The+Beard

Like Vincent mentions below, this chapter really is the first one in the book that really confused me. Up to this chapter, the book seemed like an ordinary book describing ordinary life, much like the play, "Our Town" that we read in English clas last year. So as I was reading this chapter and reading about the beard, I read and read, not expecting anything out of the ordinary. So as soon as I got the part in this chapter that first started describing the beard flowing, as if alive, and out came a Native American, I just assumed I had missed some key word that threw off my reading. But I went back and realized indeed there was that figure emerging from the beard. Then came sharks, and mermaids, and I really was confused. After reading the chapter, I frantically went online and tried to find some answers to my questions. I found little though, which disappointed me, and as we discussed "The Beard" in class the following day and I told of my struggles, Mr. Meyer made the interesting point that I was just like Jess and Joe- we were curious about something that seemed strange to us, and we sought to find answers. However, none of us actually found a concrete answer. This really made me realize how cool literature is- it can be written with such unusual and subtle themes such as what Chappell did with this book: he represented with his characters what he knew his readers would be feeling as they read. I applaud Chappel for being so ingenious with his writing. We as readers need to not get caught up in finding concrete answers, because like Jess and Joe, we probably won't find them (Reynolds).
 * The Big Questions: How does this chapter fit the novel as a whole / Why is it important / What should a good reader take away from this chapter?**

Woah. I never thought about this chapter like Gevin just explained it! I as well understood the whole book pretty much up until this outrageous and extremely over-exaggerated section. This chapter also shows that Uncle Gurton and the family seem to be not very well acquainted. Why couldn't Jess, Johnson, and Joe Roberts just ask Uncle Gurton about his beard? It is always more fun to play secret agent and find out information for yourself, but that normally is last resort. They must have known they wouldn't be able to find out what they wanted by simply asking, showing how distant they are from Uncle Gurton. I found that idea very surprising considering how previous chapters made close and loving family their biggest moral. But definitely the biggest shocker was the descriptions of the beard! I was so confused and probably read over the same pages a few times thinking I missed an important point. It is obviously not realistic but if it is unrealistic why would it be in a nonfiction book... or so I thought it was a nonfiction book? I don't even know what to think of this chapter, but I found Gevin's idea very fascinating.

"Mr. Meyer made the interesting point that I was just like Jess and Joe- we were curious about something that seemed strange to us, and we sought to find answers. However, none of us actually found a concrete answer." ~Gevin

Well if the point of this chapter was to make us curious and want to know more, well good job Fred Chappell. But Mr. Meyer did say before we started reading this book that there was a lot of metaphor, foreshadowing, etc. leaving me reason to believe that this chapter is symbolizing something. I just still am having trouble figuring out what the chapter is symbolizing and trying to tell us. (Puskas)

This chapter is a turning point in this book, it makes us wonder where that thin line between reality, fantasy and metaphor lies. is the beard splilling down the hall a dream, a metaphor for how long it seemes, a simple childish exaggeration or an actual beard of biblical preportions. this is also a poit where we wonder how much of the story could be truth or fantay, or are all the events just blown out of preportion in a common way by a little boy? (Gangemi)
 * This chapter fits in to the the novel well to show that it deals a lot with family. Family means a lot to them and I think that sustains a strong foundation for a novel. This chapter is important because it shows how "special" and magic this family really is. Which one of you're relatives has a beard long enough to fill a room? There is something different about this family and it isn't necessarily a problem. One thing I think that good readers should take away is that not everything weird is fake. The characters weren't drugged or hallucinogenic, maybe the beard actually is that long. This is still a book. Anything can happen. (Matthews)

A good reader should question how much of Uncle Gurton's beard was exaggerated, and why Jess's grandmother was content in seeing Jess and his dad run out of the house at such a late hour. Also, the tone used in this chapter implies that Jess is just noticing these peculiar facets that his Uncle Gurton has. Could this mean that Jess has never really met Uncle Gurton or anymore of his non-immediate family? (Weber)
 * I agree every bit that family is definitely the gist of the book. I believe that each chapter relates to the title of the book, "I am One of You Forever." The title suggests that this book is about a person who bonds with another through similarities in personality and traits. However, I am starting to think that the title is quite ironic in the sense that each and every one of these chapters about peculiar relatives does not show that anyone in the family is "one of each other forever." Think about it: a strict grandmother, a silly dad, an oblivious-to-life kid, an obscure mother, an adopted orphan, a "prodigal" uncle, and now an uncle who has a beard the size of a house who disappears without warning. As far as importance as a single chapter, "The Beard" brings out the character traits of curiosity and perhaps a tendency to exaggerate in Jess and his dad, and adds yet another short-mystery to an already odd family.


