“The Chinese Connection” ch.28 p.96-98: On the phone with Walt, DeDe realizes that her husband is not away for the weekend where he said he would be. She admits to herself she never believed the lie anyway, and tries to brush off the compounded pain. She hangs up with Walt and almost immediately calls for backup, breakfast cereal. It reminded her again of the past that she was struggling to find. The present knocks on her front door delivering the groceries she just ordered. Lionel Wong was a strong & a man to be fixated over. Bluntly, DeDe throws herself on him and they do the dirty. Beauchamp arrives home an hour later, just in time to see Lionel withdraw. Indirectly he knew what had just happened. He reveled in his ability to coerce his wife into acting out the deeds she accused him. This is a shallow victory for Beauchamp & serves no purpose but to obliterate their marriage.
“Confession in the Nude” ch.29 p.99-102: Mona and Michael go for a mini beach vacation up the coast. It is brought to light that Michael and Mary Ann have met before. His lover was the shopper at the Safeway that Mary Ann was trying to inadvertently pick up. This is another cross link of the characters within the story.
“Miss Singleton Dines Alone” ch.30 p.103-105: In deep thought Mary Ann realizes that she is not living her life for her self. She should confront DeDe with the situation Beauchamp and her are entangled in. The scene shifts to the Day s home. Beauchamp plants Mary Ann s glove in his Porsche in retaliation to DeDe s nagging suggestions that he was not where he said he would be that weekend. He is determined to squelch his wife s denigrating actions.
“Mona vs. the Pig” ch.31 p.106-108: The pig is a client of Halcyon Communications, king of pantyhose himself, Fartface Siegel. Mona does not relish the fact that she has to jump through hoops to get the man to admit that the current ad campaign needs to be overhauled. During the meeting, Mona speaks her mind a little too freely. She hurls her job better than any discus thrower ever could. Walking out the door she affronts Beauchamp, “Your karma is really fucked.” Once she gets home, she apathetically informs Michael of the news that she lost her job.
There are many parallels within the story. These stress the significance that people are much more alike than they are different. It also gives the story a sense of continuation.
The settings within Tales of the City mostly occurs within San Francisco, aside from two departures. These two places represent an escape from the city & the lives that are moored there. Beauchamp s escape to Mendocino bore no fruit, neither did Michael s escape to the beach. It turns out in later chapters that the two characters must face their lives directly to change them. Actually all the characters that are escaping from themselves, discover this incisive wisdom.
There are several social gatherings that take place. The party Beauchamp & DeDe Day attend provides the characters with a moment where they get to learn the truth about each other. Both of Mrs. Anna Madrigal s parties help Mary Ann s development as a new person.
The only substantial character not reviled in the first thirty-one chapters is the pathetic Norman Neal Williams. It is a pity that he is unable to develop. He is introduced little by little, each part showing more of his grotesque nature. He is found to be a little man that only obtains what he want by using other people. He tries to reach out to Mary Ann, but his shortcomings are too great. Norman is cut from the book in a fury, not able to learn from his mistakes as the other characters do throughout the book. He is a reminder that not all people are saved from themselves.
Interactions Between Characters
By keeping a close nit group of characters Armistead Maupin is able to keep the attention drawn towards the development of the character, not strewn & trying to assimilate new characters constantly. It is easier to keep track of less characters. The interaction between the characters within Tales of the City are simple but many. It is almost predictable that a character already introduced will somehow be the new introduced.
To understand Tales of the City it is useful to relate it to other reading from the class.
The characters are not as complex as ones in the Plato s Symposium . While this is true what the reader learn about their nature is more revealing in Tales of the City. Maupin s work is much more light hearted, while Plato interjects a deep philosophy. There is an obvious time difference between the two stories, but this does not keep love from becoming the binding strap for each. Tales of the City is a search for love that the Symposium defines.
Both Petronius Satyricons & Tales of the City are intended to tell a story. The bathhouse emerges from the past to be incorporated in chapter ninety-seven. It nearly severs the same function, but in present times the sexual content has increased. It is odd to know this & still understand that the perversion in the Satyricons is much more open. Usually sexual outlays refer to perversion, but in Tales of the City the action is not meant to be perverse. This would not be acceptable to the readers of a daily newspaper.
In Tales of the City the characters are able to reach from deep within to find answers. Augustine s Confessions has Aurelius attaining his answers from an outside source, GOD. Grasping for answers outside their experience the characters in Armistead s book fail to attain happiness. Because Aurelius has an exceptional faith in things outside his experience he is able to attain happiness this way.
It is not very clear if Foucault s ideas in The History of Sexuality an introduction Vol. 1. Conform to Tales of the City. Foucault says that it is inherent to confess such as in Augustine s work. Because Tales of the City is not about the author himself, but a selection of fictional characters, it is difficult to tell if Maupin is interjecting his confession. The only sure idea that fits the work is that the power of identity is not taken for granted. Strong examples of this are Mary Ann & Anna. Mary Ann firmly builds her identity and Anna has one to begin with.
After the dedication page Maupin quotes Oscar Wilde. “It s an odd thing, but someone who disappears is said to be seen in San Francisco” Maupin must relate to this quote. The finding of one self happens very often in San Francisco. In Oscar Wilde s prose composition De Profundis the lower class is able to run their lives free of the obstruction of society. Maupin relates this understand with the characters Edgar & Beauchamp. Wilde was thrust into a social class that he was never really included. Beauchamp feels the vary same way. He does not fit in, but must take the responsibility of the social position. Wilde writes his composition to justify his deeds to either to himself or his beloved. Maupin writes to convey a sense that life is workable.
