How are the character and attitudes of the jogger revealed in the language the poet uses?
In "The Jogger's Song", the egocentric jogger display immense vanity when as he exclaims that he "look after [himself]" and "keep [himself] fit" with terms such as "fit" and "good body" being repetitive as it shows that he strongly reaffirms himself of his own physical assets.
The jogger also crosses between a self-righteous individual and a psychopath as he acts hypocritically towards the woman's behavior while showing no capacity or remorse for her in her intoxicated situation. The jogger behaves as a hypocrite as he condemns the act of the woman for being"pissed", a derogative term for being intoxicated, and claims to know what a "nice girl" would be where the woman display acts that astray herself from that "nice girl" image in the jogger's perspective.
However, as the jogger appear to have expectations towards the moral standards of the woman, the jogger himself breaches ethical values when he rapes the woman and cements his own belief that consent was given as shown by her unconscious body language when intoxicated. The absence of sympathy and complete misinterpretation of the woman's plead ( "Cryin. Cryin.") as a sexual invitation clearly shows the lack of rationale in the jogger's character.
Moreover, the jogger alludes misogyny in the form of sexual discrimination and objectification towards to women by using gender-specific semantic field of slurs such as "slut"and "tart" (both carrying the meaning of being a promiscuous woman) on his victim. These terms degrade the women as lowly and seemingly having less morals than the jogger in his eyes.
Lastly, the most compelling phrase that display the depth of brutality of the jogger's character was when he questions "Why didn't she scream?" if the victim had not enjoyed the assault as it simply highlights the grotesque indignity the jogger is placing upon his victim as he claims that the woman had not stood up for herself hence rhetorically, the assault would then be her fault, and not his.
I found this satirical video relevant to my paragraph:
Wow - a very powerful video with an important message.
ReplyDeleteYour commentary on the poem was insightful and interesting.
At times your use of English means that your point isn't entirely clear, but I can see that you engaged emotionally and intellectually with the poem to write this commentary.
Please do invite others to comment.
Hi miss, can I know how I could improve my English to make my points clearer?
DeleteAbsolutely. It is an issue that I see with many learners at IB, so I am currently talking to ELL to see how we can address this for everyone. In the meantime, feel free to come and talk to me about this any time (but outside class time). We can at least make a start.
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