Joss Moody: The Role Of Intensity In Kay's

Kay’s artistic abilities allows Trumpet to serve a higher role of intensity by allowing a chilling secret to fill the air.
As a result of this, all the characters within the novel is held by the mysterious fog of Joss Moody. With nothing but intangible memories, the characters set out to find their own truths about who he just may be. Joss leaves a letter behind to his son Colman telling him his last words. Colman struggles with the idea of the letter after finding out the truth about his own father, the truth that his father was born a woman and not a man. With the truth, out and about Colman channels his feelings of rage towards his father, often times have small moments of happy memories “QUOTE HERE”.

Furthermore,
Millie, Joss’s wife who even struggles with the idea of his presence still lingering around her “QUOTE HERE”.
In addition, Millie is the only one who was aware of
Joss’s gender. Though Millie understood Joss’s secret she still began to carry on their marriage as if it was any normal marriage. Her thoughts and her mind never settled on the fact that Joss was a woman pretending to be a man, rather that Joss was a man that she needed.

Sophie
Stones, a reporter, teams up with Colman and attempts to write a book on no other than the famous trumpet player, Joss Moody. Even though Sophie Stones saw money in the idea of Millie and Joss’s marriage, she soon realizes that the fog of Joss Moody is way deeper than just “QUOTE HERE”. As she finds out more juicy details of Joss Moody, the answer is yet clear no one knows truly just who he is. While these pieces of the novel all connect in its own unique ways to form Joss
Moody, these assumption and ideas serve a strong purpose in the novel itself. These viewpoints create and shape the late Joss Moody who cannot speak for himself due to him being dead. In some sort of ways this creates an intersection between each of the characters’ experiences, these intersections create Joss more and more as we slowly find out other characters’ view of Joss,
himself.
These few interactions point out one simple thing “WEAVING ARTICLE”.

Particularly, one thing that stands out is the transformation of Joss’s name. Knowingly, Joss was once Josephine Moore, though Josephine in the novel is rather isolated and ignored her character is beyond important. Few may argue that the name change was set because Joss wanted to pursue a male role, for instance “QUOTE HERE
FROM 2nd SOURCE”. Even though the transition was between Josephine
Moore and Joss Moody it is clear that the name change was due to the fact that
Joss wanted to set out to shed everything he is. The name change did not make
Joss any manlier. Others may also argue that Josephine Moore wanted to adopt a male role due to being a lesbian “A WOMAN’S MAN”. However, Millie view contradicts the whole philosophy “QUOTE HERE”, Millie did not take into account that Joss was really a woman. Even when finding out Millie still treated Joss as the man that he was. In addition, these points fail to intake the emotional aspects of the character’s interactions with Joss. The idea of Joss motives for the name change is because he wanted to be a male is overlooked because Kay foreshadows the experiences of the many relationships with Joss. The name change allows Joss himself to feel closer to his own statement; it allows Joss to shed away his name even shorter than it originally was. The name change signifies that he is that much closer to being bare.

Throughout the novel Joss biggest anchor is himself “QUOTE HERE”. Early on in the relationship of Joss and Millie you find Joss getting upset with the idea that he cannot give Millie what she wants, a kid “QUOTE HERE”. Although his gender transformation does not hold him back, you can sense that it is something that truly makes him feel uncomfortable. In times where Millie ask Joss about his past he tends to avoid confrontation “QUOTE HERE”. As said by Marcus “Imagining Trans America” explains the strong gender roles within the novel itself. This is seen as mainstream idea not only that but indicates comfort with the mainstream queerness. Which indicates Joss’s struggles and doubts against himself. However, the doubt does not form in the idea of his queerness, it forms through the idea of not being able to shed his past. His past is something he is not capable of shedding, his past is something he cannot run away from. This holds as an anchor to Joss statement “QUOTE HERE”.

Through the patchwork, Kay creates a mosaic of Joss memories to truly honor him, Kay slowly walks you through the ideas of each and every character, allowing you to flip through the memories of Joss from the eyes of many others.
At the same time, she highlights the points filled with love and compassion that allow Joss to reach his one and only thing he has always fought for, to be himself bare. Walking through Joss memories indicates one more important detail, the fact that these very reasons are the reason that lead Joss to achieve his statement. Slowly but surely Joss Moody sheds himself bare through the playing of his trumpet “QUOTE
HERE”. As the trumpet plays it shows that Joss sheds every little thing shown in the memories of all the characters. The fog of Joss Moody slowly clears as he plays and with every note he plays he sheds himself “QUOTE HERE”. Anything and everything that made Joss Moody is now dwindling away, and now that it is gone it allows Joss Moody to slowly be that “small black mark” (FIND CITATIONS). In consequence,
Joss sheds himself of everything that he is said to be, even his own doubts, all together you realize that these sudden intangible memories of Joss Moody are as unseen as a “small black mark” (FIND
CITATIONS)