The two passages I’ll be using are:
Pg. 204, the long passage where he works out how he’ll fit
into the cast of The Real World, as the “tragic person.”
vs.
Pg.235-237, the passage where he, very dramatically, begs to be on the show.
vs.
Pg.235-237, the passage where he, very dramatically, begs to be on the show.
The biggest difference is the tone. The first is light
hearted, kind of funny. He’s telling this interviewer that he basically has the
show all figured out in the way of the cast members, using sometimes short
choppy sentences, contrasted with these long sentences of description, saying
how certain people will influence the show. It’s also funny because it’s pretty
dead on. He expresses this tone by almost thinking out loud, for example, when
he says, “Maybe an Asian or Latino, or both. Or wait. A Native American. You
should get a Native American!” he’s planning this out as he goes, and agreeing
with himself. He then goes on a tangent (I think tangents might be his forte)
about how he’s never met an Indian, then comes back to the original discussion.
However, in the second passage, he’s very desperate and
points out all of the things that make him tragic and how he can play them up
for sympathy. It’s sad and almost a little pathetic that he wants so badly to
be on this awful show. His tone is expressed really well through really long
run on sentences, frantically searching for something that will make the
interviewer think “this is our guy!” and then really short sentences that are
concise, but very impactful. For example, “I will be shot in an elevator, I will
be swallowed in a sinkhole, will drown, so I need to bring this message now; I only
have so much time, I know that sounds ridiculous, I seem young, healthy,
strong, but things happen, I know you may not think so, but things happen to
me, to those around me, they truly do, you’ll see, so I need to grab this while
I can, because I could go at any minute, Laura, Mother, Father, God—Let me be
the conduit.” He’s almost in a panic here, thinking the words as he says them,
trying to get out exactly what he means, over and over again. In contrast, he
as these little short sentences that increase his panic, but slow his writing,
our reading, down, for example, “I could die soon. I probably already have
AIDS. Or cancer.” He’s thinking out loud, but retains the frantic, desperate
tone.
Good choice of section, so much can be said about the interview portion of the book, it's unreal.
ReplyDeleteI find it really interesting how much the tone can change within one section of the book. In fact, I would say this book shifts tones more than any book I've ever read (does anyone else feeel this way?). Then again, I haven't read many memoirs, although I'm sure AHWOSG is pretty unique in this sense. Luckily, Eggers does a fine job of keeping it all grounded while shifting through all these opposing tones.
Katie,
ReplyDeleteReally nice choice of examples to use to make your argument. He really does seem to have such a frantic and chaotic personality or at least in his writing. I really liked your two descriptions of the different tones. Ex: Passage 1)thinking out loud and in agreeance with himself. Passage 2) Pathetically begging. Whereas in passage one he is in control of his emotions we see that this quickly changes in passage two and he is begging someone to make a decision for him. I agree with Zane's comment that I have never read a book that shifts tone so often. As strange as it is, I actually think that it also makes the reading more interesting.
Good remarks about how much we're seeing tone shifting. It occurs to me that one of the topics is this shifting.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to use my emotions vs. my emotions are sitting on my chest, rocking back and forth, eating Slim Jims.
Control vs. desperation
Humor vs. desperate humor
Self-possession, motivation, responsibility vs. eff it all.
"Pathetic" is a good word to use here, because we think he knows he's being pathetic, as in 1) lame and 2) worthy of our sympathy.
What do we think about that "conduit" line? And his belief that bad things are going to happen to him? Do any of you have that fatalistic sense? Could be essayable, if so.
DW
I have decided that I think that Dave Eggers' style can be described as violently bipolar. I could get get whiplash from how much he jerks us back and forth. That said, I have to say I love it. It keeps things really interesting and always keeps me wondering, how will Dave throw me off today?
ReplyDeleteI like the conduit line. It's very.... YOLO. If he had said "I'm going to live forever because I'm am a golden god, put me on your show!" I would have thrown the book out the window and discontinued my reading. I don't necessarily think it's exactly health to believe your inevitable demise is just around the corner all the time. HOWEVER, I also think that for one to believe they're invincible, and just because they are young they have a plethora of time ahead of them, is downright ignorant and childish. We're all going to die, and none of us knows when it will be. I could choke on my cereal tomorrow morning and die, I could fall down an elevator shaft next week and die, I could get into a car accident four days from now and die, I could live to be 86 and die of old age. ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN! I wouldn't say that I have the fatalistic sense, but I think I have a mature understanding that anything can happen to anyone anywhere at any time, and dying is inevitable.
I chose the same section and agree with you on many of your points. He definitely uses humor throughout the passage and his tone comes across clearly in his dialogue. And I agree with the others that its doubtful that Ive read a book where the tone is changed so much, yet in a way it reminds me of TIm O'Brien and "THe Things The Carried" where they both go to each extreme, juxtaposing the two to make their point. Good post mane.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you, Katie, with the fact that he does write in a very "bipolar" fashion. I mean, the juxtaposition between humor and seriousness or in your example, how he jumps from being in control of the situation and persuasive on being on the show to just plain pathetic and begging for Laura to put him on the show.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it does sometimes overdone, maybe it is necessary? What do you think? Is that the only way you can show everything about yourself and your train of thought?
I also agree on Katie with the idea that his belief that bad things may happen with him or will happen to him is healthy or normal. Although most people think "young people" think they are invincible, that probably is a small minority. But I also think it may be a product of the fact that he has just watched his parents dying that he has that point of view.What do you guys think?
Though, sometimes do think he even overdoes this belief that bad things will happen to him? His paranoia. For example since he overdoes this, I didn't really take him seriously when he was being hospitalized.
I think it's definitely necessary. It's HIS mind that he's opening up for the reader. HIS thoughts, HIS paranoia, HIS anxieties, HIS style. And because he chose to include those, to share them with us, I think they're absolutely necessary.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you agree with me and I'm not just a pessimist. lol. I do believe that losing both of his parents gave him a new view point on his own mortality, but I also think it's completely rational for those who haven't seen such loss to hold the same awareness.
I'll admit that I've had really minor things happen to me but at the time was completely convinced that I was going to die. Though his "impending doom" is a huge part of this, I find that his anxieties about things happening to Toph to be much more impactful. It's the same kind of thought/paranoia, but it shows us that it's not just himself/his own death he cares about, but Toph's safety equally, if not more. I find both to be relatable, but I sympathize more with his anxieties about Toph. However, I find that BECAUSE of his responsibility over Toph, his sense of paranoia about his own death, and on the other hand his NEED to be alive to take care of Toph, is admirable. I have two younger brothers whom, if something were to happen to both of my parents, I am legal guardian. From the start of this book, that's what I've thought of; me=Dave, Michael and Jacob=Toph. Looking at it that way, and even relating it to times when my parents have gone out of town and left me basically in charge of my brothers' lives, I find his anxiety to be normal. I think I would hate Dave Eggers if he didn't have 1) an overactive imagination, and 2) a realistic/mature/responsible awareness of the situation he's in.