue that was most intriguing to me was on page 92-3 when Carol mentions that she is going to Bangkok and then asks Hollis if he remembers Venice and their little hotel by the theater. Hollis is trying to ignore her questions because he does not want to reminisce on the times he had with Carol. He does not want to get any ideas of traveling with her to Bangkok because he knows he has a wife and child and needs to remain loyal to them. He says he has a lot of work to do and a business to run. Carol says Then how much is this e.e. cummings? she said. I'll buy it and you can take a few minutes off. It's already sold, he said. Still has the price in it. He shrugged a little. Answer me about Venice, she said. The fact that Hollis lies about the book being sold just shows how distracted he is and uneasy about her still being there in his store. I also think that he does not want to feel dominated by her by taking her money and selling a book to her. I think that they might still be in love or have feelings for each other but know that they can not and will not get back together, they continue their relationship as a game almost, playing off of each other and knowing how to manipulate each other.
The most intriguing part of the dialogue for me was on page 91 when Carol asks "Tell me, Chris, did you love me?" and Hollis replies "I thought about you every minute of the day.... You were incomparable. With you I felt I had everything in life, everything anyone ever dreamed of. I adored you."
Aside from Dave Egger's observation that the use of the name "Chris" indicates moments of delicate and vulnerable exchange, Hollis' lengthy and seemingly nostalgic reply alludes to his affections towards Carol. The reader is given a rare glimpse of the intensity of the two character's previous relationship together. By demonstrating the power Carol once had over Hollis, the reader is able to more deeply understand Hollis' defensive (in a way protectionist) demeanour and the overwhelming emotions that Hollis experiences after the meeting.
One of the first lines of dialogue, and the most explicit in the story, is fundamental in setting the tone of Salter’s “Bangkok”. Carol recounts to Hollis how she asked Pam “if you still like to have your cock sucked” (88). The line is unprovoked, brutal, and sudden. It strikes Hollis like a punch to the gut, forces upon him a “moment of fear, of guilt almost, about consequences” (88). The line sets up the crux of the story, which depends on Hollis’s ability to resist Carol’s advances, which represent the “anticipation of ecstasy daily” (94). The dialogue also characterizes Carol extremely economically, revealing her bitter nature, the past history of their relationship, and her sense of cool detachment. By virtue of its obscenity, the line shocks the reader and establishes the imminent conflict that will rage in Hollis’s mind for the remainder of the story.
The line that stood out to me was, "You can't have ecstasy daily. No, but you can have something as good, she said. You can have the anticipation of it" (94).
This exchange signals Carol's final departure from Hollis' life. She offers him one last chance to join her; while, Hollis is trying to reason that leaving his family to live an extravagant life with his lover is not reasonable. Carol seems to tempt him in this line, indicating that while you can't have ecstasy all the time, as long as Carol is around he knows that he CAN have it. This seems to be the point where Carol also realizes that Hollis will not be leaving his family. and she begins to say her goodbyes. This seems to be the hardest point for Hollis because the girl he claimed to love so much that brought a life of fantasy and luxury with her will be leaving forever. Thus, once Hollis lets Carol go, he lets the potential (or anticipation) of fantasy and luxury go as well.
There were a lot of lines that I really liked in this story, because they all really embodied the idea of how much you could say indirectly with dialogue. I suppose I’ll use one of the first lines as an example. A few lines in, Hollis says “Of course not,” in response to Carol’s question about whether he planned to return her message. It’s a bit of an odd response, because we don’t know anything about them yet, and it would be generally considered rude to say that you did not plan to return somebody’s message, and Hollis says it in such a way that indicates that he not only had not planned to return the message but also that he wants her to know that. He could just as easily have told her that he’d been busy, or that he hadn’t gotten the message, if he wanted to be polite. So right off the bat, from those three words in context, we know that Hollis is not looking forward to this conversation and that he has the kind of relationship with this woman where he wants to hurt her a little bit, even if it’s in a petty way. We also learn that Hollis is a bit petty, at least where Carol is concerned. I remember liking this line at first because it’s just so surprising. Where many of us would give an excuse, Hollis surprises us, and that’s where we learn a lot about their dynamic.
