The Rabbit Hutch, by Tess Gunty, has a large focus on connecting. True conversation allows for connection and that connection makes everyone better.
Blandine has a true connection with Moses the day of her attack; without this encounter he would not have saved her life after Todd stabbed her. During their conversation at the park Blandine “can’t tell if he’s just being polite, but every second of the interaction is increasing her power” (Gunty, 302). While Blandine can not tell if the conversation is truly connected, she can tell that she is gaining something from this. While she believes that it is power over Moses that she is gaining, it is actually the connection between the two characters which is being gained. This is because the reader knows that Moses has no reason to attack Blandine and wouldn’t do so if there were nothing to gain from it. This man, while not one to go out of his way to help others that he doesn’t relate to, seen by his deleting of the email by Mr. Boddy, still rushes to Blandine’s aid as soon as he sees the harm that has come to her. The bond formed during the interaction early that day pushes him to help a stranger in need.
Joan and Blandine have lacked this true connection during their interaction which results in Joan not reporting or investigating the sounds coming from the apartment above hers. Joan, unlike Moses, does not form a connection with Blandine. Their conversation at the laundromat is filled with forced answers and an overall need to get away, shown when Joan “checks her phone in a clunky, theatrical gesture” to give herself an excuse to leave (32). This running away from the conversation lacks the even mild interest that Moses puts into his conversation with Blandine. The repercussions of this are made apparent after Joan hears Blandine scream and decides that “attention is what that girl wants most of all —that much was obvious at the laundromat” (351). The reader knows that this is not the case at all and Blandine was fighting to stop herself from talking. This shows the lack of connection between these two characters since Joan doesn’t know Blandine at all yet makes such bold claims about her sense of self. This ultimately could have led to the death of Blandine if not for Moses and the accidental discovery of the incident by Reggie.
These sets of people show the impact of connection, which is brought about by honest and real conversation and interaction. If a person can make this connection occur, whether through pushing for it from others or choosing to take part in it themselves, lives can be improved.
I really enjoyed this analysis of the final events of the novel, because throughout the book we see such a lack of connection between characters. In the moments where connections matter the most, it is a matter of life or death. Whereas an offhanded conversation between Blandine and Moses seems like it could be omitted from the book and nothing would be lost, it ends up being a crucial part of how Blandine survives the stabbing by the three boys. I like how you showed the difference between the conversations Blandine has with Joan and Moses, because I had never thought about the effect of the connections (or lack thereof) that she made with both characters. The result of Joan’s conversation with Blandine causes Joan to only give the situation a fleeting thought before dismissing Blandine’s “bloodcurdling” scream as unimportant (Gunty 351). Because Joan didn’t form the same connection with Blandine that Moses did, she has no reason to investigate the noises coming from upstairs, and just reminds herself that “they are teenagers,” as if convincing herself that a piercing scream is completely normal coming from a teenage girl (Gunty 351).
ReplyDeleteEveryone seems to keep to their own lives in the Rabbit Hutch, even though they live in such close proximity to each other. The boy in C10 even describes the building with walls “so thin, you can hear everyone’s lives progress like radio plays” (Gunty 340). Blandine and the three boys have an awful relationship as the boys are completely infatuated with Blandine, creating a constantly competitive environment between them. Blandine and James are another example, James ultimately being the reason that Tiffany becomes Blandine and drops out of school. If the tenants of Rabbit Hutch simply interacted more and created meaningful connections, maybe the situation at the end of the book would have turned out differently.