Child's Mind

When i first saw that we were reading A Wrinkle in Time in this class I had mixed emotions: I was relieved and curious. Relieved because i had already read it in grade 5 and would have one less novel to attempt to finish in the short six weeks and curious because i quiet distinctly remember hating it the first time and wanted to know if id feel the same the second time around. Unfortunately, I kind of felt the same...

There is just something about this novel that bothers me. I remember being annoyed with the explanation of the time traveling when I was younger and again, as an adult reader, I was unimpressed. Not only was I disappointed with the authors explanation, i was also bored with the simplistic writing style. I find it interesting how sometimes with children's literature, authors tend to assume that the readers are not sophisticated enough to question their reasoning or plot lines or to deal with a more challenging vocabulary or writing style. The novels with the more complex plot lines, such as Harry Potter or The Golden Compass Series, and more advanced writing styles are the most successful. It is important to challenge young readers in order to encourage improvement.

Future Clones

Never Let Me Go made me seriously think about cloning. I don’t know if it was the novel itself or the class discussion, but for some reason I kept bringing up the topic with my friends and family and reliving the debate. At first, I was completely put off by cloning and its moral ratifications, but the more I thought about it, the more I really began to see the benefits – I started to come around to the idea, as long as there would be strict rules in place ensuring that it was kept humane (ex/ cloning an organ itself rather than an entire human body).

It is pretty clear that this is going to be an even fiercer and more prevalent debate for our future generations. This got me thinking about a novel I read a couple years ago in my Children’s Lit class, The House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer. Since this novel is aimed at young adult and children readers I was initially shocked by the controversial ideas being thrown around by the writer – Farmer created a future world where people had completely embaraced the idea of cloning, either harvesting their clones organs in order to prolong life, or essentially lobotomizing them and using them for slaves. (A really interesting summer read if anyone is interested; I would definitely recommend it).



Basically, even though Never Let Me Go is aimed for adult readers, its content got me thinking about our future generation of readers. Novels such as The House of the Scorpion, are incredibly important – if the next generation, the generation that will probably be the greatest affected by this debate, is introduced to it in a narrative form at a younger age, they are earlier exposed to the controversial ideas and the implications of the technologically heightened world they are living in. This early exposure allows them more time to critically analize their social situations and form opinions and ideas regarding these emerging technologies. Although some people may argue that these ideas are too mature for young readers, if they are properly sugared by fiction, they could arguably be incredibly instrumental in the education of future young readers.

Physically Freaky and Personally Relatable?

In the past a freak was someone with physical deformities or diseases – an extraordinary body that does not follow the normative standards. Unfortunately, similarly to “geek”, the term freak focuses almost completely on the physical body. This is something that I have noticed after reading Geek Love and Nights at the Circus.

I was shocked when I read various peoples blog posts saying they were completely unable to relate to the ANY of the characters in the various texts we have read.

To me, Oly, the narrator in Geek Love, isn’t a completely a freak or a geek. I think that there are some aspects of the characters of Oly and Fevvers that are personally relatable.

Oly, specifically in the “present” narrations, seemed to have a completely “normal” view on her families past. She is able to recognize that a lot of what was going on with performative family was completely abnormal. Additionally, Oly, herself, was both secure and insecure with her body and personalities – she isn’t any different from someone that society would deem physically “normal”. It is apparent that she herself doesn’t feel completely adequate with regards to her family. Who in their life can honestly claim that they have always, 100% of the time, felt like they completely fit in with their family or society. My entire family has naturally dark hair and I am the “blonde sheep” so to speak, with naturally dirty blonde hair. Growing up I always felt like the odd one out, not because my parents didn’t love me or treated me as a lesser, but simply because I personally didn’t feel like I quiet fit. I have been dieing my hair dark brown since I was 18…

Fevvers is also someone that I can relate to. While she is overly dramatic and leads a completely performative lifestyle, I can completely understand where she is coming from. I think it would be false for someone the claim that they have never felt the need to “sell them selves” or perform – whether it be in a job interview, to a professor or even to your friends. Dramatic performances in order to sell our selves are incredibly common. I know when I am in a job interview I am definitely “performing”. I dramatically sell the qualities that I feel the employer is looking for in a worker in hopes of securing income and wealth. I can completely relate towards the dramatic performance that perpetuates Fevvers.

While we may not physically be able to relate to theses characters, or even, at times personally (ex/ Oly’s love for her brother Arty, Fevvers' open sexuality etc), there are various characteristics that every reader should be able to pick up on and relate to on a basic human level.