 * In the first two chapters, this family appears to be a regular family that works on a farm. The grandmother plays a very important role in this chapter because she was introduced as the one who is extremely serious about work and not messing around. She is a straight forward woman who is enjoying her normal lifestyle. Uncle Gurton, a prodigal uncle, is the first of many "uncles" that come and go with their own odd attribute, expression, or characteristics. He is a quiet man who only says one thing, "No thank you. I've had an elegant sufficiency; any more would be a superfluity. He was never "around" except at meal times, when he stealthily appeared, ate, and disappear unnoticed. The most important part about him, for Jess and his dad, is his legendary beard. When Uncle Gurton arrived, he had his beard tucked in his shirt, only to tempt the boys. One night, their curiosity came over them, and they went to uncover the beard. The tone of this chapter is the first evidence that it might not be a regular family. The beard is described as coming over the bed and having objects come out of it. Jess didn't seemed surprised when this happened, so that could mean it was just a metaphor he was using. The part of this that is most important is when the boys go outside to find their grandmother. The reliable, normal and almost boring, regular grandmother only asked what the boys did this time. Nothing about a white beard filling their house seemed to bother her. The chapter ends with no explanation of the beard or Uncle Gurton to go onto anther "short story" inside this story.(Davis)
 * The chapter fits the novel well because it further emphasizes the "family" theme. I shows just how well Johnson is blended with the family, and it is the first occurance since the overspill where reality seems to maybe be altered. A good reader should take from this that Johnson truely is part of the family so to speak, and that maybe this book isn't as realistic as one might have previously thought. (Ude)

I think this chapter goes along with the book because it shows how this book is mainly about family. In the beginning the family seems a little weird, but normal for the most part. This chapters begins to show how this family is different in many ways. To begin with, Uncle Gurton doesn't talk. He only smiles and is silent for the most part. Also, Uncle Gurton disappears after every meal and doesn't come back until the next one. However, there is one aspect of him that everyone is interested in, his beard. Joe Robert, Jess, and Johnson go through so much trouble just to see how long his beard is. In other words, they go through so much trouble just to get to know the one aspect of him they don't really know that well. In the end, the family becomes more united and knows more about the others than they originally did. (Cravens)


 * When I came into this chapter i didn't know what to expect because of the title "The Beard" I was thinking what does that mean? And throughout the chapter I figured that i would understand as i read but that was not exactly the case. In this chapter I feel it shows a lot about family and how Johnson is connected with them but also it is strange in the fact that reality is questioned by the reader. All of the writting about the "Beard" is crazy, because it says things like,

"At first I thought it was flowing away to the foot of the bed like a brook, and then i thought it was rising like early mist over a pond. My father clutched my shoulder and i knew he saw this motion too. Then suddenly it was out upon us, billow on billow of gleaming dry wavy silver beard, spilling out over the sheet and spreading over the bed like an overturned bucket of milk. It flowed over the foot of the bed and then down the sides, noiseless, hypnotic. There was no end to it."

It goes on after that to say even crazier things like it flows down the stairs but even off the bed was suspicious to me. In class discussion some people said it was a dream but others said it was just a metaphor and i have no idea what was ment by this. The thought of maybe a kid was just exaggerating but that didn't make sence because the narrorator is old. I then thought maybe the whole book is like this and it is actually and altered reality but that was not the case either. I still don't exacly know what thoughts were put into that chapter when it was written and if someone asked me what was going on I wouldn't be able to answer them (Macadam).

This chapter is important because although the family doesn't know much about uncle gurton they do know about his beard. And, Jess and Joe Robert seem to deepen their bond through the beard. Although this is kind of a confusing chapter it does play some role in the telling of the story. But I am still kind of confused on how long his beard is. Is it really as long the see it? or is that imagination? I'm not fully sure on that one... (Howell)

Another Uncle is introduce in this Chapter, his name is Uncle Gurtons's. All you know about this man is that he has a legendary beard and Johnson and Jess really want to see if this meth is true. When Gurton comes he is wearing these overalls and you cant see how longs his beard is, which makes Jess and his father disappointed and even more curios then before. Uncle Gurton has a weird presence, he does the same thing every night and goes to bed at the same time. Jess and Johnson are still eager to his is legendary beard they have heard about, so they put this medicine in his drink to knock him out and make him sleep heavy. As everyone gets in their bed and falls asleep Jess and his father go into his room to uncover the meth of his beard. As the take out the beard of his overalls it starts to unravel and doesn't stop, it starts filling up the room. I feel the importance of this chapter is to tell you that you do not always have to have proof to believe a story and that is just safe to stick to the story than uncovering the truth.(Izlar)