“I just had the foolish impulse to try something different.” – Carol This line stuck with me for a few reasons. At this point in the dialogue, Chris is asking why Carol slept with another man when he was away. Some of their character has been revealed through the snippets of dialogue and exchanges we’ve heard, and this line speaks to facets of Carol’s behavior we’ve observed – her almost uncensored way of talking and acting, unafraid to offend or do something against norms (for example, bringing up Chris’ sex life with Pam barely the first minute in). Moreover, this line (and the previous few lines of dialogue) reveals what we already suspect as the cause of their fractured relationship.
You don't like to think of it, that's all. But she's going to be a woman, you know, a young woman. You remember how you felt about young women at that age. Well, it didn't all stop with you. it continues, and she'll be part of it, perfect body and all. How is Pam's, by the way?"
This dialogue fascinated me because Carol manages to turn around her own sexualization of a child and make Hollis feel uncomfortable, as though he's somehow the one being disgusting. This line works on tons of levels: Carol brings Hollis back to his own youth and memories of (presumably) Carol's younger body; Carol makes Hollis uneasy about other people feeling that way about his daughter, and about his daughter growing up in general (now young Carol's future is a frightening potential for the child Chloe); and, most uncomfortable of all, Hollis is forced to think about his own daughter sexually.
Leading up to the end of the story, I was unsure what I thought about Hollis. I wondered about his faithful to his wife and his daughter, especially while Carol centered the conversation around their bodies. I wondered if he was strictly concerned with women's bodies. Then, towards the end of the conversation they an exchange that makes me decide to respect Hollis. Carol starts, "It's such a cliche, isn't it? A wife I love." "It's just the truth," Hollis responds. "And you're looking forward to the years together, the ecstasy." "It's not ecstasy." "You're right," Carol says. "You can't have ecstasy daily," Hollis finishes. This final line is so profound and highlights the difference between Carol and Hollis--Carol is still chasing ecstasy while Hollis has found something more constant and still fulfilling.
The line "Of course not" on the first page of the story really caught my attention. As Lindsay had pointed out, Hollis could easily have said a simple, white lie to Carol in response to her question about his intention to call back, but instead he flatly told her no. I feel this depicts the tension and confrontational relationship between the characters, as well as their individual personalities. Hollis is blunt, and seemingly annoyed with Carol whereas Carol is trying to carry on the relationship. It's just so brunt and the words someone utters when at their last straw with someone. It really pulls you back from the story to think what is actually occurring between these two characters.
The exchange on page 93 was particularly revealing:
ReplyDelete"I'm going to Bangkok with a friend...
Good, he said
Molly. You'd like her.
Molly."
In this subtlest of exchanges, we watch as Hollis realizes that Carol is going with a girl, not another boyfriend. That one word, "Molly," reveals his assumptions, and the pang of jealousy that went with it. Some small part of Hollis is still very much in love with Carol, enough so that he would be upset with the idea of her traveling to Bangkok with a man other than him. I feel like this was likely intentional on the part of Carol, to see if she could elicit an emotional response from him; she is successful, but only slightly. Hollis is too good at concealing his confusion.
The line that caught my attention was: "Let me like you a little bit."
ReplyDeleteThis is on page 95, near the very end of the story, where we can tell Carol has given up on Hollis and Hollis is trying very hard to give up on Carol. It's particularly revealing because Hollis and Carol, when describing their feelings previously, used words and phrases that implied much greater intensity than mere "like." Hollis says he "loved everything you did...you were incomparable...I adored you" (91). Carol says, "I had true happiness with you" (92). In contrast, Carol tacitly belittles Pam throughout the conversation, reminding Hollis that his silly marriage is inconsequential compared to the time they spent together. So when Hollis says "Let me like you a little bit," he seems to be trying to reduce Carol to that same level, and what goes unsaid is: let me like you, but only a little. Let me think of you fondly, not passionately.
Carol, of course, immediately rejects this: "I don't want you to like me. I want you to curse me" (95). Which seems to be an excellent summary of their relationship--full of games, provocation, and, above all, strong emotion.
