Second Reading Response

Monday, March 2, 2009

At the half way point in "Spanish Fly", Jack is faced with a flurry of conflicts which cause him to re-evaluate his way of living. While wandering the deserted streets of his home town Paradise Flats, Jack becomes engaged in the swindling act of a traveller and his lady partner in crime who happen to be passing through town. The man recognizes and sees the potential within Jack to become a great con man. A dilemma that Jack must deal with is whether he should accompany the two con artists who he knows nearly nothing about. Should he decide to live a life always looking over his shoulder, questioning his every move? Or should he stay behind in his home of Paradise Flats living by a never-changing daily routine?

As I read this, I began to contemplate what I would decide. Would I separate from my family and leave everything I know that's comfortable and familiar behind? or venture out into another part of the world and begin anew? I suppose I'm making that decision now. I'm wanting to leave Stratford and leave everything and everyone that I have kept close to my heart to attend university. If I were in Jack's position I would do the same thing. Jack has already begun to tour around the state and surrounding states to swindle the gullible and the naive with the two con artists by the name of Rose and Virgil. I'm not sure if I could stay in one place for my entire life. I see myself in a similar light to Jack in the sense that we both want something bigger and better, always wanting something new and exciting, constantly looking for the next big challenge. Jack has lived is whole life seeking something better. Finding peace in the library and escaping to new worlds and discovering new concepts and ideas within the pages of leather bound books has brought a sense of temptation to his life. . These two strangers are handing Jack a ticket to a brand new experience, one that he never thought imaginable.

As well, there's always the moral dilemma that Jack has been dealing with. He's questioning the ethics and morality of tricking and conning people and taking advantage of their trust. Virgil and Rose keep reminding him that "if the marks are willing to hand their money to you, they deserve to be taken". Jack isn't quite convinced. All his life he has grown up in a blue-collar community. Everyone knows everyone, and everyone's business. There has always been a sense of fellowship and trust among his neighbours. The company that he has taken are showing him how to throw his morals and values away and to pick up new ones, immoral ones. It's an inner struggle for Jack to figure out how to change his ways so that his conscience isn't so restless when he lays down to sleep.