Themes from American Literature #1

"If you spent your life concentrating on what everyone else thought of you, would you forget who you really were? What if the face you showed the world turned out to be a mask...with nothing beneath it (Picoult 83)?"

    
     One does not have to fully immerse oneself in this novel to see the prevalent theme relating to the pressures of conforming in society. Three main characters that have been introduced all show a similar struggle. Alex, Josie, and Patrick are all fighting to achieve something whether that is in the workplace or at Sterling High School. All three of these characters have differences such as gender and age, yet they share a common hardship. Yes they are concerned with separate specific goals, but all of them experience self doubt and insecurity in their successes.
     In this emotional novel, author Jodi Picoult reveals the struggles that lie beneath the surface of a small town, and explores the power of being different in society. There are themes of sacrifice, and how seeking perfection can lead to emotional stress. These themes are appearing to develop early on in the novel. As a reader, one may expect a more intricate, deep theme relating to sacrifice that the author will later divulge.
     Considering this novel is revolving around a school shooting done by a student, it is apparent that people use secrecy in order to survive in society. Josie Cormier is a master of secrecy as she paints her face and soul everyday to transform into the girl who has it all. She fears that if her secret, or her deep depression and insecurities, ever gets out, that she will be ruined via the social world and within herself through emotional distress. She wonders what would happen if she veered off track of keeping up her joyful persona. Josie also connects with her mother Alex because they both are absorbed in how society percieves of them. The theme of secrecy and suppressing the truth in order to succeed in society is very prevalent in the character of Josie Cormier. She is alone and says, "There wasn't anyone to talk to. If you even doubted your right to be on of the privileged, popular set, than you didn't belong there (Picoult 9)."
     Themes such as these exist in a multitude of famous American Literature. From the reader's point of view, it is very emotional because they strike deep within. Powerful themes such as these are what makes a novel addicting. Through reading these types of character thoughts, readers can immerse themselves in the lives of others, feel and and relate to them, without having to sacrifice their own emotions. Seeing the characters torture themselves or organize their priorities in a way one does not agree with, can be a very insightful experience. Reading this and feeling the themes of sacrifice and living up to society's expectations puts reality into perspective.
     In addition, if you look closely at the background of this blog, you can find masquerade style masks which actively represent the theme of the novel how the characters hide behind a false persona.

Character Study #3

3. Patrick Ducharme

     

     Patrick Ducharme is the sole detective on the Sterling police force. Like Alex and Josie, Patrick is also under pressure to exceed expectations and fulfill high standards. He does the same exact thing as Josie when he studies himself in the mirror after taking a shower. This may be the authors way of symbolizing and illustrating how vulnerable the characters are when they are alone and assessing themselves.

     Like Alex, he is swamped with work and has an endless to do list. Although he loves his job as a detective, he frequently has self doubt that he is not doing enough to live up to his potential. "He did not remember the proven successes-only the potential failures...He was a detective, but he didn't detect anything. It fell into his lap, already broken, every time (Picoult 12)." Patrick reveals that he too is dissatisfied with his life and actions. He does enjoy the benefits of providing comfort to the victim by doing his job. Patrick strives to do everything in his power, but in his current position, he can only do so much and this is not completely fulfilling him.

     Patrick relies on his morals when he disregards commands and goes directly into the chaotic school to provide assistance. He disregards his training in order to achieve his sole purpose of stopping the shooter. Patrick is very strong minded and makes a bold move to further make his own decisions when he carries Josie out of the school. He appears to be very heroic and blames himself for things he cannot control. This quality is good because he is striving for excellence, yet he invokes a lot of pressure when dealing with crimes that cannot possibly be prevented.

Character Study #2

2. Josie Cormier

    

      Josie Cormier is introduced as a seventeen year old "it girl" who appears to have it all based on her outer appearance. She is pretty, studious, and conforms to the crowd in order to retain a coveted position on the high school social hierarchy. The first introduction of Josie is her thoughts where her life is compared to a room with no doors and no windows, that other students could only dream of entering, yet she feels trapped with no escape. It is clear that she suffers with insecurity and common teenage mental instability when the narrator says, "Either Josie was someone she didn't want to be, or she was someone who nobody wanted (Picoult 8)."

