Monday, November 29, 2010

Dystopian or Post Apocalyptic? A review on The Road

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, is an intense post apocalyptic novel about the journey of a boy and his father. I read this book over a span of two to three hours, which is quite fast at my reading pace. It was fast moving, descriptive, emotional an interesting. This book depicts the true horrors of human nature, to the point where cannibalism is a general day-to-day fear. McCarthy uses vivid descriptions to set the tone of the book, which extremely grim. His writing style is quite peculiar, making it extremely unique. His descriptions of the father-son relationship seem quite bland, but through the use of diction he paints scenes between the lines that portrays the underlying message of their relationship. Their short, one-word answer conversations has to much depth, demonstrating exceptional use of diction on McCarthy’s part. Overall this book was a quick, face-paced read with excellent writing skills by Cormac McCarthy.

However, in all honesty I have to say that I hated this novel. Yes, I did read it much faster than I would any other novel, and yes McCarthy’s writing still was excellent. But, I still felt that the plot line and overall story was relatively dull. The plot line was extremely predictable, and it seemed to repeat itself. There was a constant rollercoaster of good and bad events: they would nearly get eaten- they would run away, the father would get sick – then he’d get better, the boy would get sick – then he’d get better, they’d nearly starve – and then they’d find a house full of canned goods. There seemed to be several climaxes in the story, with extremely predictable outcomes. With such a story line, the death of the father at the end of the novel was inevitable, an event I predicted would occur when I was merely halfway through the novel. Additionally, although this story is supposed to be about the loving relationship a father and son have, I saw simply a fragment of their relationship. I’ll admit that McCarthy was adept with his use of language; however, I feel that it is impossible to depict the true father-son relationship in such isolated circumstances. Their only relationship was the love they shared to keep one another alive; apart from this factor there were no other psychological connections that could have been depicted in this book.

Adding on to this idea of isolation, I feel that I did not enjoy this book because it seemed – for lack of a better word – too lonely. I find it interesting to read and analyze books with several characters being developed, and with interestingly developed plotlines. Normally, a character faces many hardships that help develop the kind of persona they carry. In The Road, the only goal they had was survival. I did not enjoy reading a book that was solely based on the survival instinct of human nature, for I prefer to read about the psychological and political tendencies of human beings when placed in a society. This is why I think I enjoyed reading dystopian novels more, for they provided a warning rather than a depiction of how it will be when everything fails. I don’t see the point in writing about a failed society, with no development, where the only goal is survival. 

How Fiction Works


Last year in English 10, I wrote a 10-page story about a serial killer. In my opinion the plot line was great and the story was really creative; however, I received a 6/12 grade. I drove myself crazy trying to find out what it was that I had done wrong, for I thought I had written an excellent piece. After reading this article, I realize it was not my story that had received the failing grade, but the way in which it was written. I have never been a very strong fiction writer, and I think it is because of the very reason that Wood describes in his article. There has to be a certain bridge between the author and the character, and it is not possible for a story to survive without it. My story lacked this ‘free indirect style’, and instead moved choppily from author to character voice.  For so long I had thought that writing fiction existed only in the elementary sense, but upon deeper analysis I can see there is so much more.

This concept of ‘free indirect style’ is what governs most of the books we read nowadays. Books such as ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ and ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime’ are classic examples of literary masterpieces achieved through the use of successful ‘free indirect style’. What makes a book deep, and what allows one to analyze in a book, is the development of character. Free indirect style demonstrates the use of indirect characterization, where the author can express descriptions from his/her own viewpoint, as well as the view a character has about him/herself. Wood brings up a concept called ‘Mock heroic’, which I found to be very interesting when it comes to the author describing how a character feels about him/herself through free indirect style. It takes great skill to portray a pompous man, without direct description of his pompous nature. Instead, the uses of subtle adjectives are used to depict this aspect. When reading this essay, it seemed as though Wood went through a lot of analysis to extract how a certain adjective conveyed a certain message; however, great authors (such as authors of the books mentioned above) have used similar tactics, which seem to easily convey their message to the reader.

