Sunday, October 22, 2023

Community in The Rabbit Hutch

    It’s difficult to define what makes a community, whether it’s repeated interactions, genuine friendship, or simple coexistence. “The Rabbit Hutch” explores all three of these between different characters, with various interactions and stories that culminate in a traumatic scene that in some ways binds the characters of the novel. Although “The Rabbit Hutch” is home to isolated individuals with minorly overlapping stories and only the loosest connections to one another, Tess Gunty manages to develop a community between the characters, even if a weak one.

    Joan’s character serves as one of the best representations of how community is built in the novel, demonstrating the way that bonds are formed through shared interactions. One of the first instances of this is her conversation with Blandine in the laundromat. This marks the first direct encounter between characters in different apartments. Blandine herself remarks, “It’s weird, right? Living so close to people you know nothing about” (Gunty 25). Although Joan is uncomfortable with Blandine’s intensity and the idea of having to interact with a stranger, emphasizing the initial isolation of individuals in the apartment, the interaction stays with her as she continues to think about Blandine throughout the novel. 

    In the final scene, Joan makes the surprising decision to visit Blandine in the hospital after she is stabbed. Because of her willingness to overlook Blandine’s screaming in the apartment directly above her, a large part of Joan’s decision is likely due to guilt. However, the act of going to the hospital, especially in a character as socially isolated as herself, is evidence that Joan feels some form of connection to Blandine. The situation highlights the lasting impact of small interactions that can lead to the building of communities. 

    Another instance of a seemingly one-time interaction coming back later is Moses being the one to run to Blandine and stop her from bleeding out. Whether or not he would have done that for anyone is unclear, as Moses’s moral compass is a complicated matter in the story. However, Moses’s first meeting with Blandine where he tells her sadly that she’s beautiful may explain his intense protectiveness of her later in the book, where he tells Todd, “I will kill you if you touch her” (377).

    Even if characters pass each other in the halls of The Rabbit Hutch without speaking to or acknowledging each other, there is an unspoken shared history that binds them. Even if a character manages to escape The Rabbit Hut, that history won’t leave them. This connection, however broken, maintains their community. 

2 comments:

  1. I agree with you completely. I believe the incident with Blandine is a driving factor in the start of a community forming within the Rabbit Hutch. Before, everyone had kept to themselves, but this incident forced others to be involved and triggered the start to a community. I very much agree with your question in whether Moses would help out anyone, or if it was just because he recognized who the girl was. Moses has not been shown to be the most stable personal mentally. He has always been fighting a ware with himself inside his head, so I was genuinely surprised when it was Moses who went out of his way to help save another person. I believe it was because he recognized Blandine as the "beautiful" girl. Throughout the novel, when Blandine was called beautiful, it was largely due to her looks, but I believe that to be different in Moses's case. I believe what he meant was her heart and who she was as a person was beautiful. Her curiosity and view of the world was beautiful to him, someone who has seen all the ugly throughout his life and someone who views the world in a dark way. I believe he thought she deserved something better than to die after being stabbed and that was his reason to save her. I agree with your analysis on the topic of Moses and Blandine completely.

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  2. I agree with your thoughtful analysis of how Tess Gunty develops a community between the characters in The Rabbit Hutch, even if it is a weak one. I would like to add a new perspective to your argument. The community in The Rabbit Hutch is not only built through shared interactions but also through shared suffering. The characters have all experienced trauma, abandonment, and neglect. They live in a place that is both physically and emotionally isolating. Yet, in their shared pain, they find a sense of connection. This is evident in the final scene of the novel when Joan visits Blandine in the hospital. Joan is initially motivated by guilt, but she also feels a deep empathy for Blandine. She knows what it is like to feel alone and misunderstood. The other characters in the novel also suffer in different ways. Moses is haunted by the memory of his mother's death. Todd is struggling with addiction and mental illness. The young people who have aged out of foster care are grappling with the uncertainty of their future. Despite their differences, the characters in The Rabbit Hutch are bound together by their shared experiences. They may not always be supportive of each other, but they understand each other in a way that no one else can. One way to think about the community in The Rabbit Hutch is as a kind of trauma bond. Trauma bonds are formed when people share a traumatic experience. These bonds can be intense and complex, but they can also be very supportive. In The Rabbit Hutch, the characters' trauma bonds help them to survive and even thrive. They provide a sense of belonging and support in a world that is often hostile and unforgiving. Of course, the community in The Rabbit Hutch could be better. The characters are often flawed and selfish. They make mistakes and hurt each other. But, in the end, they are all connected by their shared experiences and humanity.

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