Sir Richard Conway in Forester s Arthur Snatchfold does not confront his omission from society. The character does not believe he needs to develop, unlike characters in Tales of the City which are striving to develop into anew. Sir Richard fantasizes about another character & is able to confront him. The descriptions of settings are much more colorful in Arthur Snatchfold, but the characters are not as absorbing.
Anna Madrigal serves as the motherly type in Tales of the City much like the storyteller in Coward s “Me and the Girls.” The reader never knows the storyteller s name, but does realize that he cares for his dance troop. While Coward s story is a fanciful recounting of prior experiences, a confession of sorts, Maupin s rendering releases the pasts for a better future. Death manifests because of necessity in both works. To confess the storyteller needs death to encourage his reminiscing. In chapter one hundred-twelve fairness is brought when Norman dies a befitting death. He fails to hang on from the precipice because his own shortcomings. His tie is just a clip on, an article that represents his fraudulent life. Mary Ann holds his tie while Norman falls to his death.
Beattie s stories characters in “The Cinderella Waltz” are as shallow as a muddy puddle. The characters in Tales of the City are fully developed and substantial. Marriage is considered a facade in both works. The characters superficially believe that marriage is important, but when it comes down to feelings, it is unimportant. Development is found by separation in Beattie s story, while in Maupin s story it is found through consolidation.
Tales of the City requires a detailed explanation of all events. Each circumstance leads to another which helps in the development of the characters. Maupin is also able to tie in events so they adhere to future events. The hypocrisy of the social classes is brought forward. Humans are frail. The reading is seemingly simplistic on the surface, but beneath this there are serious lessons to be learned. Self improvement & happiness can only be attained when a critical analysis of oneself has been executed.
Subsequent Chapters: Tales of the City
Ch. 32. Where Is Love p.109-111
Ch. 33. If the Shoe Fits p.112
Ch. 34. Sherry and Sympathy p.115
Ch. 35. The Rap about Rape p.118
Ch. 36. Romance in the Rink p.123
Ch. 37. Coed Steam p.127
Ch. 38. Hillary s Room p.130
Ch. 39. Breakfast in Bed p.133
Ch. 40. The Maestro Vanishes p.136
Ch. 41. Frannie Freaks p.139
Ch. 42. The Case of the Six Batons p.142
Ch. 43. Back to Cleveland p.145
Ch. 44. Michael s Pep Talk p.148
Ch. 45. War and Peace p.151
Ch. 46. Once More into the Beach p.154
Ch. 47. Fantasia for two p.157
Ch. 48. They Mysterious Caller p.160
Ch. 49. So Where Was Beauchamp p.163
Ch. 50. What the Simple Folk Do p.167
Ch. 51. Intermezzo p.170
Ch. 52. Vincent s Old Lady p.173
Ch. 53. The Anniversary Tango p.177
Ch. 54. Bells Are Ringing p.180
Ch. 55. The Landlady Bares Her Soul p.183
Ch. 56. At the Fat Farm p.186
Ch. 57. Michael s Shocker p189
Ch. 58. The Family Myth p.192
Ch. 59. DeDe Triumphs p.195
Ch. 60. Boris Steps In p.198
Ch. 61. Renewing Vows p.201
Ch. 62. The Man on the Roof p.204
Ch. 63. That Ol -Time Religion p.207
Ch. 64. Child s Play p.211
Ch. 65. What are Friends For? p.214
Ch. 66. The Beach Boys p.217
Ch. 67. Ebony Idol p.220
Ch. 68. D orothea s Lament p.223
Ch. 69. The Winner s Circle p.226
Ch. 70. Fiasco in Chinatown p.229
Ch. 71. Starry, Starry Night p.232
Ch. 72. The News from Home p.235
Ch. 73. A Place for Strays p.238
Ch. 74. Hanging Loose p.241
Ch. 75. Nightcap p.244
Ch. 76. Words of Comfort p.247
Ch. 77. The Clue in the Bookshop p.250
Ch. 78. Mona Moves On p.253
Ch. 79. At the Gynecologist s p.256
Ch. 80. The Diagnosis p.259
Ch. 81. The Tollivers Invade p.262
Ch. 82. Trick or Treat in Suburbia p.265
Ch. 83. Chip off the Old Block p.268
Ch. 84. DeDe s Growing Dilemma p.271
Ch. 85. Mrs. Madrigal and the Mouse p.275
Ch. 86. The Shadow Knows p.278
Ch. 87. How to Cure the Munchies p.281
Ch. 88. The Hungry Eye p.284
Ch. 89. Trauma in a Travel-Eze p.287
Ch. 90. And Baby Makes Three? p.290
Ch. 91. Ties That Bind p.293
Ch. 92. New York, New York p.296
Ch. 93. Full Moon in Sea Cliff p.299
Ch. 94. Norman Confesses p.302
Ch. 95. What D or Won t Tell Her p.305
Ch. 96. Michael s Visitor p.309
Ch. 97. Three Men at the Tubs p.312
Ch. 98. Cruising at The Stud p.315
Ch. 99. She is Woman, Hear Her Roar p.318
Ch. 100. The Doctor is In p.321
Ch. 101. Not Even a Mouse p.324
Ch. 102. Enigma at the Twinkie Factory p.327
Ch. 103. Anna Crumbles p.330
Ch. 104. The Baker s Wife p.334
Ch. 105. Old Flames p.337
Ch. 106. A Lovers Farewell p.340
Ch. 107. Edgar on the Brink p.343
Ch. 108. Breaking and Entering p.347
Ch. 109. At the Grove p.350
Ch. 110. Art for Art s Sake p.353
Ch. 111. Guess Who s Coming to Dinner? p.356
Ch. 112. The Confrontation p.360
Ch. 113. The Party p.363
Ch. 114. Saying Good-bye p.366
Ch. 115.