Don Bailey's A Few Notes For Orpheus

“Oh, Jake, we could have had such a damned good time together.’ ‘Yes, Isn’t it pretty to think so?”. Their final discussion is right where they started in the back of a cab. Brett has just dug a hole even deeper into the abyss of disappointment that Brett has already given him. Jake has lost his masculinity in more ways than one. He has to live without Brett, and with his disability, denying him any chance at all with women. He has finally accepted the loveless relationship that has become of them, and will push forward knowing how it will never be.

Have you ever really wanted one thing in life? I mean like you really wanted it. What would you have done to get this thing that you really wanted. This happens to many people throughout the story of the “Jake Reinvented”. All though there are many themes throughout this book, I think one of the very important or I guess main theme in this book is that some people will do anything to get what they want. They will even give up something that they really love or are good at. They will lose friends, get in trouble and even get sent to some other town to get what it is that they want.

his father and marry his mother, while Jake Gittes is running from his past in

          The most prevalent theme in this story is loneliness. Jake is obviously lonely, so much so that he stoops to such pathetic lines as, "I'm kinda hoping so, just so it takes a little more time and we can talk some. Or else you can give me your phone number now and I won't have to lay my regular b.s. on you to get it later." His loneliness also shows when Gilb describes how, "her hand felt so warm and soft he felt like he'd been kissed." Jake seems to crave the human intimacy of love, and yet all he does is flirt with a woman whom he does not even care for enough to be truthful to. This is also situational irony. Corresponding with this theme of loneliness is the concept that everyone is looking for love. This need is very evident in Jake and is also displayed in Mariana. No intelligent female would even relent a little in the face of such an apparent swindler as Jake. However, Mariana must be a little flattered and lonely because she smiles at his attentions and even makes small talk with him.

“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences,”- Unknown. William Kent Krueger uses this theme in his book Ordinary Grace. Acceptance is seen in Ordinary Grace more times than it is not. Ordinary Grace is a tremendous book with many ups downs and surprises.

Uncertainties from the past on an individual can create an impact that lasts longer than what seems to be reasonable and can resurface in life by a more powerful experience which triggers the memory. In the story A Few Notes for Orpheus, Gus feels disturbed by his own father’s inability to show that he cares, despite having a daughter himself. He further expresses his views when his daughter Cathy met him for the first time, where he showed obvious jealousy towards his father’s attitude towards his daughter. The events that happen in the story later reveals his cold attitude towards his daughter due to the lack of love he received from his father. This could be seen as ironic because he overlooks some of the key evidence which leads to his

She sees Jake as an unintelligent, brainless, violence obsessed marine who doesn’t deserve a place in her program. As time progresses, Grace grows fond of Jake, his helpful tendencies and selflessness.

Jake is a determined person. He is always determined to make a better life for himself and his future. As Jack is thinking of the job that he has been assigned to, he thinks about everything he can do when he is finished with his job. Jack says to himself, “Your job is just to get the boat there [with 2 thousand pounds of hash on it], and for that, you will get 10 thousand dollars… This was the Jackpot. The answer I was looking for … my exit from St.Croix and entrance to whatever good school that would take me” (Gantos 69). Before Jack took the job,

In Dad, Jake must learn to become independent and live, without relying on others. Jake’s failure to achieve autonomy is first seen by his relationship with Betty. Everyday Betty must wake up and dress Jake, even

Jake: I know I can’t treat you like that but you’ve got to know I didn’t mean any of that stuff…I just freaked out on the situation, not at you…. I was drunk, and I walked in and saw the two of you together and I totally flipped out.

Jake is consciously aware that there is a problem, which is more than can be said about his friends. Perhaps the people that surround Jake are the issue, though. His close friends and the people whom he travels with include Lady Brett Ashley, Robert Cohn, Bill, and Mike. Brett, the target of Jake’s unrequited affections, is likely someone whom he should stop spending time with; however, it seems that he just can’t get away from her. She is a very strong and independent woman who isn’t known to behave in a traditionally feminine way. Jakes does remark that although she is very independent, “She can’t go anywhere alone.” Robert Cohn is a Jewish, wealthy expatriate; but unlike many of his friends, did not spend any time in the war. Cohn also falls head over heels in love with Brett, who soon rejects his affections as well. As a wealthy, Jewish, non war veteran Cohn stands out in the group and his fumbling attempts to court Brett are the source of much mockery and leads to many fights. Bill is also an American veteran who seems to be always drinking. He tends to use humor to try and deal with the emotional scars of war; however, is not immune to the immaturity and cruelty sometimes characterized by Jake and his friends. Finally, Mike is a very heavy drinking Scottish war veteran who is completely bankrupt. He is seen to have a terrible temper, which most often displays while he is drunk. Mike is also not comfortable with the

Jake is calling her a hoity toity Yankee bitch because he thinks that since she moved away she has become someone she’s not. Although they used to be in love and married they use these hurtful stereotypes to get their point across. The point of the stereotype usage is to hurt the other and the outcome is anger and even a little hurt.

An important theme in this book that the character of Jake displays very well is transformation. Through out the book, you see Mr. Gerbati take Jake through a “transformation journey” from stealing to stay alive, to becoming the son figure that Mr. Gerbati once had. Jake found a much better, healthier, and more stable father figure to live by everyday after meeting Mr. Gerbati, and being

It shows how Jake is persistent and dedicated to his job, even if it always seems like he is in over his head. Jake, however, also departs from the film noir tradition when he lets his emotions get the best of him. The greatest example of this is seen during the exchange between him and Evelyn when he is trying to find out the truth about Katherine. Resorting for the first time to violence against a woman, the near desperation with which Jake pushes Evelyn to confess is an expression of his fears and anxieties about being completely lost amidst the lies that surround him. The result is the humanization of Jake Giddes’ character. He simply is not perfect, and ultimately fails to see the bigger picture of what he is involved with until .

This point of Jake’s life is centered on readjusting himself to normal life after World War I. Jake is lost