In several of our previous discussions, we have talked about how Gould had found painting fish as an outlet of self-expression and, in a sense, emotions as he attempts to survive the insanity of Sarah Island. However, there was a dramatic twist of events when Gould escapes burns the very things that had given him a sense of purpose and identity. When Twopenny Sal uses the registers to fuel the fire to cremate Tracker Marks, Gould frantically attempts to save the very documents that he had dragged for many days and would cause Matt Brady to bring down the system. However, he soon realizes that the register contains his past, present, and future and he throws them into the flames. (335-337) This, I would like to argue, is the ultimate climax of the novel. In the beginning of this book, Gould struggles with the basic questions of the purpose of life. Then for the last 200 pages, Flanagan “builds up” the plot as Gould begins to find satisfaction and pleasure in painting fish, finding the fish to be representations of various aspects of life. In addition, he gains a great sense of purpose as he becomes determined to bring down the prison system by exposing the registers to Matt Brady. However, this turn of events ultimately reverses all that Gould had strove for, causing him to burn the very paintings he had found so much satisfaction in. I believe Flanagan purposefully creates this twist of events to disappoint readers and further maintain this book as a unique novel that represents the belief that life is like a circle instead of a straight road. The only reason why many of us struggle and challenge the events and claims of this book is because throughout the semester, the books we have read contains the basic elements of a novel- a relatively “straight” plot that contains characters that rather discover or attempt to reveal a single overarching truth. However, Flanagan/Gould does the direct opposite by arguing that there is no overarching truth but rather many “truths.” With this knowledge, we as readers should read Flanagan’s novel with the approach that doesn’t try to challenge the contradictions and paradoxes in this novel but rather accepts them as being completely plausible due to the nature of this novel.
When I read the scene in which the register files and Gould's book are burned, I did not see it as the climax. After reading David's post, however, I tend to agree that this event as the "climax" does fit perfectly with the rest of the tale. I say this because the fact that a scene where Gould contradicts what has been established as his purpose in life (to paint fish and escape the island) is also the climax proves that Flanagan is doing his best to make this novel evade traditional texts. That being said, the inclusion of a climax also shows that the author is still creating a (very convoluted) plot.
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