The Egypt Story of Chapters 52

When Papa LaBas bursts into the room of the gathering with T Malice and Black Herman, he arrives with a purpose to expose Hinkle von Vampton and Hubert “Safecracker” Gould, and he even wants them arrested. Some such as the Guianese art critic demand an explanation before any such action is carried out, and the story that is provided in response oddly begins 1000s of years in the past in Egypt. Readers can very easily be puzzled and it seems like the Egypt story is entirely random at first. The way Papa LaBas answers the art critic’s demands are so unexpected that as a reader I was thrown off and was anticipating and hoping for the moment when clarity would strike once again. To my surprise, at the end of the narrative a direct explanation bringing the story up to date by tying it in with Hinkle’s interactions with the book and such was provided, and so through this confusing story, I was left without confusion. When I reached page 191 and sighed with relief, my initial thoughts connected the end of a Sherlock Holmes short story to the closing of the speech of Papa LaBas. Watson always has some sort of sense as to what went on, but Holmes delivers the details that make up for all missing reasoning. I feel like Reed places the reader in Watson’s shoes in some ways and lets LaBas towards the end to be our Sherlock Holmes. Interestingly enough, later on in this past week our class discussions gravitated towards comparing Mumbo Jumbo to a detective story through the Panel Presentations.

For me personally, the weirdest part of the speech Papa LaBas gave was the inclusion of Moses. His story line was probably the farthest it could ever be from the Bible story I am used to. From his overall immature and overly anxious qualities to some more specific disturbing scenes, Reed definitely stretches the mind of any Christians (or Bible readers) that take on this novel. In our class so far, we have expanded our understanding of literature by blurring the lines of history and fiction, pointing out that histories are just interpretive collections of events woven together just as fictional works are. So I guess we could technically call the narrative a history, but to be honest, my mind does associate history with factual material, and therefore there is a biased part of me that does not want to categorize this story of Moses a history based on my background of reading the story of Moses according to the Bible. On the other hand, to the characters in the scene of chapters 52 it is just taken for granted. The art critic for example looks past the question of whether LaBas is speaking of a history or just making stuff up, and rather makes sure he has his facts straight on things such as Hinkle’s age in the story. Basically, the art critic is not questioning the possibility of the story, but instead whether or not LaBas is lying.

There is a lot to be said about the story itself and its significance. In general, throughout the novel Reed is often playful and seemingly random on the outer most layer, but the messages and questions he raises should not be missed. Here the Egypt story may seem out of place and strange but there is so much to take from it. One such aspect of the story is the relationship between and roles of Osiris and Set, which works as an application to the larger Jes Grew movement throughout the novel and is symbolic. Osiris is described as a god who loved nature, agriculture and dance. Set hated all of these things, and at one party told the guests to “cut out that racket.” When Osiris went on his trip around the world, Set took the time to try to snuff out the popularity of Osiris. It is pretty clear that Osiris represents or is the father to the Jes Grew movement according to the history presented by Papa LaBas. Set represents and is the embodiment of institutions and organizations as a whole that repress thriving culture. Even after Set murders Osiris, people celebrate his “living Spirit.” So it evident that the cycle of repression towards growing culture throughout history, specifically in Jes Grew of Mumbo Jumbo, is portrayed by the tension between Osiris and Set, and their story and its importance does not just end with the murder.