Although Wood went into great analysis of how a single word can change the entire viewpoint of the speaker, the thought that the authors were doing this unknowingly occurred to me. Is it really possible that all great authors put in so much thought into their work? Or is it simply habitual that their thoughts start to mesh with the thoughts of their fantasized character? I also wondered whether this habitual trait occurred, because authors on general tend to write from personal experiences. One of my favorite authors, Jacqueline Wilson, writes books that every teen can relate to. However, it seems as though there is a similar voice in all her stories, perhaps entailing that there is more author than character in her writing. Even in her biography, she took on a similar tone of voice that seemed to carry the same air as her characters do. It got me thinking; can an author truly write about a character (through the means of successful free indirect style) that he/she has absolutely no connection to?

Friday, November 26, 2010

A Rough Commentary: Falling Women


During a scene in Atwood’s A Handmaid’s Tale, Offred has a discussion with her commander on love. Amidst one of their frequent ‘scrabble sessions’, the commander brings up the topic of love, sending Offred on a long tangent down memory lane. Love had almost become extinct in Gilead, due to the strict rules placed on women. The mention of love therefore caused Offred to reminisce about the beauty and pain that love is capable of bringing. Through the use of diction, metaphors, and imagery, Atwood describes every woman’s battle with love through Offred’s eyes, an everlasting memory despite the dominance of their loveless society.

Offred draws upon the commonly used expression ‘to fall in love’.  Here, Atwood uses diction to associate the emotion of love to the “downward motion” of falling. The verb ‘to fall’ is repeatedly mentioned as she describes how “falling women” were “falling in love”. The use of associating love with an act like falling, gives the reader a sense of the freedom and unruliness that comes with being in love. Not only is it “lovely, like flying” but it is also “so dire, so extreme, so unlikely”. Only an act like falling can connect the excitement of being in love to the uncontrollable path it may take. It is both dangerous and exhilarating. By calling women in love “falling women”, Offred ties together the act of falling and the impact it has on the woman. The constant repetition of the verb ‘to fall’ brings significance to the fact that it is a constant process. Women in love are continuously falling, and are continuously facing both the thrills and turbulence of being in love. Offred herself can relate to this continuous falling, for even though she is separated from her loved one, she is still a ‘falling woman’.

Atwood presents a juxtaposing image to ‘falling’ in her comparison of love to God. Her metaphor, ‘God is love’ provides an interesting twist to the ideology of love. They twist the saying ‘God is love’ to portray the spirituality of love, and how it is a belief and a power rather than an emotion. Through the use of diction, Atwood portrays how the roles have reversed, and how love is now the dominating power. Offred stated “the more we believed in Love”, where the capitalization of the term ‘love’, and the concept of believing in it rather than experiencing it brings to it a religious sense, that Love is more powerful than any other emotion. By calling a loved one an ‘incarnation’, religious power is brought to a loved one, where a partner becomes the embodiment of the spiritual belief in Love.  The image of love being heaven juxtaposes the idea of falling in love, for now the falling women are falling upwards, toward heaven. These two contrasting images, of up versus down, give the reader a sense of the rollercoaster women face when dealing with love.

Through the use of abstract pronouns, Atwood uses diction to make a connection between Offred’s rant, and her own love life. When describing the pains of love, Offred uses ‘you’ instead of I, when it is clear that she is speaking from past experience. She says that “You would be filled with wonder… and you would know too why you friends had been evasive about it”. The constant use of ‘you’ rather than ‘I’ disconnects Offred from the subject she is speaking of; however, such emotional statements can only be formed from past experience. Atwood also uses diction to create the disconnection by using ‘they’ rather than the name of a man. Offred asks, “Who knows that they do… Who knows what they say… Who can tell what they really are?”. It is apparent that these descriptions of so-called hypothetical situations were formed from some previous memory of Offred’s, for no hypothetical situation can be described with such detail. Through the use of abstract pronouns, Atwood adds a sense of obscurity to the scene, showing how love holds an enduring mark on the memories of ‘falling women’, even when forced to abide by a loveless society.

