Snow Day Post:
I consider it entirely too early to come to a conclusion about Robert Cohn. He is hard to read as a person. The book initially begins to describe him as shy; however, he does not seem shy to me at all. For example, he was once a boxer, whom stereo-typically have large egos, and the story also describes him of being conceited and cocky. Cohn is also a temperamental individual. The story suggests that he is easily angered, especially when Jake disagrees with his opinions. He seems to be gullible, if nothing else. Cohn falls for women because they are "nice to him"(16), and he also gains the urge to travel to South America because he reads a book about a man who had missed out on life. Although some may see the latter as a mid-life crisis, or Cohn attempting to "find himself," I would argue that he is only gullible. Cohn acts out of fear for the situations and scenarios that are presented to him from his surroundings (i.e., being alone and celibate, and missing out on life), rather than looking to himself and depending on his own rationality for answers.
-Brittany Kief
I completely agree with you Brittany. We seem to receive mixed views of Cohn, and I believe this is because the descriptions we are receiving of him are coming from Jake. Jake seems to have a confused friendship/perception of Cohn, perhaps due to his possible jealousy that others have pointed out. Whether his jealousy is there or not, or if it is due to his injury or due to Cohn's interest in Brett, it is clear that Jake is unsure of what to think of Robert Cohn.
ReplyDelete