THE ROAD TO SUCESS RUNS UPHILL
An Analysis of a 21st Century Philippine Literature entitled
The Roadrunner
by Rowena Tiempo-Torrevillas
INTRODUCTION
The land is burning and dry under hot desert skies. My gut is churning but you won't see fear in my eyes. Nothing to lose as I climb in and look to the roads. Then light the fuse to the cannon which promptly explodes.
BACKGROUND
Biographical / Authorial information:
Rowena Tiempo Torrevillas (born June 13, 1951) is a Filipina poet, fiction writer and essayist. She was born to writers Edilberto Tiempo and Edith Tiempo in Dumaguete, Philippines. Torrevillas received a bachelor's degree in 1971, and a master’s in 1978, both in creative writing. She also received a “Ph.D” in English Literature, all from Silliman University. She married Multimedia artist Lemuel Torrevillas and together they have a daughter, Lauren Maria Torrevillas Seamans.
Torrevillas worked for the International Writing Program (IWP) as the associate program coordinator. She worked for the University of Iowa's English department as an adjunct faculty member. Torrevillas has also been the director-in-residence of the Silliman Nation.
Textual information:
The Roadrunner cartoon was published on 1949
Sociocultural information:
She was born to writers Edilberto Tiempo and Edith Tiempo in Dumaguete, Philippines.[citation needed] Torrevillas received a bachelor's degree in 1971, and a masters in 1978, both in creative writing. She also received a PhD in English Literature, all from Silliman University. She married Multimedia artist Lemuel Torrevillas and together they have a daughter, Lauren Maria Torrevillas Seamans.
THE ROADRUNNER
I have problems with the narrative structure of the "Roadrunner" Looney Tunes. This cartoon holds no catharsis. Nothing is gained. Nothing is learned, no redemptive wisdom prevails. Its problem originates in the point of view, which is that of the luckless coyote. The Coyote expends inordinate amounts of ingenuity to capture the Roadrunner—and all his elaborate devices boomerang on him—to no avail.
We aren't talking about moral issues here, or ethical themes, or the notion that violence doesn't pay (because there is obvious glee in the elaborate ways in which the explosions, high-impact falls, collisions, temporary dismemberments, and other gruesome though momentary outcome are set up). The philosophy here is obviously nihilistic (in the sense that the Coyote is out to annihilate the Roadrunner). One might almost call this the Moby Dick of cartoondom, in that the Coyote's reason for being is simply to track down his personal whale-in-the-desert…
The nihilism pervades the entire ethos of the cartoon: not only do the Coyote's strenuous efforts (and the entire narrative of the story) come to nothing, but the Roadrunner himself is curiously detached, almost a bystander to the action, and expands no efforts and reveals nothing of innate character—other than a kind of absent-minded taunting in his "meep-beep" honk—in his avoidance of death. It would seem, superficially, the Roadrunner is the putative "hero" of the piece, by virtue of being the prey, but the cartoon almost inverts the roles by casting the narrative almost entirely from the Coyote's viewpoint. It is in fact the Coyote who has a name: Wile E. Coyote; the eponymous Roadrunner, though his fortuitous, brainless evasions, is merely a tantalizing, mocking figure. inspiring the Coyote to heightening feats of ingenious and doomed construction.
The Roadrunner avoids being caught, not through any virtue of his own, not through intelligence, or luck, or cleverness; merely through speed, a speed that hasn't been acquired through hard work or diligent application, but simply from Nature's dumb luck: the process of natural selection favoring the prey, in this case, over the preadator.
It is not a consequence of the Roadrunner's choices or actions that puts him in the way of the "tragic conflict:" he only happens to be passing through. He is merely fulfilling his natural destiny, running swiftly and effortlessly through the cartoon. But one might also say the Coyote is fulfilling his own luckless destiny as a predator, pursuing his Grail, expending astonishing resources provided by the inevitable "Acme" conglomerate of companies (which provides explosive devices, blasting caps, ropes for nooses, high-grade steel sheeting, elevators in the middle of the desert). And in the end, all is nothingness. The Coyote remains unfulfilled and the Roadrunner continues to run down the endless desert highways, merely passing by.
ANALYSIS
A. Literary Genre
Road Runner, American cartoon character, a speedy, slender, blue and purple bird who continually frustrated the efforts of a coyote (Wile E. Coyote) to catch him. Because the roadrunner is just a fiction written by her author to be conveyed to the viewers and readers of her story. The author’s attitude towards the Road Runner cartoon is she thinks that it is nonsense cartoon but for us when we focus on the meaning we can relate in this cartoon. We are doing the same thing all over again like in that cartoon. I think she doesn’t like this cartoon because she described it as no nihilism and catharsis.
