Friends With Benefits

"Fear was lost in stupor; revulsion, in a certain sensuality. Hofmanstahal's nightly visit was no longer a thing of horror, but the soft arrival of a friend whom he wanted to help with all his being and who was in turn helping him. Night and day they exchanged life; and the life nurtured became a single flow and purpose between them. Craig was the quiescent vessel of life, which Hofmanstahal filled every day, so that life might build itself against the coming of night and the return of its essence to Hofmanstahal." Page 5


I had always been at a lost about the sensuality revolving around vampires. Their characteristics of immortality and beauty are appealing, but I could not identify a clear reason why vampires and sex are ofter paired (True Blood, Anne Rice, and, of course, Twilight). This passage offers an interesting insight into the sexuality surrounding vampires and their feeding methods. Craig and Hofmanstahal "exchange life" at night, similar to sex being connected with pregnancy and new life, like how"the life nurtured became a single flow and purpose between them." It is interesting how although this relationship might seem parasitic because Hofmanstahal is using Craig for his blood, Craig says it is a mutual relationship. Craig benefits from the companionship of Hofmanstahal as well as the peace and satisfaction that comes with the nightly feedings. It is as if Hofmanstahal and Craig are FWBs.

Blood Brothers?

“'So – now it is over.' Hofmanstahal's voice was soft; his hands were warm on Craig's shoulders.. 'So it ends – our little idyll.' The hands tightened. 'My friend... my friend, before the ship comes, the men and the noise, the work and the worry and all that goes with it, let us for the last time -'

His head bent, his lips found Craig's throat with their almost sexual avidity.” (118)

I think this quote addresses most explicitly the homosexual undertones present throughout Share Alike. As the two men create their idyllic isolated world, the rules and boundaries of society fade and they allow themselves to form a “strange intimacy” through Hofmanstahal's nightly feeding. Craig thinks of Hofmanstahal very tenderly, describing him as “the sensitive vampire” who brings him “peace,” “satisfaction,” and “fulfillment.” Craig and Hofmanstahal's intimacy grows until “the life they nurtured” in the form of blood becomes “a single flow and purpose between them.” Craig seems to relish the fact that “he was part of Hofmanstahal” and “Hofmanstahal was a part of him,” even calling the feeling “lascivious.” This act of sharing life is “almost sexual” in nature – sex is often thought of as 'becoming one' with another. Vampirism in Share Alike could be read as a symbol for homosexuality; while Craig is happy in his vampiric relationship with Hofmanstahal, he feels a constant guilt over the disgust that his father and the church would feel if they knew of his 'sinful' actions. I think this internal conflict between what feels right and what society tells us is right mirrors those of many closeted homosexuals. At the end of the story, Craig's fear of others' disapproval prevails over his intimacy with Hofmanstahal. As the ship approaches, so do the judgmental eyes of society; unable to handle the “disgust” of the men aboard “if they should see him,” Craig destroys their relationship in order regain “normalcy and sanity” – perhaps at the cost of his own happiness.

Vampire Nature

“They rend and kill, and give nothing in return for the food they so brutally take. They can offer only their very bodies, which are in turn devoured by larger creatures. And on and on. The world is not a pretty place, my friend.”

“Are men so different?”

“Men are the worst of all” (112)

Hofmanstahal’s clever insert addresses the nature of the sharks in the surrounding waters of the shipwrecked men. Interestingly, the nature of vampires can easily fit into this same description. When Hofmanstahal feeds on Craig, he is solely doing this for his survival and out of necessity.

I believe Hofmanstahal mentions this to bring forth the notion that vampires are not so different than the other predatory creatures of the earth. They simply are following the orders of nature and not as vicious as portrayed in legend. However, men do not need to kill other humans to survive, yet brutal killings exist every day for nothing more than personal gain, making them the worst creatures.

Q: Why did Hofmanstahal always have his back toward the moon? Did Craig turn into a vampire?

Are We No Better Than They?

"Hofmanstahal sighed, and looked out over the tossing sea. 'Monster. Always they say that of us; they, who feed off the burned flesh of living creatures'" (Bixby and Dean, 115).

It is here that Craig discovers that his companion is not all that he appears: a vampire. Like most normal people, he is shocked and frightened. He is also appalled that he is taken advantage of in such an intimate and invasive manner. He goes on to call Hofmanstahal all sorts of derogatory things and lead Hofmanstahal to say the aforementioned quote.

We, with our set diets in a modern world, find that anyone who does not follow the norm is strange and should be feared, banished, or ridiculed. Vegetarians, they are ridiculed because they don't want the "burned flesh of living creatures" in their systems. Foreigners eat all kinds of strange things that we find completely atrocious, but they look at us and wonder the same thing. Cannibals eat the living flesh of their own, which is not such a foreign concept in other species. Not that cannibalism should be endorsed, but the main point of this is that we cannot judge others based on their behaviors. Who are we to judge a behavior that someone has been doing their whole life?