**Important Quotes (and commentary)**
 * She smiled a secret smile. " Oh, I have no idea," she said. "But he's been growing it for forty years or more and ain't once yet trimmed it."
 * I would just like to point out that 40 years is an incredibly long amount of time. If Uncle Gurton grew a beard, it would be pretty long considering that he never trimmed it. As for the things in it, those are probably pieces of food and other random items. (Matthews)
 * "How long is that beard now?" my father asked my grandmother. She smiled a secret smile. Oh, I would't have no idea," she said. "But he has been growing for forty years or more and hasn't trimmed it yet?
 * This shows that they were also tracking the beard along with there uncle/brother, it was almost a tradition to the family. (Rollins)

'No thank you,' he said. 'I've had an elegant sufficiency; anymore would be a superfluity.'"
 * "'Uncle Gurton, won't you have a little something else?' my grandmother asked.
 * This quote is important because these 13 words are the only ones that Uncle Gurton ever says. This fact adds on to the growing mystery that is uncle Gurton. (Weber)
 * " . . . it was only my grand mother standing straight and narrow and angry in a wine - colored bathrobe 'What have you boys been doing?'"
 * this quote is the point were the family is outside and the grandmother's only expression is anger, not panic, a confused state, nothing... just anger. This is the first point in the book that says it might be a "different" kind of world and family. (Davis)
 * I think that the word choice here would be put in a sort smart allec-y tone toward the grandmother, because uncle Gurton knows shes unhappy and plainly doesnt care.(gangemi)
 * When it came to Uncle Gurton's famous quote, the line he recited with consistency and without so much as a stammer when his family would ask him if he wanted more food after dinner, Jess described him as being "as proud of it as another man might be of a prize beagle". Uncle Gurton's mysteriousness and quiet nature became an even stronger attribute with this quote because if he ever said anything on a given day, it was his "elegant" quote. Moreover, his favorite saying was the one thing - besides his guarded and most treasured beard - that he and only he had. And his family respected him for that. (Maiay)

//"I put the question wrong, I didn't ask him was he actually going to go with us, but was he willing to go... He's willing to go, all right, but he was even more willing not to."//
 * This quote shows how Uncle Gurton thinks differently, not like others. And Joe Robert catches onto it. That shows how the family gets to know each other better by simple things. (Cravens)
 * I love this quote personally. When we say we are willing to do something, usually we mean that we are going to. Uncle Gurton doesn't work like that. He does things his way, but i feel like he doesn't want to have to deal with arguing, so he tries to give people what they want, while getting to do what he wants to do in the end.

//"When we finished eating and tidied up a bit, the crossed knife and fork; and no Uncle Gurton."//
 * This quote makes you the reader notice that Uncle Gurton is not a personal man and doesn't want a lot to do with this family and once he has made his presence of the day he feels no need to extend his visit.(Izlar)

**Moments of astonishingly good writing**

Over the bed the beard had climbed until it was like a fogbank, only more solid, and threatened to topple forward. But it was still sliding underneath in sheets off th bed like a small waterfall, and now out of that misty mass and down over the edge of the bed came a birchbark canoe with two painted Cherokee Indians paddling with smooth alacrity. Above them, out of the mist-bank of beard flew a hawk pursued by a scattering of blackbirds. (Matthews)


 * "This habit of absenting and distancing himself we learned to know as an integral part of Uncle Gurton's character, as one with the man as his silence. You would sight him on the ridge of the pasture above the farther barn, his stark figure scarecrowlike against the sky and leaning into the wind, and then if you glanced off into the pear tree to see a bluejay, he was no longer on the ridge when you looked again. Snuffed out of the present world like a match flame. Translated into another and inevitable dimension of space. What? Where? When was he? He was an enigma of many variations and his one answer, silence, satisfied them all as far as he was concerned."
 * This quote is astonishingly good because of the descriptive adjectives and similes used to describe Uncle Gurton. Also, when reading this, the words fit together extremely well, like pieces in a puzzle; making this chapter not only interesting, but also sort of fun to read. (Weber)
 * Yes Marshall quotes like these make the book easier to understand and easier to read. Also, they draw the reader in with simplicity and comprehension. (QBennett02)
 * Me personally I would not have enjoyed reading a book or short story if the quotes are too hard to comprehend but it also adds an element of surprise when deciphering quotes. (QBennett02)
 * "We paused at the top of the stairs and he raised the lantern. The door to Uncle Gurton's room was at the end of the hall and we edged toward it. Every snap and squeak of the floor made me fearful; I was certain we'd be discovered. What could we say to Uncle Gurton or my grandmother when they found us? I realized, maybe for the first time, that my father was wasn't always the safest protection in the world."(p.56)
 * This quote is very well-written because it shows seeds of doubt being planted in Jess's head. In this moment, the reader can see that Jess's faith in his father is weakening, even it only turns out to be temporary. Also, it seems like Jess realizes that his father is no safer from his grandmother's wrath than he is, and that, just because Joe Robert is an adult, he is not invincible. However, Jess couldn't have lost //all// faith in his father, because neither of them turn back. Jess continues to sneak into Uncle Gurton's room even after this realization. (Woodham)