B. Process Questions / Analysis Guides
What seems to be the author’s attitude towards the Roadrunner cartoons? Does she like them? What evidences from the text (language use, word choice) illustrate her attitude?.
The author’s attitude towards the Road Runner cartoon is that she thinks that it is a nonsense cartoon but for us when we focus on the meaning we can relate in this cartoon. We are doing the same thing all over again like in that cartoon. I think she doesn't like this cartoon because she described it as no nihilism and catharsis, which shows that the cartoon is meaningless, no use, gain, value and worth. And also did not give any positive comments to the cartoon.
What does the author’s mean when she says that the roadrunner cartoons are the “Moby Dick of cartoondom?” Look up the story of Moby Dick. What do the cartoon and Moby Dick have in common?
The author means Coyote is like Moby Dick that he wants to hunt the great white whale in the middle of the sea, while Coyote is obsessed to catch the roadrunner in the middle of the desert.
Tiempo-Torrevillas says that while the Roadrunner cartoons seem to have the features of tragedy, they fall flat in trying to be one. How so?
They are falling flat of doing tragic things which happen again and again but in fact there’s nothing gained in their situation, they are blinded with what they usually do, and will happen continuously and end up nihilistic or purposeless.
In what sense are the Roadrunner cartoons an exhibition of nihilism?
The cartoon is nihilistic because the Coyote keeps on doing strenuous effort, that does not even gain anything, and the roadrunner who runs endlessly in the dessert without the roadrunner knowing that he is the one who harms the Coyote unintentionally
Identify the topic sentences for each paragraph. Using only the topic sentence, trace how Tiempo-Torrevillas develops her insight on the Roadrunner cartoons through this movement of ideas. Do you think it is effective? Why on why not?
• First paragraph the cartoon is no catharsis, she wrote that nothing is gained, nothing is learned, no redemptive wisdom prevails.
• Second paragraph the philosophy is obviously nihilistic, she wrote that this cartoon has no value or worth.
• Third paragraph the nihilism pervades the entire ethos of the cartoon Coyotes strenuous efforts came to nothing but the roadrunner himself is curiously detached.
• Fourth paragraph the process of natural selection favoring the prey in this case over the predator she wrote this because she believe that the roadrunner is have natural ability without exerting effort in what roadrunner doing.
• Fifth paragraph all this is nothingless she wrote that because this cartoon keep on repeat on what they doing
C. Contextual Analysis
The author used the following words to describe "The Roadrunner". She didn't said any positive comments toward the cartoon. She is saying that the roadrunner story has no value at all or in other words l, meaningless because she can't see the value and importance of the cartoon.
SUMMARY
The nihilism pervades the entire ethos of the cartoon: not only do the Coyote's strenuous efforts (and the entire narrative of the story) come to nothing, but the Roadrunner himself is curiously detached, almost a bystander to the action, and expands no efforts and reveals nothing of innate character—other than a kind of absent-minded taunting in his "meep-beep" honk—in his avoidance of death. The Roadrunner avoids being caught, not through any virtue of his own, not through intelligence, or luck, or cleverness; merely through speed, a speed that hasn't been acquired through hard work or diligent application, but simply from Nature's dumb luck: the process of natural selection favoring the prey, in this case, over the preadator. But one might also say the Coyote is fulfilling his own luckless destiny as a predator, pursuing his Grail, expending astonishing resources provided by the inevitable "Acme" conglomerate of companies (which provides explosive devices, blasting caps, ropes for nooses, high-grade steel sheeting, elevators in the middle of the desert).
We aren't talking about moral issues here, or ethical themes, or the notion that violence doesn't pay (because there is obvious glee in the elaborate ways in which the explosions, high-impact falls, collisions, temporary dismemberments, and other gruesome though momentary outcome are set up). It would seem, superficially, the Roadrunner is the putative "hero" of the piece, by virtue of being the prey, but the cartoon almost inverts the roles by casting the narrative almost entirely from the Coyote's viewpoint. The Coyote expends inordinate amounts of ingenuity to capture the Roadrunner—and all his elaborate devices boomerang on him—to no avail.
REFERENCES
Book/s
Torrevillas, Rowena T. (1991).Mountain Sacraments, Publisher: De La Salle University Press,1991.
Online Sources
Torrevillas, Rowena T. (1991). Mountain Sacraments. Retrieved from https://books.google.com
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