epilogue thoughts

So when I read the epilogue of Mumbo Jumbo, it occurred to me that Papa LaBas might have been narrating all along. My thoughts were more or less confirmed in the class the next day. (I say more or less because in cases like this, we can never be completely sure of how an author intended something unless they've told us directly)

Related to LaBas being the narrator of Mumbo Jumbo, I think it also makes sense that LaBas' lecture was the book, if you know what I mean. Like as we were reading the book, we were also "listening" to Papa LaBas' lecture. This would explain why students started wandering out. The book isn't short, and the language isn't very easy to comprehend. By the time you figure it out, it's exhausting to go too far below the surface.

When the sleepy lecture hall was being described in the book, I thought of two possible reasons for the mood. One is the reason we discussed in class. Jes Grew isn't meant to be discussed in an academic setting. It's supposed to be chaotic and spontaneous and they're trying to turn it into an organized lecture. The other reason I came up with is slightly more cynical. Papa LaBas just might not be an interesting speaker. Sure he's crazy old, which is pretty cool, but that doesn't mean he can hold an audience. The part of his lecture quoted in the epilogue seems very tangential, and when you've been listening to someone speak for God knows how many hours, tangents aren't really appreciated. But maybe that's just me.

?????????

Okay so we started reading Mumbo Jumbo, and to my utter embarrassment I have no idea what's going on. I had little bursts of understanding as I read, but as a complete story not a lot registered. I thought the class discussion would clarify some things, but all it did was throw me into a whole other spiral of confusion. So I'm just going to get down everything I know and see if I can come to some kind of a consensus on what the hell is happening.

The book starts out with the mayor, who's with who is most likely a prostitute or something similar. He gets a call about some sort of sickness and takes a break from being a sleazy bastard to be the kind of mayor people generally trust. So far, so good. The problem I had was that I didn't expect phonetic spelling, nor did I expect that grammar. I don't know what these people are saying. There were almost no words commonly used in the English language. Just a bunch of mumbo jumbo, if I may. Not only that, but I didn't know what Jes Grew was referring to yet, so I assumed it was a literal plague.

Maybe Jes Grew refers to black culture? Is that racist? If Jes Grew is black culture is Reed being racist for characterizing it as a disease or is he writing it like that to point out that other people are racist?

Pretty sure chapter 3 was a glitch. Reading it reminded me of what happens when you have a really good idea but you're afraid you'll forget it so you just write down whatever is in your head. It's like Reed was brainstorming and he forgot to take the page out before publishing it.

That's pretty much all I've gotten out of the book so far, but hopefully, as I continue reading, I'll get used to the style of writing. Maybe I'll even figure out what the plot is.