I'm trying to find a more formal way of stating this, and find myself fumbling over the words. Who are we to judge what is right? What is right anyways? Who sets the standards for what is right? The whole idea of right-ness is brought up in just this one tiny section and I am left wondering this question.

Now I leave it to you, to let it resonate in your ears: Who sets the standards for what is right?

Share Alike

“Men! Normalcy and sanity, cities and machines and half forgotten values, coming nearer and nearer over the tossing sea, beneath the brassy sky…

Men! Like himself, like his father, who hovered shouting his disgust.

And he, lying in the arms of—God, God, what if they should see him!”

This is when Craig and Hofmanstahal’s long time stranded at sea is finally coming to an end. They have finally spotted a ship and know they are about to be saved, so Hofmansthal feeds on Craig one last time. This is right before Hofmanstahal dies, as Craig pushes him into the water because he is ashamed of whether people should see what they are doing.

This passage very much reflects Craig’s final attitude towards Hofmanstahal’s nature, regardless of their long time spent together at sea. Although Craig is first repulsed By Hofsmantahal when he finds out what he truly is, he soon comes to accept and even form a quite close bond with him as he realizes that this way of life is in his nature—there is nothing either of them can do about it. They come to form an interesting friendship, and soon Craig becomes familiar with and even looks forward to their mutual “symbiotic relationship” at night. Although in the back of his mind he knows that this against his values, he realizes that for the time being there is nothing more he can do, it is said that their relationship became a “single flow and purpose” between them.

In this moment, however, Craig realizes that he would give up all this—this mutual purpose and the unusual friendship that he and Hofmanstahal now share—in order not taint the way that society views him. He fears he will be judged and criticized by others if they see what Hofsmantahal is doing, and knows that it goes against his values as well as those of his peers, and so is therefore ashamed. Although we know that Craig very soon after regrets what he has done, Craig’s actions in this instance show a very important part of his true nature—he cares more about what others think of him than his newfound loyalty to the vampire.

Q: If Hofmanstahal had survived, what would his relationship have been like with Craig once they were back to civilization?

Life at Sea

"Hofmanstahal's nightly visit was no longer a thing of horror , but the soft arrival of a friend.. Night and day they exchanged life ; and the life they nurtured became a single flow and purpose between them." (117)

At this point , Craig has now solved the mystery of his shipmate's eating habits. Eric is a vampire that has basic needs as any human but his craving/ appetite is blood. He manipulates Craig into a proposition he can't refuse because he needs to survive as well. Eric takes adavntage of his size over Craig's and suggests a "symbiotic" relationship would be best for both of them. It is clear that when the, " nightly visit no longer became a thing of horror,"explains that Craig no longer disapproves of having his friend well nourished and satisfied at his expense. However , Craig constantly hallucinates the image of his father as a reminder that what he is doing is very much against his values . Evidently , as the days continue to pass he becomes less and less concerned with violating his morals.

As the story continues , it all becomes a routine and "nightly visits" become normal and necessary to both of them . Towards the end of their survival journey, Craig begins to gain practical / logical thoughts . He begins to question what will happen once they get rescued and what will become of this relationship . It is interesting to see how far Craig was willing to go simply to survive and stay afloat. He tossed out his morals/ values and took matters into necessary action sustain his existence.

Q: If Eric wouldn't have died and they both were rescued would the "nightly visits " cycle continue ?

Blood Donor

“Some say,” he went on, after a moment, “that when homo sapiens and the ape branched from a common ancestor, there was a third strain which was so despised by both that it was driven unto obscurity. (116)

            This excerpt comes from short story Share Alike by Jerome Bixby and Joe Dean. Having survived a horrible sea accident two men become stranded at sea. After a couple of nights pass Craig, a Merchant Marine, begins to suspect that there is something unusual about his fellow shipmate. Craig has yet to see the other man eat and that combined with the fact that he is feeling weaker by the day drives him to the conclusion that Eric Hofmanstahal is a vampire. Eric confirms Craig’s suspicions and this causes him to pass out. When Craig awakens he begins to come to terms with his current situation and the two men form a mutually beneficially relationship. Now more comfortable with one another they begin to chat and Craig asks Eric how he became a vampire.

 One of Eric’s explanations of the origin of vampires is very interesting and would not normally be considered when discussing mythical creatures such as vampires. Usually we relate the conception of vampires to some sort of black magic or religious being, such as the devil, who has malicious intentions towards the human population. However in Eric’s explanation this is not the case. These particular creatures of the night simply evolved like every other organism on this planet not to hurt us, but because they are good at surviving. This puts a thought-provoking spin on the story because we no longer view Eric as an evil creature, but just as another being trying to endure. Also we must consider that this story was published in 1953, a time when evolution was quite controversial. Even today this topic is still debated in educational establishments throughout the country.    