Atwood’s use of diction and metaphors in this excerpt portrays the prevalence of love in a frigid world. Although societal regulations can prohibit the act of love, the memory and power still withholds in the memory of those that have experienced it. This ‘act of falling’, this ‘spiritual power’, is too fierce to be forgotten. Although trying to form a disconnection, it is still evident that Offred’s previous experiences with love have made their mark. In a loveless society like that of Gilead, holding on to the memory of love, and continuing the act of this ‘downward motion’ are all that falling women have to hold on to the emotional thrills of love. 

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Just your average Samantha Jones

When I first began reading this article I felt a wave of frustration for those that blame the feminist movement for women’s issues nowadays. The article discusses how women were enslaved by their own liberation. I felt that this photo demonstrated one of the key concepts discussed in the beginning of this article, for it is saying that one cannot have the best of both worlds without facing some emotional instability. The insecurities women face are cause by problems dealing with men, fertility, and their biological clock. Although these articles are all extremely prevalent in modern society, the article continues to discuss how this is not an affect of feminism, but instead a hallucination of issues created by the media.

An example that struck me when reading this article is Liz Lemon from 30 Rock. A highly successful single woman living in New York faces issues when it comes to getting married and having children. Although her position of power is one to be respected, she puts her career over her social life, therefore ‘lowering her emotional state’. Likewise, on TV shows like Sex and the City, the issues women face when juggling careers with their love life, and how they are related. Samantha Jones, one of the main characters, is an extremely powerful publicist, one who is unaffected by what men think, or how fast her biological clock is ticking. Even though she may be the ideal portrayal of a feminist, her achievements have demonstrated how a woman can still be powerful without facing all the other issues discussed in this article.

The essay continues to discuss how it is in fact not the feminist wave that has caused these emotional issues with women, but in fact the failure of being able to achieve complete inequality. Faludi describes the issues dealing with job discrimination, sexual harassment in the workplace, and violence dealing with women on the streets. These issues are much more prevalent when discussing the inequality of women as opposed to the modern woman feeling depressed because of marital issues etc.

In my opinion, I think that people have put the blame on this feminist movement for their issues because they need someone to blame. Although women have gained so much power, we are the type of creatures that always have to find something wrong- it’s the only way we can survive. Men being the far less emotional species don’t understand a woman’s need to create problems for herself, for it is in fact seems necessary to create these problems to maintain the balance of the universe. This act of ‘stopping women before they reach the finish line’ is definitely based on societal discriminations, but may also be due to man’s power hungry nature, or women’s insecurities and influence under the media.


I also felt that this essay provided several connections to The Handmaid's Tale, of which this photo also illustrates. Jorina and I have shared discussions and similar thoughts on the relation of 'Blame it on Feminism' to this novel, and I feel her blog (as well as the preceding discussion) helped formulate my own ideas. Her blog (http://jorina-hlenglish.blogspot.com/2010/11/i-dont-need-man.html#comments) works off of the idea that women are seen as vessels in The Handmaid's Tale. This relates to the concept of a woman's constant worry over her biological clock, except for the fact that it is exaggerated to matters of survival. Jorina brought up an interesting idea, that women mask their more prevalent issues with petty problems. This idea was also presented in Julie's IOP presentation where she discusses how men are consistent in their ability to control women, due to the fact that women are still in constant battle with each other over the attention of men. Maybe if women chose to forget these petty problems, and instead chose to go against the men and the media, we may actually win this feminist war. 

Sunday, November 7, 2010

The Beauty Myth



"There are only two questions that human beings have fought over, all through history. ‘How much do you love me?’ And ‘Who’s in charge?’"
- Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert

I feel that this quote from Eat Pray Love exemplifies the underlying concept that determines all actions of women. Call it a biological instinct, but the majority of women’s’ decisions and actions are based on gaining the love of a man, or men in general. The Beauty Myth demonstrates both these issues regarding women, in a very logical outlook. It is in fact a woman’s need for a mans attention that takes away this power they are fighting for. The influences that men and society have over women are strong enough to toy with their self-esteem, thereby removing a large aspect of their power.

