As I have discussed, I found many parallels between The Virgin Suicides (movie) and Picnic at Hanging Rock. The blurb on the back of The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides would lead one to believe that the once-off party held at the Lisbons' house is central to the story - which would have worked well with my preconceptions, however I don't think is the case. I could have linked nicely the excursion to hanging rock and the house party - both representative of a rare excursion for strictly kept girls where the problems of sexuality and men might reveal themselves. The Virgin Suicides, however seems to be about much more, at least at a semi-conscious level (who knows how many hidden meanings are in Picnic?)
From my understanding, the book has two potential foci. 1) The virgin suicides: why? what are the connexions between virginity and suicide? etc; and 2) The voyeuristic attention paid by the boys across the street; Or perhaps these themes can and are meant to be reconciled?
2) The boys (i'll use the term collectively even though there is a distinguishable narrator) collect items from the girls' lives, treasuring Lux's bra, a photo of her cervix, pictures of the virgin Mary that Cecilia clung to in a bloody bathtub, doctors' reports etc. The obsession seems somewhat unhealthy, almost paedafilic, since the story is told retrospectively and the girls cannot age - there also seems to be mention of the house beginning to smell like "trapped beaver"...? We could blame this on Eugenides's own thoughts being tendered, however it is more likely that the perturbation that comes through from the narrator is a result of the incomprehensibility and fascination with the event. Pressing further (it would probably be appropriate to use some kind of metaphor here about vagina's but I'm not sure I could pull it off), the disparity between how the boys see the girls and how the girls clearly see themselves could perhaps be key to the suicides themselves. This ties in nicely with Cecilia's statement after her first suicide attempt (wrists) "clearly doctor, you don't know what it's like to be a 13-year-old girl.
The girls, because there are five of them and because their parents are strict, are objectified and distorted by the typical suburban American community. Lux (labelled promiscuous... but I think this adjective is misleading) is sought after by Trip: he pines after her for almost a year until finally scoring with her on the football field, afterwhich (of course) he's a bit sick of her because she confides that she always ruins everything.
When focusing on the boys and their perceptions, memories, I felt constantly confronted and annoyed with their authenticity. This is somewhat acknowledged, when it is realised that the boys were too interested in deciphering and marvelling at the call for help to respond to it. Alas, this is not atypical of suicide in general.
1) Virginity is referred to in different ways throughout - The Virgin Suicides is an old rock song, but Cecilia also held a picture of the Virgin Mary (apparently it should have been Jesus - therefore she's a devil worshipper), and things like Virgin oil pop up now and again. It's difficult to know whether we should be looking at the suicides as representative of suicide in general, perhaps even a code for something else, or whether we should succumb to the reality of the book and be intrigued by the 5.
The book explores the theme of suicide quite well, capturing the alienation that follows a suicide attempt, the despair of loved ones dealing with suicide and indeed the varying reactions that people can have. When trying to accept the mass suicide, one has to expel the crazy theories of infexion and cults etc, and try to deal with what this type of mass suicide really means. However in some ways, the idea is quite convincing - a girl attempts suicide because (this is a massive simplification) she is frustrated in confronting the world as a teenage girl. The response to this is inadequate, with those close to her acting strangely, distancing themselves, so she finishes the job. The sisters, whilst trying to make sense of the terrible loss, are also gradually ostracised from society, until they can no longer reconcile themselves with a future. The depressive moods fester and then finally it is suggested - it's not uncommon for suicidal teens to seek affirmation for the act or to find people complacent with its planning.
The tragedy, is that little can be made of the girls. We are given barely a glimpse of their persona's, shrouded as they are by the distorted impressions of others. The misconceptions of the neighbours, the town and the country, seem only to support the worth of the girls' decisions. Why bother living in a world that seems so stupid and oblivious?
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
William Hazlitt Essays
On the Pleasure of Hating encompasses 6 essays, the last of which bears the same title. I am led to believe that Hazlitt was an important radical of his time, and it seems like many of these essays would have been published in journals or newspapers.
