Jack Lavey W5 Due 4/15/13 Glossolalia BP#1 Thesis: In his short story Glossolalia, author David Jauss uses

the overall motif of barriers to demonstrate that when one feels extreme distaste for another, he may wish that others death, until he later learns to empathize and forgive. People, such as Danny, often express loathing for others in attempts to create stark barriers between themselves and someone else. At the beginning of the story, Danny rants about why he despises his father so deeply, explaining that he, ...blamed him for everything else that was wrong with my life... (244) Blame is one of the most common defensive barriers humans use. It takes all of the pressure off of oneself and places it upon the despised party. On that account, one can feel that he has successfully distanced himself, while still being able to completely ignore his own actions, however cruel those may be. Danny even takes this so far as to claim his father is the cause of every single bad thing in his life. While this does seem a bit dramatic, it does prove the point that people have no problem turning their detestation into blame, and spewing that upon even those closest to them in order to create blunt barriers while still disregarding the fact that they may be in the wrong. Even when Bill has had his breakdown, Danny continues to condemn his father, disclosing that he, ...was also angry that he was acting so strange. It didnt seem fair that I had a father like that. (248) In this section, Danny seems to just be trying to find any excuse to criticize his father. Once hed gotten the notion in his head that Bill was a bad person, his mind snowballed it into this entity that makes Danny feel little to no compassion for his father. In order to understand this viewpoint, one might consider human nature. Everybody, whether we would like to admit it or not, has that one person who just annoys us to no end. Like Danny, this is often due to completely unreasonable justifications, such as they act strange, but nonetheless it is a part of human nature, and it in turn adds to the ever-heightening barrier between individuals. With increasingly harsh reprobations, Danny concludes that, ...in my heart I had already convicted my father...I was the son of a criminal now--and I wanted to make him pay for it. (255) Since criminals are often viewed almost as vermin, Danny having this notion of his father as a convict is yet another example of him finding an easy way to put up a barrier. Its simple to dislike a convict because theyve done something wrong enough to land them in prison. Danny takes this notion, wanting to detest his dad in any way possible, and once again revs up the idea until it becomes another wall in their relationship. All in all, this means that he is taking the easy way out in his situation, choosing to loathe his father instead of trying to feel compassion. In putting up barriers between people, many find that abhorrence and blame act as effective tools in building those metaphysical walls.