Although this essay provides many viable points, I do not think it is merely women’s increasing power that has led to this new form of ‘private reality’ as a form of influence. I feel that this aspect of feminine nature has always been prevalent- the need to please men and look pretty. Although it has found many forms throughout history, it has always been a woman’s aim to get a man to answer the question ‘How much do you love me?’ and not as much ‘Who’s in charge?’. Women of all statuses and beauty levels face this insecurity, whether men desire them or not.

I found Wolf’s economic and history connections to the ‘beauty myth’ very interesting. When looking at history, the differences in ideals are quite surprising. It is sad that women are viewed as such objects of power in so many cultures, yet the common stereotype of man holding power still prevails. Wodaabe men, as Wolf described, would be seen as ‘gay’ or ‘homosexual’ in modern society, even though this behavior is what is expected out of women. The use of women’s insecurities as an economical tactic I also found interesting, for it is common in society to link sex, money, and politics.

Even though I completely agree with the notion that women are brought down in society by this ‘beauty myth’, I don’t feel that it only applies to women. Although status and money are a greater part of defining a man, the male youth are still influenced by this beauty myth. Boys are also looking to impress girls, constantly feeling insecure about how muscular they are, often resorting to steroids or excessive work out patterns. This is similar, although not as extreme, as what women go through to gain the acceptance and love of a man.

These two questions, as Gilbert said, have defined human behavior both emotionally, politically, and economically. Humans have learnt to play on the insecurities of the opposite sex in order to get what they want- both men and women. The women are just more emotionally and economically affected by it- being seen as the inferior sex. Perhaps it is necessary for society to have some influence over its society, in order to maintain some sort of organization. 

Monday, November 1, 2010

Our Barbies, Ourselves.


Ever since I was a child I have played with Barbie dolls and read Cosmo Girl (and other such magazines). The media’s influence on girls’ self esteem nowadays is a constant and pressing issue that is not being dealt with. The market knows how to appeal to a certain group of people, unfortunately influencing this low self-esteemed group of teenagers into thinking they are not pretty enough, not skinny enough, or not white enough. When reading these essays, I felt empathy for the authors describing their “terrible turning point”, and how the media’s portrayal of the ‘perfect girl’ influenced the way they feel about themselves.

Gilman’s article about Barbie dolls is one of many addressing the issue of how these dolls are influencing young girls. As a child I used to have a collection of Barbies; including mermaid Barbie, Ken, Kelly, even Indian bride Barbie. As described in this article, although the company tries to explore a range of diversities, the classic Aryan look is still present. Although the idea of the classic blonde, blue-eyed, ignorant, and gorgeous cheerleader type girl is still the clichéd version of the ‘ideal woman’, these stereotypes are still existent in our society.

America’s Next Top Model, Miss World Pageants, and Cosmopolitan magazine are all forms of media directed at insecure teenage girls. Higginbotham’s article described the tactics used in these magazines so accurately it was nearly shocking. After reading this article I took a look at my own stack of Cosmo Girl magazines, and realized that every racial and physical discrimination presented in this article holds true to these magazines. Although they try to exemplify a sense of diversity, all girls are equally skinny, equally gorgeous, and have the same ‘I’m-better-than-you’ expression on their face. Even when watching Miss World Pageants, which is supposed to be a celebration of diverse beauty, inside and out, the superficial nature of the event is still evident. All women have the same stick thin bodies, perfectly toned stomachs, and a perfect boob-to-ass ratio.

This idea of the ‘perfect girl’ has tortured the souls of a million teenage girls worldwide. The media forces them to believe that the reason they are not ‘finding love’ is because they don’t satisfy the statutes of what it takes to appeal to teenage boys. Dolls, magazines, and TV shows are all telling girls that if one is not a classic preppy blonde girl, one will never find love. I much prefer Gilman’s descriptions of her new and improved Barbies, ones that actually depict women in real life – rather than a fantasy that all men wish women were. No longer should women have to fit this image of perfection, perhaps not to the extent of that in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, but perhaps to the extent where women can be seen as equals rather than objects to be toyed with.