Well I finished section I, and I probably should have blogged along the way, but I didn't.
Without getting too far into details, I believe it's extremely bold that Dellilo names certain brand names throughout the book; names like "Frisbee", "Coke", "La-Z"Boy", and many others pop up throughout the part I. By doing so, Dellilo adds real aspects to his fictionalized world and makes it more realistic. Also, this reflects the time in which Delillo was writing; trademarked products were only accepted by society, but in the present-day generic brands are more accepted. Note: Murray is the exception to this rule; he absolutely enjoys buying the generic brands in the supermarket.
Dellilo uses exaggeration to prove his point that divorce has become a commonplace activity in America. Wilder, Steffie, Denise, Heinrich, and Bee are all children from different marriages; having five different children with five different pairs of spouses definitely suggests marriage has lost its values or that love does not exist.
Dellilo makes appearance an overwhelming theme in this novel. Jack changes his appearance to make himself seem more important, more befitting to teach the subject of Hitler. Jack is referred to as J.A.K Gladney by his peers once he realized he needed to seem more significant. Jack's inability to speak German haunts Jack and he fears that his inability may lead to the discovery of his incompetence as a Hitler professor. Jack has built a persona and adapted to its image; he is no longer Jack Gladney, but J.A.K. Gladney.
It seems that Jack's marriage to Babette may indeed be an "open marriage", but her memory lapses ruin the credibility of Jack's perception.
posted by Quigtastic @ 7:25 AM
3 Comments:
I'm about done with the section and I actually really like the book. It's really random at times but I like it.
In response to Tania's question, I think that the world revolves around images. It does seem like their making fun of the idea that people are so concerned with images. People are so concerned with how the look and what people think of them. The media is based of using image to attract the public, and when there's something appealing the the eye people tend to like it more. I guess that's the state of mind that Jack had, that if his name was more acedemic people would respect him more.
I agree with Dana on his idea of divorce in America. For Jack to have all those children, each from a different marriage, and a fairly open marriage with Babette is implying that marriage is so loose these days. Marriage used to be such a sacred act and now people can easily get married in Vegas or get married but not worry too much about it because they can simply get a divorce if it fails.
I think the family is really strange and different.However, I think their hilarious.The part where the doctor told the parents to give the baby aspirin and put him to bed to stop the crying, and that was what Denise had already told them do was funny. They were questioning why they didnt listen to their daugther for a diagnosis. I found that hilarious.
I find it really awkward that Jack and Babette constantly wonder who will die first. It's so depressing having that question linger there. I mean, many people think about that in the course of their lives, but Jack and Babette are consumed with it. They will both eventually die, that's for sure, but they should just enjoy their time now and deal with who will die first when the time comes.
One part I enjoyed was when Jack took his family shopping at the mall because he was "in the mood to shop." I loved how it made fun of all consumers because people are always buying things whether their in good mood or bad moods. They buy things they need and things that they don't. When Jack's kids went ahead and scoped out things they thought he would like I thought it was funny that he called them his "guides to endless well-being."(83)As long as Denise and Steffie are there looking for things he should buy he's going to be happy. We should all admit that when we buy things it makes us happy. We are sucked into the consumer world where we buy things to make us happy.
I think the best way to destroy a happy atmosphere is to ask a group of people "who is going to die first?" The notion of death can often put many things into perspective.
If Jack could come to terms with his mortality, he will feel completely insignificant. To Jack, accepting death is accepting insignificance. Jack views himself as a big lie in a superficial society and all he really has in life is his own life, which obviously is not in his control anyway. It seems that Jack has become a supporting character to his own life, hiding behind the guise of J.A.K. Gladney. In a sense, Jack fears being discovered as a fraud, causing the metaphoric death of J.A.K. Gladney, and he fears his actual death.
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