Performing to Please

Sophia Fevvers makes her living as a performer so it seems natural that her physical persona is so similar to a sensational classical performer – the Vegas Show girl. Carter describes Fevvers as completely made up with rouge and powder, wearing “[a] leotard … adorn with a spangle of sequines on her crotch and nipples, nothing else” (12) and “towering headdress of died ostrich plumes” (11). This ostentatious outfit coupled by her extraordinary wings is screaming “LOOK AT ME!” – just like Carter points out. Both Fevvers and Vegas Showgirls rely on there performances for survival. Both these performances would be impossible without the exploitation of their bodies, and sexuality. While it can be argued that Showgirls are “classier” than strippers, considering they never get completely naked, it is highly probable that the men there are not in attendance solely for the dance sequences… similar to the men at Fevvers shows. Either way, both women have found a way to provide for themselves on by there performances.

Sophia Fevvers’ interview with Walser is no different than her aerialist routine – she is constantly performing, even if its on a smaller scale. Still in her stagemake up, Fevvers presents Walser with a theatrical bildungsroman account of her childhood, droning on and on about the trials and tribulations of her youth. Staying true to her character Fevvers is she is over the top dramatic attempting to convince Walser to believe the unbelievable: that she was indeed hatched. Fevvers has always benefited financially from her performance, as an aerialist with the circus and a monster with Madam Schreck, so why would she view her interview with Walser as anything other than a financial opportunity. Fevvers is very aware that her performance with Walser is incredibly important; If Fevvers can put on a convincing performance, completely selling her story to Walser, he will in turn communicate it on a larger scale furthering her career.

Sophia Fevvers understands the importance of performance and exploits all its various layers. Not only does she physically perform her aerialist routine, she creates a character through her costumes and make up that aid in this performance. On a smaller scale, she understands the importance of convincing a small and large audience of her authenticity – something that can only be achieved through an incredibly convincing performance. Without performance, Sophia Fevvers would probably still be stuck in that whorehouse putting on a much more degrading performance…

The Fascination with Freaks and Geeks

One of my favorite things about Dunn’s novel Geek Love was how each character completely owned their “freakness". In a society that traditionally seems to perpetuate and reward normalcy it was completely refreshing to experience characters that cherished their obvious individuality. In the past people living with these physical individualities or “abnormalities” were generally portrayed as self loathing or insecure (ex/ the Elephant man) but Dunn creates characters that break this mold: Arty was proud of his “maggot” shape, the twins boldly worked their fused physique and even Oly, whose short stature, baldness and hunchback is viewed as lesser than her siblings freaky physiques, appears completely comfortable and confident with who she is. Crystal Lil and Papa have completely convinced their children that their oddities make them great. Lil justifies the genetic manipulation claiming: “what greater gift could you offer your children than inherent ability to earn a living just by being themselves” (Dunn 7). This idea of profiting of ones individual differences is something that people of our generation can completely relate to considering the evolution of our generations television programming.

        

       Television viewers have become complete voyeurs – their programming is saturated with people different from themselves: The Roloffs, the Arnolds or even the “Mermaid Girl” (http://www.oprah.com/health/The-Only-Living-Mermaid-Girl) and the “600 lbs Virgin” ((http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/31845266/ns/today_relationships/). Television has become a modern day “freak show” that allows viewers to experience these physical oddities from the comfort of their own home. People no longer have to venture out and pay money to attend these “Freak Shows” at the traveling circus… all they have to do is flip on their TV. Everyone from Oprah to TLC has latched onto and cashed in on this evolved way to house “freaks” and feed peoples fascination with those different from themselves. TLC, for example, basically has a program staring someone that has similar oddities as every main character in Dunn’s novel: Shiloh Pepin AKA “The Mermaid Girl”, a set of conjoined east Indian twins dibbed “the Human Spider”, Patrick Deuel AKA “Half-ton Man” and various “little people”. Society’s fascination with freaks arguably stems from inner insecurities and a desire to feel better about oneself and their normalities, it also makes people feel better about their own abnormalities – everyone has something freaky or geeky about them.

 

Not only does Dunn’s novel tie in directly towards modern society’s fascination with “freaks”, it also highlights this idea of embracing ones inner freak that seems to be more and more prevalent in our generation. While “freakness” and “geekness” have undoubtedly become a fascination for our generation, I believe it can arguably be viewed as a fad. Movies and video games that ten years ago were associated with nerds and geeks, such as Super Mario and Star Wars, are now considered “in style”. I, myself, recently walked into one of my favorite stores and bought a Star Wars t-shirt that I proudly rock, something I wouldn’t have been caught dead in 5 years ago. Comic books, super heroes and video games are now considered vogue. The kids who used to be considered “freaks” are now considered cool: the nerdy couple from Juno, the boys from Super Bad, the members of Glee and Kick Ass. Our generation LOVES geeks.

 

Although Katherine Dunn wrote the novel Geek Love before this new found fascination with the “freaks and geeks” of society, I think her novel excellently perpetuates an ideal that our generation is beginning to idolize – embracing your inner freak and geek. 

Test Entry

"If I were Bionic Woman, what would I wear?" Bill Haverchuck - Freaks and Geeks