"Helplessness Blues"

"I don't have a choice, Elvis. When de muse calls, you obey" (275). 

The above excerpt is George explaining the reason why he has chosen the life on the road with the Joking Jaguars. The undertone is obvious; George doesn't feel like he has the choice to play music. Instead, he and his fellow musicians are forced by the "itch" they experience. This explanation precedes Elvis' realization that only a few men at the head of the government are in control of their fate, and Elvis is overtaken by sadness and a sense of a similar helplessness. "He looked up at the sky. It was beautiful. Stars. Like so much sand" (281). Elvis is clearly touched by a sense of insignificance to couple his feeling of powerlessness. When Elvis weakly asks why nobody has done anything about it, George answers simply, "Who want to die?" (281). The feeling of the road wearing on Elvis, along with his newfound sense of helplessness has gotten the better of Elvis for a moment, and the fact that the Colonel has a hit on him doesn't ease his mind. In this passage, the Bildungsroman element of the book blossoms more than ever before, which I will discuss later. For now, I'd like to leave it at this particularly relevant song by Seattle folk rock band, Fleet Foxes, titled "Helplessness Blues."