Networking Annotation #6: These lines reminded me of the bond between Blanche and Mumsfield in Barbara Neely's Blanche on the Lam. Because they are both marginalized due to matters of race/gender and ability respectively, they find a common bond and ability to stand together as a united front when faced with people who operate from within systems of power. Springsteen writes about finding place and solace amongst people who society might consider "strangers," something that connects deeply with Neely's themes of intergroup solidarity. Blanche, Mumsfield, and the figurative strangers and angels Springsteen writes about are all searching for a place of belonging and security, and try to create that for one another and themselves.That idea of finding common ground and providing empathy and camaraderie amidst the "streets of fire" is central to both texts, and it's something we can see reflected in labor and social movements across U.S History and in our own contemporary era.

Networking Annotation #5: These lyrics reminded me of Deborah's narrative in Life in the Iron Mills by Rebecca Harding Davis. She isn't given the privilege or luxury of convenient birth and so has to work intense backbreaking work in order to support herself and her family. Her hunched back results in her often being treated as a tragic figure even by her cousin Wolfe. Springsteen writes about this as a fact of life that everyone whose lot in life is less than ideal must eventually contend with. He goes on to state that these material things don't matter to him anymore, which is quite different from Deborah's desperate bid in stealing a wallet full of cash. I think Davis writes about hunger from a place of physical deprivation whereas Springsteen writes about it more from a philosophical/identity based place. Springsteen positions accepting these facts as a way to maintain pride in the face of adversity, but he isn't exactly writing for an audience that is starving.

Networking Annotation #4: Oddly enough, these lyrics reminded of the advice given to Martin Eden in Jack London's novel. He's told essentially that in order to live a sustainable life and maintain a career and sense of self, he needs to anchor himself in something, like a particular hobby or movement such as socialism. Springsteen doesn't write about doing something productive, but rather blowing off steam through recreation and racing cars with your friends at night. We might not envision it this way now with rising gas and car prices, but at this time, driving around and racing was what you did if you were broke and had nothing better to do and everything to prove (See: Rebel Without a Cause). Springsteen's figurative characters are able to avoid letting work grind down their souls by engaging in brief moments of rebellious freedom that simulate mobility. Martin's inability to do this is unfortunately what results in him "dying little by little piece by piece."

Networking Annotation #3: These lines reminded me of Candace's character arc and internal monologues in Ling Ma's Severance. Because she's first generation Chinese-American and was raised by hard-working immigrant parents, she expresses a common sense of guilt and burden because of how difficult it was for her parents to provide her with the opportunities she often takes for granted. She's self-aware and this drives much of her relationship to her parents and herself now that she is a working adult who will soon be a mother. Springsteen in this track looks at that psychological impact children experience when seeing their parents suffering through physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion for their sake. Fear and pain are the natural consequences of witnessing your parents, who are essentially God figures during childhood, answer to superiors who mistreat them and work within institutions that don't care about them. Although these texts are about different types of work and workers (blue collar vs. white collar and presumably white vs. nonwhite immigrant) they express similar notions of guilt, fear, and the cyclical nature of work and life.

Networking Annotation #2: These lines remind me of several of Dagoberto Gilb's characters from The Magic of Blood, who are usually young men of color doing their best to overcome their material circumstances and build a better life. Springsteen writes about the hope and dream and idea of a promised land that provides everyone with opportunities, the same ideal that Gilb's protagonists are pursuing even if they don't fully believe it will happen for them. The emphasis on frustration and thwarted youth in these lyrics connect deeply with the protagonists of stories like "Nancy Flores" and "The Senora." The passion and zeal of youth doesn't get the room to grow and be expressed when the people who feel it are forced to spend all their time working and exhausting themselves, making the elusive Promised Land seem far away rather than just on the horizon.

Networking Annotation #1: I already expressed this connection in my original comment on these lines/the track as a whole, but the narrative of trying to find masculinity, identity, and freedom in the arms of a prostitute really does connect back to the transactional relationship between Big Mat and Anna in William Attaway's Blood on the Forge. Such a big source of tension in their relationship is her desire to continue working as a prostitute as a way of getting material possessions like the "fancy clothes and diamond rings" Candy gets from all the men who want her. Springsteen positions himself as Candy's true desire, but looking back to Anna and Big Mat's violent abusive encounters, it seems highly romanticized. Springsteen is stroking his own ego, whereas Anna calling Big Mat a peon is what ultimately breaks him because it destroys the illusion of their connection. Candy's Room is in some ways a song about the illusion.

second reference to Sonny after Racing in the Street! name choice continues and reinforces the album themes of fatherhood, development of masculinity, etc.

Lots of talk of atonement, baptism, inherited sin in this album...what questions are being posed regarding coming of age as a working class person? will it result in resentment towards parents for not making different choices or outward signs of rebellion?

If Candy is a prostitute, then is the narrator deluding himself into believing the relationship is significant and meaningful when it is actually transactional? Reminds me of Big Mat's search for reaffirmed masculinity in Blood on the Forge...

This sounds similar to Candace's trajectory in Severance...trying to escape nostalgia and reflection but feeling it creep in to everything you do...a new kind of haunting

"guts" also come up in several different songs, this specific instance brings to mind the idea of a wolf or werewolf tearing into its prey. who in this class context is the predator and who is the prey???

Imagery of hot blood, burning, and specific references to veins are scattered throughout the album...it emphasizes humanity, youth, and passion but also implies suffering, Hellishness, and mortality...

There's sort of a "coming of age" vibe to the whole album with lyrics like this reaffirming the narrator (singer?) becoming a man and developing class consciousness/self awareness. Sort of a bravado meant to inspire courage in the face of adversity...like Gilb.