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.
That makes a lot of sense. Also, what if the book is someone trying to take notes on what Papa Labas is saying or trying to transcribe it all down.Maybe that's why there are so many errors grammatically. It's shorter to type it write 1 than one.
ReplyDeleteThat makes a lot of sense. Also, what if the book is someone trying to take notes on what Papa Labas is saying or trying to transcribe it all down.Maybe that's why there are so many errors grammatically. It's shorter to type it write 1 than one.
ReplyDeleteI kind of like the idea that the novel is Papa LaBas lecture. When I was reading it, I was kind of like the students listening to his novel in the sense that my mind would wander while reading because so much was going on that I had trouble focusing on and understanding it all. At the same time, I hope that's not true because I do think that if the entire novel was the story told in the academic sphere, it would feel much less spontaneous and real. You can hear a story told and not believe it like the students may not fully believe LaBas, but you can live the story and the effects of the events in the story become more of a reality. I would like to think Jes Grew was as significant as I read it.
ReplyDeleteThat's a really interesting way to look at Mumbo Jumbo, and I can see the possibility of it being true.I kind of like the idea of no clear narrator in Mumbo Jumbo because it makes it seem that no one really has control over any explanation of Jes Grew--that it has no roots even roots connecting it to a single person in the novel.
ReplyDeleteTo go along with what Lizzy proposed, maybe Reed himself is the transcriber of Papa LaBas' lecture, which accounts for the notes that are signed off as "I.R." Nice blog post! :)
I don't know--I, for one, would love to sit through a LaBas lecture. He seems like a really interesting guy with a lot of obscure knowledge who has an analysis worth listening to. (Which sounds a lot like I'm describing Ishmael Reed, and that's no accident--I'd love to sit through a Reed lecture, too, and had the pleasure of doing so when he visited the U of I back in 1997 or so.)
ReplyDeleteBut there's definitely some self-deprecating irony in the depiction of the disinterested students, to whom this is all ancient history that doesn't quite touch on their lives (as if he's anticipating and joking about his own novel receiving a shrug and an eyeroll, or having it *solely* talked about in terms of its eccentricities). They're *wrong*, of course--history is vitally important!!--but students sometimes have been known to fail to see the relevance.
The coincidence of reading this novel during Black History Month is revealing. In my view, black history is full of totally interesting and relevant and even urgent stories and figures and stuff worth talking about and thinking about *in relation to our present day*, but all too often it's a one-dimensional paying-of-homage to a handful of iconic figures, without a lot of critical reflection or diversity in the stories told. We see something like this with the "Jes Grew holiday."