Q: Did the authors of Share Alike intentionally compare evolution to the other make believe origins of vampires?

--Jonathan Virdell

  

F. Jasmine's Crazy Rant

“And we will meet them. Everybody. We will just walk up to people and know them right away. We will be walking down a dark road and see a lighted house and knock on the door and strangers will rush to meet us and say: come in! come in! We will know decorated aviators and New York people and movie stars. We will have thousands of friends, thousands and thousands and thousands of friends. We will belong to so many clubs that we can’t even keep track of all of them. We will be members of the whole world.” (small book-112)

In this sudden outburst, F. Jasmine is engrossed by a stream of hysterical thoughts and storms around the kitchen table while clutching a knife. Driven by emotion, she reveals to us what she believes to be her ideal world. She concludes that this future world will with certainty arise after the wedding.

Caught between a child and an adult, F. Jasmine is struggling to find an identity in her small hometown. She feels isolated and excluded from the community and gives excuse for her seclusion as the fault of the town. The wedding represents her delusional vision that once she joins the married couple, her life will finally have purpose and significance as a member of society. Pre-wedding, she cannot relate to anyone and struggles to find a connection with her peers. Once she creates this imagined transition, it becomes her sanctuary and escape from this awkward, unexplainable stage of her life.

Q: If the wedding was never a part of her life do you think that Frankie would have found a different way to cope with her isolation?

Frankie's Frustration

"Sometimes I feel like I want to break something, too. I feel like I wish I could just tear down the whole town." (114 Bantam ed.)

In this passage, F. Jasmine and Berenice are talking about the "riddles of the world" after describing their ideal worlds. Being a preteen, Frankie is struggling with her identity and is hung up on figuring out how everyone is tied together.

These riddles frustrate Frankie. She wants so badly to be a member of something. She wants to feel included, needed and loved. Since she is only a mere twelve prepubescent years old, she feels trapped, misunderstood and alone. Contradictory to what Berenice says, Frankie describes the people of the town as "loose" instead of "caught". She sees everyone as loose because she can't see what ties them together. Frankie seems infatuated with ties and relationships. She always wants to be a member of something and is in love with the idea of the wedding since it ties people together. Throughout the novel, Frankie observes and analyzes people and her interactions with them. This passage is representative of Frankie's irrationality due to her frustration and confusion about her tie to the world and the world's tie to everything else.

Q: Do you think being a member of something would make Frankie as happy as she thinks it will?

a little lonesome quinch

“Sometimes I wish I had never knew Ludie at all,” said Berenice. “It spoils you too much. It leaves you too lonesome afterward. When you walk home in the evening on the way from work, it makes a little lonesome quinch come in you. And you take up with too many sorry men to try to get over the feeling.”

Anyone who has felt nostalgia can recognize what Berenice describes in this passage. She longs for her late husband, the man she loved most in the world and the man to whom she compares all others. She reminisces about the days when she would walk home from work with something stable and loyal to come home to. It is this stability that Frankie currently possesses, but wants to escape. She is bored with her small-town life and with the people she knows. Her closest relationships are with John Henry and Berenice, neither of whom is on her level emotionally or physically. Perhaps she is so unhappy because of a lack of fulfilling relationships in her life. Her father certainly plays a minute role in her life, seeing as she doesn’t even hesitate when writing his farewell note at the end of the novel. She sees the wedding not only as an opportunity to foster a relationship with Jarvis and Janice, but also as a chance to finally become a member of a cohesive unit.

Previous to this passage, Berenice says that before Ludie came into her life and showed her what she was missing, she was as happy as a queen. It is interesting to note that Frankie, at the same point in her life, should be experiencing the emotions of a naïve, carefree twelve-year-old. Instead, she is bitter and violent and sad. Like Berenice takes up with too many men, Frankie tries to find happiness in the wrong place. She tries to act older than her age, she threatens violence, and she sets her heart on a grand plan to run away with her brother and his new bride. Perhaps Frankie’s own “lonesome quinch” could be cured by doing the opposite of these things. So my question is, are Frankie’s actions bringing about her own unhappiness?

The wedding will solve everything

"Anyway, after we leave Winter Hill I won't have to worry about things anymore" (115 - Ed. Bantam)

F. Jasmine is sitting on Berenice's lap, trying to explain to her how she feels. She describes the world as being "loose": she feels lonely because she doesn't know anybody in her hometown, she is unable to connect with anybody, she doesn't feel like she is a "member of the world". However, F. Jasmine truly believes that the wedding will be the solution to her loneliness.