The first piece details a boxing match - the difficulty to get there, the hype. What is most impressive about this short depiction is perhaps how well the reader is drawn into the excitement of the coming event.
The remaining essays could be considered little more than opinion pieces, lacking the theoretical or philosophical support to be perceived as anything else. Given this, a few I found interesting while others seemed to lack relevance.
The Indian Juggler begins by discussing the unrivalled talents of a juggler - but gradually leads to Hazlitt's contention: Men can't be great through dexterous feats, but rather through artistic pursuits (like writing).
His writing about the legitimacy of the Monarchy seemed a little redundant, especially given my location in time and space - however I guess there are some interesting points made.
Perhaps the most contemporary essay is that concerning reason and imagination. Although it does not purport specifically to do so, this essay provides the main basis for ethical arguments grounded in subjective reactions rather than in objectification and distance. i.e. Philosophers such as Singer hold that philosophical explorations in ethics should exist outside our human emotions and reactions, creating a hypothetical world in order to determine right or wrong. What this fails to do is acknowledge that ethics is very much tied to the society in which morality and choice are considered, and furthermore the emotional consequences to actions should be considered along with the objective consequences. For instance, Singer's example of a chimpanzee with more brain capacity than someone suffering severe retardation has more of a right to live - the problem with this argument is that it neglects the consideration of the following: the connections between the family and the severely disabled person, the instinctive recognition of the disabled person as a human - that is, we project our innate understanding of what it means to be human onto him, the responsibilities implicitly taken up by those close to the person.
(I am not anti-singer as such, I don't think he's a Nazi, I just don't agree with his take on ethics in this regard.)
It feels like Hazlitt is someone that it is a good idea to be aware of, although I'm not sure where I would use his arguments in academic writings etc - i.e. i'm not sure whether he's an authority on much. Perhaps he could be seen as indicative of the changing times?
The first piece details a boxing match - the difficulty to get there, the hype. What is most impressive about this short depiction is perhaps how well the reader is drawn into the excitement of the coming event.
The remaining essays could be considered little more than opinion pieces, lacking the theoretical or philosophical support to be perceived as anything else. Given this, a few I found interesting while others seemed to lack relevance.
The Indian Juggler begins by discussing the unrivalled talents of a juggler - but gradually leads to Hazlitt's contention: Men can't be great through dexterous feats, but rather through artistic pursuits (like writing).
His writing about the legitimacy of the Monarchy seemed a little redundant, especially given my location in time and space - however I guess there are some interesting points made.
Perhaps the most contemporary essay is that concerning reason and imagination. Although it does not purport specifically to do so, this essay provides the main basis for ethical arguments grounded in subjective reactions rather than in objectification and distance. i.e. Philosophers such as Singer hold that philosophical explorations in ethics should exist outside our human emotions and reactions, creating a hypothetical world in order to determine right or wrong. What this fails to do is acknowledge that ethics is very much tied to the society in which morality and choice are considered, and furthermore the emotional consequences to actions should be considered along with the objective consequences. For instance, Singer's example of a chimpanzee with more brain capacity than someone suffering severe retardation has more of a right to live - the problem with this argument is that it neglects the consideration of the following: the connections between the family and the severely disabled person, the instinctive recognition of the disabled person as a human - that is, we project our innate understanding of what it means to be human onto him, the responsibilities implicitly taken up by those close to the person.
(I am not anti-singer as such, I don't think he's a Nazi, I just don't agree with his take on ethics in this regard.)
It feels like Hazlitt is someone that it is a good idea to be aware of, although I'm not sure where I would use his arguments in academic writings etc - i.e. i'm not sure whether he's an authority on much. Perhaps he could be seen as indicative of the changing times?
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Ignatius J. Reilly
In the introduction to A Confederacy of Dunces, Ignatius J. Reilly is described as some combination of characters I've heard of, but am unfamiliar with (Don Quixote for example). It worried me that this whole "branching out" as a result of bookgroup might be leading me books whose inter-textual references go unnoticed - resulting in the reception "it was good but i'm sure there's something i'm missing...".
