Threads
Here are 2.5 things that ran through a number of the stories that I feel are some of the biggies (no doubt more will become clear/be made clear to me)
1) Satire: Corporations are allowed to buy time ("subsidized time") for advertising, a fact which seems to comment on the power of corporations, the weird places advertisments can be found, or both. Further, the power of the US shows up when we are reffered to as a "trash exporting nation." There's also the slightly ridiculous armed resistance in Quebec; something whose satire I'd probably be better able to discuss if I knew much about the situation in its current state.'
The book also seems to poke a lot of fun at people who view things in too academic a manner. Specifically, the Deans & Co. who interview Hal come off as far too absorbed in their academic perspectives to truly judge Hal as a candidate. Their reaction to Hal's admittedly esoteric, but probably insightful, comments is far too funny to take as completely literal (i.e. academics in general are horrified when they are approached by something outside their expectations/something with true value. To them, it all comes out as inhuman noises). Kate Gompert's doctor is also satirized for his inability to look at Kate as a human (and not a subject).
Come to think of it, even the book's language often diverges into the idiosyncrasies of today's language (abbreviations (YDAU, w/o), using "like" a fair bit). In that sense, perhaps IJ doesn't so much satirize but provide something of a homage to today's culture. The other bits noted above are generally portrayed comically and therefore do not have to be taken as things gone out of control.
2) Public vs Private self (differences in expectations of what peopleare like and what they actually are like): A lot of characters seem to have something of a private world within them that they are unwilling or unable to share. Hal, for example, never seems to have truly shared his esoteric essays with anyone (or at least anyone save his teachers) and admits to spending a lot of time (presumably alone) in the library. Tennis, towards the end, is also described as more of a private struggle with oneself and one's limits (appropriately fitting with Hal's dream where he plays tennis but cannot see his opponent). Finally, he also spends all his time practicing for tennis so we would not expect him to have the capability to soak up his reading.
In a similar vein, the other Incandezas' private worlds are also shown to some extent. Orin is wrapped up in his fear of cockroaches, and James seems to have struggled with expressing himself through poorly understood/appreciated film (although in the end he seems to have succeeded with his last film?).
Outside of the Incandeza family, Wardine lives in her own private world of physical/sexual abuse and doesn't know how to react with its collision with her public role.
2.5) Drugs: Drugs (and the weird dealer with the reptiles) come up a lot, especially as another form of private life. Hal, Erdedy, and Kate Gompert (to name a few) all use drugs in extremely private affairs. The main usage of drugs, indeed, is in an obsessively private fashion.
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Are characters' private roles there by choice or by inability? It seems we have a fairly large spectrum: James I. tries very hard to express his private feelings through film (one of his films, for example, is literally the incident where he pretends to be a conversationalist in order to talk to his son); Hal I. is willing but unable to express. On the other hand, Wardine and Erdedy seem to work extremely hard to keep their activities private (though, perhaps, more out of fear than anything else. It seems reasonable to say that what they truly want is someone they can share it with without the fear of consequences)
As a final note, I very much appreciate the ironic style and Cantor/infinity mathematics. I also saw some integral signs in the footnotes which is a good sign (in calculus and non-calculus books both).
1) Satire: Corporations are allowed to buy time ("subsidized time") for advertising, a fact which seems to comment on the power of corporations, the weird places advertisments can be found, or both. Further, the power of the US shows up when we are reffered to as a "trash exporting nation." There's also the slightly ridiculous armed resistance in Quebec; something whose satire I'd probably be better able to discuss if I knew much about the situation in its current state.'
The book also seems to poke a lot of fun at people who view things in too academic a manner. Specifically, the Deans & Co. who interview Hal come off as far too absorbed in their academic perspectives to truly judge Hal as a candidate. Their reaction to Hal's admittedly esoteric, but probably insightful, comments is far too funny to take as completely literal (i.e. academics in general are horrified when they are approached by something outside their expectations/something with true value. To them, it all comes out as inhuman noises). Kate Gompert's doctor is also satirized for his inability to look at Kate as a human (and not a subject).
Come to think of it, even the book's language often diverges into the idiosyncrasies of today's language (abbreviations (YDAU, w/o), using "like" a fair bit). In that sense, perhaps IJ doesn't so much satirize but provide something of a homage to today's culture. The other bits noted above are generally portrayed comically and therefore do not have to be taken as things gone out of control.
2) Public vs Private self (differences in expectations of what peopleare like and what they actually are like): A lot of characters seem to have something of a private world within them that they are unwilling or unable to share. Hal, for example, never seems to have truly shared his esoteric essays with anyone (or at least anyone save his teachers) and admits to spending a lot of time (presumably alone) in the library. Tennis, towards the end, is also described as more of a private struggle with oneself and one's limits (appropriately fitting with Hal's dream where he plays tennis but cannot see his opponent). Finally, he also spends all his time practicing for tennis so we would not expect him to have the capability to soak up his reading.
In a similar vein, the other Incandezas' private worlds are also shown to some extent. Orin is wrapped up in his fear of cockroaches, and James seems to have struggled with expressing himself through poorly understood/appreciated film (although in the end he seems to have succeeded with his last film?).
Outside of the Incandeza family, Wardine lives in her own private world of physical/sexual abuse and doesn't know how to react with its collision with her public role.
2.5) Drugs: Drugs (and the weird dealer with the reptiles) come up a lot, especially as another form of private life. Hal, Erdedy, and Kate Gompert (to name a few) all use drugs in extremely private affairs. The main usage of drugs, indeed, is in an obsessively private fashion.
-----
Are characters' private roles there by choice or by inability? It seems we have a fairly large spectrum: James I. tries very hard to express his private feelings through film (one of his films, for example, is literally the incident where he pretends to be a conversationalist in order to talk to his son); Hal I. is willing but unable to express. On the other hand, Wardine and Erdedy seem to work extremely hard to keep their activities private (though, perhaps, more out of fear than anything else. It seems reasonable to say that what they truly want is someone they can share it with without the fear of consequences)
As a final note, I very much appreciate the ironic style and Cantor/infinity mathematics. I also saw some integral signs in the footnotes which is a good sign (in calculus and non-calculus books both).
posted by Cory at 12:14 AM
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