F. Jasmine is a really troubled child. Her age may not be an easy period, as it is the transition between childhood and adolescence, but she really seems more troubled than the average twelve-year old girl. She questions everything around her in a way that few children would do and she always seems to react in an excessively violent manner. However, what she says here could have been said by anybody. Indeed, she feels terrible and she thinks that a change in her lifestyle will solve everything and will make her feel good again. This is the kind of reaction that everybody would have: when you feel that everything goes wrong, it is natural to look forward to a certain event that you think will change everything. As if all the problems and questions you have could disappear overnight, as if by magic. F. Jasmine thinks that her loneliness is more linked to the place she lives than to her own person. Therefore, being a part of this wedding and travelling around the world will transform her life and make her problems disappear.

Q: At this point of the story, does Berenice start to take Frankie seriously? Or does she consider that Frankie is only being immature and that she will have forgotten everything the next morning?

"Do ray mee fa sol la tee tee"

"'If you start with A and go on up to G, there is a curious thing that seems to make the difference between G and A all the difference in the world. Twice as much difference as between any other two notes in the scale. Yet they are side by side there on the piano just as close together as the other notes'" (109).

This passage is found when Frankie, John Henry, and Berenice hear a piano being tuned while they are sitting in the kitchen talking about love. Mr. Schwarzenbaum, the piano tuner, starts and stops several times, never seeming to get the note he desires. He keeps getting stuck on the last note of the scale, G.

The repetitive sounds of the piano are more than mere background music to the story. The piano notes seem to parallel the disparity in Frankie's own life. Though she is kin to John Henry and around the same age as the other children in the neighborhood she sees herself as being so different than they are. Frankie's relationship with other children is like the relationship between G and A. Despite their proximity to each other, they are not harmonious.

In this passage, Frankie recognizes that there is such a small space dividing her from having unity with others. But, at the same time, judging from her remark about it being such a "curious thing" it seems that she does not know exactly why there is this dissonance or how it can be turned into consonance. It also shows that perhaps Frankie does not understand why there are some notes that can sound beautiful next to each other and others that do not. In Frankie's case, there are some girls who can get along and be members of a group together and then there is her, who never seems to sound in accord with anyone else in her town.

Q: Does being a member of something make you any more like the people who are in your group or do you have to be like the other members from the beginning in order to feel the unity Frankie desires?

-Amber

#prepubescentproblems

"'All I would like,' said Frances, after a minute, 'all I wish in the world, is for no human being ever to speak to me so long as I live.'

And Berenice said, finally: 'Well. Then bawl, then, Misery.'" (149)

After a two day and 140 page build up to the wedding, all that remains is an even more angsty 12 year old than the one that previously existed. After all of her excitement, Frankie can only say that "the wedding was like a dream" and there is almost no description of it. The reader can tell that the wedding was not all that Frankie expected it to be, and furthermore, she did not get her dream of leaving her town with her brother. The reader can is told that she chased the car, yelling "Take me, take me!" Now that it is all over, she can only look back in spite and anger, because that is all Frankie knows how to do.

I chose this section because it shows just how unrealistic Frankie's plans were. It was just inevitable that she would be hurt like that, which I think ties in to a possible theme of the book, which is that nothing is ever as amazing as one hopes it would be.

Also interesting, Frankie tries to claim a new identity for herself, and no one ever takes her seriously, and finally Berenice gives in and gives her an identity: Misery. Capitalized. Because Frankie is the epitome of prepubescent misery.

Perhaps if it wasn't obvious, I wasn't a fan of this book.

And I leave with a question: Do you think that Frankie will ever look back and realize that her plan was impossible from the start?

Can't Spell Frankie without Freak

" The Giant was more than eight feet high, with huge loose hands and a hang-jaw face. The Fat Lady sat in a chair, and the fat on her was like loose-powdered dough which she kept slapping and working with her hands- next was the squeezed Midget who minced around in little trick evening clothes. The Wild Nigger came from a savage island...the Half-Man Half-Woman,a mophidite and a miracle of science. This Freak was divided completely in half- the left side was a man and the right side a woman...She was afraid of all the Freaks, for it seemed to her that they had looked at her in a secret way and tried to connect their eyes with hers, as though to say; we know you" (20).

Frankie, who is 5 foot 7 at 12 years old, often feels like an outsider. She says that she doesn't get along with other girls her age, that at school she is noticeably different from other students, and that she simply does not belong to a group. The passage about the Freaks is relevant to the theme of feeling like an outsider. Even though the Freaks and Frankie seem to connect to each other, Frankie does not want to be a part of this group because she does not want to be set even more apart from social conventions. She strives to be a part of the more glamorous wedding party. It is a theme that can often be seen in society as people want to belong to something and not feel alone, yet they would rather be alone than belong to a group of freaks, or geeks.

Why does the author make the story happen in a span of only three days?