My favorite line from “Bangkok” is when Carol says: “I didn’t know that real happiness lies in having the same thing all the time.” This quote has a double meaning, and it is notable because it is one of the first times that Carol lets go of her façade and shows true vulnerability, other than her earlier question, “Tell me, Chris, did you love me?” This quote reveals Carol’s deep regret for having been so naïve, foolish, and impulsive as to cheat on Hollis with a man she cared nothing about and thereby lose Hollis who she loved. In this quote, she implies that the thing is Chris. The “I didn’t know” part is especially significant because leading up to this quote, she had been in the antagonistic position, purposefully provoking Hollis with her questions.
ReplyDeleteHowever, in realization of her sudden change in tone, Carol quickly corrects her mistake and reverts back to her hostile self and spins the quote to accuse Hollis, since the quote could also be applied to him. In other words, she, as an adventurous person, criticizes Hollis for living such a life of routine. The mentioning of the word “happiness” is what likely causes Hollis’s doubts and insecurities about his decisions to resurface at the end of the story.
The most powerful line in “Bangkok” occurred on page 91, in the midst of their very heavy and very personal conversation. Carol says, “Tell me, Chris, did you love me?” At first, the line spoke to me as being a very fundamental necessity. We all feel the need to be loved. In fact, Yann Dall'Aglio defines love as the desire to be desired in his TEDParis talk. This is epitomized in her question. It is something that conceivably any of us would want to know. Had their history meant something to him? Did she still mean something to him? But upon rereading this fundamental line, I realized she had made a faux pas. The male protagonist’s name is Hollis. Not Chris. Who is Chris and why would she care about Hollis’s opinion of her if she were thinking of someone else when asking such a poignant question? That short line brings into question many elements of these characters’ past and personality and is a key moment for the reader to make choices about these characters.
ReplyDeleteThe dialogue that was most intriguing to me was on page 92-3 when Carol mentions that she is going to Bangkok and then asks Hollis if he remembers Venice and their little hotel by the theater. Hollis is trying to ignore her questions because he does not want to reminisce on the times he had with Carol. He does not want to get any ideas of traveling with her to Bangkok because he knows he has a wife and child and needs to remain loyal to them. He says he has a lot of work to do and a business to run. Carol says
ReplyDeleteThen how much is this e.e. cummings? she said. I'll buy it and you can take a few minutes off.
It's already sold, he said.
Still has the price in it.
He shrugged a little.
Answer me about Venice, she said.
The fact that Hollis lies about the book being sold just shows how distracted he is and uneasy about her still being there in his store. I also think that he does not want to feel dominated by her by taking her money and selling a book to her. I think that they might still be in love or have feelings for each other but know that they can not and will not get back together, they continue their relationship as a game almost, playing off of each other and knowing how to manipulate each other.
The most intriguing part of the dialogue for me was on page 91 when Carol asks "Tell me, Chris, did you love me?" and Hollis replies "I thought about you every minute of the day.... You were incomparable. With you I felt I had everything in life, everything anyone ever dreamed of. I adored you."
ReplyDeleteAside from Dave Egger's observation that the use of the name "Chris" indicates moments of delicate and vulnerable exchange, Hollis' lengthy and seemingly nostalgic reply alludes to his affections towards Carol. The reader is given a rare glimpse of the intensity of the two character's previous relationship together. By demonstrating the power Carol once had over Hollis, the reader is able to more deeply understand Hollis' defensive (in a way protectionist) demeanour and the overwhelming emotions that Hollis experiences after the meeting.
One of the first lines of dialogue, and the most explicit in the story, is fundamental in setting the tone of Salter’s “Bangkok”. Carol recounts to Hollis how she asked Pam “if you still like to have your cock sucked” (88). The line is unprovoked, brutal, and sudden. It strikes Hollis like a punch to the gut, forces upon him a “moment of fear, of guilt almost, about consequences” (88). The line sets up the crux of the story, which depends on Hollis’s ability to resist Carol’s advances, which represent the “anticipation of ecstasy daily” (94). The dialogue also characterizes Carol extremely economically, revealing her bitter nature, the past history of their relationship, and her sense of cool detachment. By virtue of its obscenity, the line shocks the reader and establishes the imminent conflict that will rage in Hollis’s mind for the remainder of the story.
ReplyDeleteThe line that stood out to me was,
ReplyDelete"You can't have ecstasy daily.
No, but you can have something as good, she said. You can have the anticipation of it" (94).