Indeed, there's probably a lot in this book that might have got passed me, however Ignatius J. Reilly, however his character could perhaps be placed alongside those of Kafka, Vonnegut, Beckett. I was unable quite to locate him until the end, whereupon I decided that whereas Kafka's characters are in confrontation with an absurd world, Reilly seems to be an absurd character confronted by a normal world. At least, it is something like this. There is a comic absurdity in the depiction of a man sitting in his room reading a letter, "she must be lashed until she drops" overheard by his mother; or Ignatius' retaliation to an insurance claim against his mother, "A thousand dollars? He will not get a cent. We shall have him prosecuted immediately. Contact our attorneys, Mother."
There is certainly a disparity between what Reilly believes to be at his command, and his reality: an unemployed and obese white man, uncomfortable with the cultural "abortions" rampant in New Orleans - however at times you feel that his obliviousness is a front, protecting him from the disappointments in his life. His indictments against popular and modern habits are reminiscent of teenage/indi manifestos - so perhaps I'm laughing at myself as much as him.
::
after thinking on this somewhat I noticed that Ignatius perhaps has the same demeanor as Stewie from Family Guy... who i also find funny
Indeed, there's probably a lot in this book that might have got passed me, however Ignatius J. Reilly, however his character could perhaps be placed alongside those of Kafka, Vonnegut, Beckett. I was unable quite to locate him until the end, whereupon I decided that whereas Kafka's characters are in confrontation with an absurd world, Reilly seems to be an absurd character confronted by a normal world. At least, it is something like this. There is a comic absurdity in the depiction of a man sitting in his room reading a letter, "she must be lashed until she drops" overheard by his mother; or Ignatius' retaliation to an insurance claim against his mother, "A thousand dollars? He will not get a cent. We shall have him prosecuted immediately. Contact our attorneys, Mother."
There is certainly a disparity between what Reilly believes to be at his command, and his reality: an unemployed and obese white man, uncomfortable with the cultural "abortions" rampant in New Orleans - however at times you feel that his obliviousness is a front, protecting him from the disappointments in his life. His indictments against popular and modern habits are reminiscent of teenage/indi manifestos - so perhaps I'm laughing at myself as much as him.
::
after thinking on this somewhat I noticed that Ignatius perhaps has the same demeanor as Stewie from Family Guy... who i also find funny
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Love in a cold climate
I found Nancy Mitford's Love in a Cold Climate quite funny. As a book, its main purpose seems to be to ridicule aristocracy of 20th century England, however all fun is poked somewhat endearingly and we end up liking the characters for their idiosyncrasies and eccentricities. My favourite of which is a character modeled on Mitford's father, who believes that if you write someone's name on a piece of paper and put it in a drawer, death will meet them shortly. Some passages find him frantically scribbling an enemy's name and jamming it in the draw, however we find that if (by coincidence) one of the named ends up meeting their fate, he does feel a little guilty for a day or two. The homesexual inference toward the end of the book surprised me with its blatancy, however I guess this is part "the rich can do what they like" - one of the points being presented in the book, and part "I don't know anything about the dates of progress of progressive ideas".
The story mentions Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway which prompted me to go out and read it. Mrs. Dalloway is amazingly written, some of the passages seem to perfectly capture that camera movement we see in films where a character is focused on then up and away we fly, through the window and to another. The style was sometimes hard to for me to keep track of, however the story is able to articulate depression and disillusionment authentically through its characters Mrs. Dalloway and Septimus who act as opposing poles of English society.
The story mentions Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway which prompted me to go out and read it. Mrs. Dalloway is amazingly written, some of the passages seem to perfectly capture that camera movement we see in films where a character is focused on then up and away we fly, through the window and to another. The style was sometimes hard to for me to keep track of, however the story is able to articulate depression and disillusionment authentically through its characters Mrs. Dalloway and Septimus who act as opposing poles of English society.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Great American Novels
I recently read The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow and it's hard to describe it as anything else than The great American novel. I'm not quite sure what it means for something to be an American novel, let alone a great one, but it certainly has features that make it distinctly American beyond its author and setting.
