Re: More categories
Heath Hildreth (hbh4t@virginia.edu)
Thu, 8 May 1997 16:20:40 -0700
We feel the common link between these books can be seen through their
main characters. The fact that all of these characters are themselves
consumed by some element of society, whether it be past, present, or
future, is the common thread between them.
To begin with Vineland, it can be argued that most of the characters are
driven by their past. Zoyd is consumed by the past and the elements that
have put him in his present situation. In fact, it is his inability to
leave the past that creates his present societal deviance. His daughter
Prairie, though ahving never lived in the past of her father, is completely
consumed by it. She ardently seeks knowledge of a past her parents lived
in to get in touch with them. With just these two characters, it is
evident that they are driven by former times, and cannot successfully live
in the present until they come to terms with these ghosts of the past.
Eightities consumerism is captured in the next set of books; Dark Decade,
The Mezzanine, and White Noise. In these books the main characters are
enfatuated with the political mood of the decade in the case of Dark
Decade, the comforts of consumerism itself in The Mezzanine, and the
overconsumption of information leading to paranoia in White Noise. In Dark
Decade, the turbulent political scene of the Eighties drives the author to
paint a grim picture of the conservative realm. The Mezzanine, a literary
experiment, explores the narrator's comfort zone and how it is reflected by
his reliance on consumer goods. He is absorbed by the "little things" in
his day to day world, in fact, he cannot exist without the particulars with
which he is so obsessed. In White Noise, Jack Gladney fears death. This
stems from a constant absorption of society and consumerism. Jack lives
through, indeed is consumed by society itself. His fear of death comes in
that he sees his end, but the continuance of society without him. Only
after breaking with society does he live for himself, and thus the fear of
death regresses.
In Galatea_2.2 Richard is consumed by seeking power through knowledge.
Richard aspires to acheive Lentz's level of scientific knowledge, while
still attempting to justify his own knowledge of the Humanities. Thus, he
throws himself headlong into the contest involving Helen, attempting to
acheive humanity through technical science. His attempt is not without
personal heartbreak. Only through Helen's response that humanity does not
come through knowledge alone does Richard justify his own abilities from
Lentz's.
Empire of the Senseless and Neuromancer can be grouped as two futuristic
novels. Not only are they set in the future, but also, they both present
unique futuristic viewpoints. Empire of the Sensless depicts a world full
of reckless violence, rampant sex, and selfish indulgence. Thivai and Abhor
are obviously mere components of this society, as much a part of it as they
are of each other. They are obsessed with carnage and chaos, and devoid of
a conscience. The main characters in Neuromancer are also obsessed with
their world. Case goes from an obsession for the cyberworld to a forced
interaction with it, to being controlled by the world itself. At one point,
he has the option of existing only in this alternate world, but chooses the
tangible world instead. By choosing this tangible realm, he subdues his
obsession.
All of these books are linked by the common thread of consumption or
obsession with societal elements. The form of the elements differ in
regard to their medium. Some books deal with the element of time, while
others deal with tangible goods, and still others illustrate the realm of
the unexplored. In all of these examples, the main issue seems to be
living in the haze of obsession.
Dennis Hawkins
Heath Hildreth