This exchange signals Carol's final departure from Hollis' life. She offers him one last chance to join her; while, Hollis is trying to reason that leaving his family to live an extravagant life with his lover is not reasonable. Carol seems to tempt him in this line, indicating that while you can't have ecstasy all the time, as long as Carol is around he knows that he CAN have it. This seems to be the point where Carol also realizes that Hollis will not be leaving his family. and she begins to say her goodbyes. This seems to be the hardest point for Hollis because the girl he claimed to love so much that brought a life of fantasy and luxury with her will be leaving forever. Thus, once Hollis lets Carol go, he lets the potential (or anticipation) of fantasy and luxury go as well.
There were a lot of lines that I really liked in this story, because they all really embodied the idea of how much you could say indirectly with dialogue. I suppose I’ll use one of the first lines as an example. A few lines in, Hollis says “Of course not,” in response to Carol’s question about whether he planned to return her message. It’s a bit of an odd response, because we don’t know anything about them yet, and it would be generally considered rude to say that you did not plan to return somebody’s message, and Hollis says it in such a way that indicates that he not only had not planned to return the message but also that he wants her to know that. He could just as easily have told her that he’d been busy, or that he hadn’t gotten the message, if he wanted to be polite. So right off the bat, from those three words in context, we know that Hollis is not looking forward to this conversation and that he has the kind of relationship with this woman where he wants to hurt her a little bit, even if it’s in a petty way. We also learn that Hollis is a bit petty, at least where Carol is concerned. I remember liking this line at first because it’s just so surprising. Where many of us would give an excuse, Hollis surprises us, and that’s where we learn a lot about their dynamic.
ReplyDelete“I just had the foolish impulse to try something different.” – Carol
ReplyDeleteThis line stuck with me for a few reasons. At this point in the dialogue, Chris is asking why Carol slept with another man when he was away. Some of their character has been revealed through the snippets of dialogue and exchanges we’ve heard, and this line speaks to facets of Carol’s behavior we’ve observed – her almost uncensored way of talking and acting, unafraid to offend or do something against norms (for example, bringing up Chris’ sex life with Pam barely the first minute in). Moreover, this line (and the previous few lines of dialogue) reveals what we already suspect as the cause of their fractured relationship.
"You know, Carol, you're disgusting.
ReplyDeleteYou don't like to think of it, that's all. But she's going to be a woman, you know, a young woman. You remember how you felt about young women at that age. Well, it didn't all stop with you. it continues, and she'll be part of it, perfect body and all. How is Pam's, by the way?"
This dialogue fascinated me because Carol manages to turn around her own sexualization of a child and make Hollis feel uncomfortable, as though he's somehow the one being disgusting. This line works on tons of levels: Carol brings Hollis back to his own youth and memories of (presumably) Carol's younger body; Carol makes Hollis uneasy about other people feeling that way about his daughter, and about his daughter growing up in general (now young Carol's future is a frightening potential for the child Chloe); and, most uncomfortable of all, Hollis is forced to think about his own daughter sexually.
Leading up to the end of the story, I was unsure what I thought about Hollis. I wondered about his faithful to his wife and his daughter, especially while Carol centered the conversation around their bodies. I wondered if he was strictly concerned with women's bodies. Then, towards the end of the conversation they an exchange that makes me decide to respect Hollis. Carol starts, "It's such a cliche, isn't it? A wife I love." "It's just the truth," Hollis responds. "And you're looking forward to the years together, the ecstasy." "It's not ecstasy." "You're right," Carol says. "You can't have ecstasy daily," Hollis finishes. This final line is so profound and highlights the difference between Carol and Hollis--Carol is still chasing ecstasy while Hollis has found something more constant and still fulfilling.
ReplyDeleteThe line "Of course not" on the first page of the story really caught my attention. As Lindsay had pointed out, Hollis could easily have said a simple, white lie to Carol in response to her question about his intention to call back, but instead he flatly told her no. I feel this depicts the tension and confrontational relationship between the characters, as well as their individual personalities. Hollis is blunt, and seemingly annoyed with Carol whereas Carol is trying to carry on the relationship. It's just so brunt and the words someone utters when at their last straw with someone. It really pulls you back from the story to think what is actually occurring between these two characters.
ReplyDelete