When one looks at Augie March, Gatsby, Steinbeck novels, and perhaps Streetcar Named Desire (which i'm aware is not a novel), there is definitely something unifying. Of note, they're all reasonably bleak - presenting chracters that live almost an antithesis of the American dream: down on their luck, unable to escape circumstances and history. I found it interesting to read that A Clockwork Orange was edited when published in America, removing the final chapter (the happy ending). And then you can even think of other important episodes in the American psyche like Gone with the Wind - it's American to leave things unhappy, and yet it's also American to make a Disney version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (maybe not everyone in America is the same? who knows...)
When beginning to read Augie March, I wondered whether Saul Bellow was one of those authors that I could not relate to, writing characters that are shallow and conceited. It was a nice surprise to find that every one of those suspicions, arising throughout the book, were quashed by some rejuvenating or explicating passage. I felt like the narrator grew with Augie March, i.e. that reflection was minimal in earlier passages, Augie seeming almost like a blank slate (indeed, it's a running theme of the book that that's what people take him to be) but with no opinion of his own, innocent and undiscerning. Later, however, he started to pronounce his opinion, bringing out his full character.
The book is somewhat episodic, and the emotions conveyed in some are unbelievably authentic (oxymoron?). After so much description, it is so easy to feel and empathise with the distress of his mother who's mentally slow son is taken away from her. Further on in the book, a break-up is described that articulates so well the complexity of run-down relationships that I couldn't help but feel a little sick to my stomach : that complex mixture of emotions where one has no right to feel betrayed, and yet the betrayal is felt all the more poignantly.
I guess part of the Americanness comes from the character's adventure, being able to sample many careers, lifestyles and people, something that was taken to the extreme in Forrest Gump! Augie reminds me somewhat of Watanabe in Norwegian Wood, with his descriptions of events touched by a melancholia that one cannot quite locate until the end. Some of the episodes are told Gatsby-style, where Augie really just sings everything he sees. Despite him seeming a bit naive and shallow in parts, the breadth of insight we are given into his character makes him human, and therefore forgivable for human faults. I was very glad to have read this book.
When one looks at Augie March, Gatsby, Steinbeck novels, and perhaps Streetcar Named Desire (which i'm aware is not a novel), there is definitely something unifying. Of note, they're all reasonably bleak - presenting chracters that live almost an antithesis of the American dream: down on their luck, unable to escape circumstances and history. I found it interesting to read that A Clockwork Orange was edited when published in America, removing the final chapter (the happy ending). And then you can even think of other important episodes in the American psyche like Gone with the Wind - it's American to leave things unhappy, and yet it's also American to make a Disney version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (maybe not everyone in America is the same? who knows...)
When beginning to read Augie March, I wondered whether Saul Bellow was one of those authors that I could not relate to, writing characters that are shallow and conceited. It was a nice surprise to find that every one of those suspicions, arising throughout the book, were quashed by some rejuvenating or explicating passage. I felt like the narrator grew with Augie March, i.e. that reflection was minimal in earlier passages, Augie seeming almost like a blank slate (indeed, it's a running theme of the book that that's what people take him to be) but with no opinion of his own, innocent and undiscerning. Later, however, he started to pronounce his opinion, bringing out his full character.
The book is somewhat episodic, and the emotions conveyed in some are unbelievably authentic (oxymoron?). After so much description, it is so easy to feel and empathise with the distress of his mother who's mentally slow son is taken away from her. Further on in the book, a break-up is described that articulates so well the complexity of run-down relationships that I couldn't help but feel a little sick to my stomach : that complex mixture of emotions where one has no right to feel betrayed, and yet the betrayal is felt all the more poignantly.
I guess part of the Americanness comes from the character's adventure, being able to sample many careers, lifestyles and people, something that was taken to the extreme in Forrest Gump! Augie reminds me somewhat of Watanabe in Norwegian Wood, with his descriptions of events touched by a melancholia that one cannot quite locate until the end. Some of the episodes are told Gatsby-style, where Augie really just sings everything he sees. Despite him seeming a bit naive and shallow in parts, the breadth of insight we are given into his character makes him human, and therefore forgivable for human faults. I was very glad to have read this book.
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