     The reader barely knows Josie yet the audience already sees her daily struggle that lies underneath her flawless facade. She forces herself into looking and acting a certain way in order to gain acceptance. "The problem was, when Josie looked in the mirror, she noticed what was underneath that raw skin, instead of what had been painted upon it (Picoult 8)." This is a creative way to illustrate the pain Josie feels after putting up a front, solely for the purpose of living what many considered to be the ideal teenage life. The proceeding passages are very emotional and show that her life is nowhere near perfect. Josie cannot confide in her mother and is afraid of losing herself and becoming "a fake who had nearly forgotten what it felt like to be real (Picoult 9)."

     Josie is hiding a lot from her mother going to the lengths of stashing of Ambien in case she needed a way to "escape." The reader can relate Josie to her mother because they are both under extreme pressure to perform and act a certain way. Josie is so afraid of facing the truth and instead seeks comfort from the acceptance of her boyfriend Matt and her elite circle of friends. She relies on her social status to make her happy, and reminds herself how "lucky" she is in order to go on. Josie may seem like she has it all, but in reality she is constantly tormented by the pressure and is not satisfied with her life.

     One example that hits home for the reader, was when she is at lunch listening to the girls gossip and watching the boys torment a quiet student when she is about to eat her french fries. Considering all the had was coffee that morning, she is starving, and about to dig into her lunch when her boyfriend Matt glances at the fries and says, "You're not going to eat those, are you (Picoult 17)?" He proceeds to actually pinch her waist to deter her from consuming such a greasy meal. His action was, "a caliper and a criticism all at once...Ten seconds ago, they'd looked golden brown and smelled like heaven; now all she could see was the grease that stained the paper plate (Picoult 17)." This is another strong insight crafted by the author to illustrate the emotionally exhausting life Josie goes through on a daily basis. Matt's behavior is extremely disrespectful, but Josie is forced to conform to these standards because fighting it would cost her entire fake life. There is so much pressure to be perfect that she takes this and continues to feed off of Matt's approval to feel satisfied.

Character Study #1

1. Alex Cormier

     The first character introduced is Alex Cormier. Alex is forty years old and lives with her seventeen year old daughter Josie in Sterling, New Hampshire. She is a superior court judge, who had to fight to establish herself in her workplace. From the beginning of the novel, it is clear that her priorities lie in her career rather than as a mother. Alex is extremely proud of her daughter for being exactly the young woman she had hoped, and expects her to be independent.

     In the opening scene of the novel when Alex is leaving for work and Josie is leaving for school, there is a clear example that shows how much attention she pays to her daughter. Alex demands for Josie to eat a balanced breakfast but leaves for work before ensuring that she has obeyed this wish. This quote stands out and illustrates how it is normal for Alex to not follow through, causing Josie to disobey her wishes. "She was caught up in a world far away from home, where at that very moment her daughter scraped the scrambled eggs from the skillet into the trash can without ever taking a single bite (Picoult 8)." This quick statement leads the reader to believe that in more instances than eating breakfast, Alex is too consumed with her own life to pay attention to her daughter's.

     A few pages later, Alex is mentioned again and is at the court house. As a judge, Alex is held to very high expectations to perform in front of a courtroom full of people. It is clear that she is under a lot of pressure to look right and act right at all times in and outside the workplace. When the setting shifts from the present to seventeen years in the past, the reader gets a glimpse of Alex Cormier's life before Josie was born. The scene shifts to pregnant Alex in the birthing room who hurries out of the class when her pager signals that there was, "something more pressing to deal with (Picoult 26)." This reinforces the thought that Alex has always been more concerned with her job even before Josie was born.

     Her priorities are apparent when she mentions that she did not intend to keep the baby. To solidify the overwhelming consumption Alex Cormier has in her career, she states that she missed her abortion appointment twice. This woman is so obsessed with climbing the career ladder that she does not save time or save space in her brain to think about something as serious as an abortion. I hope to see Alex grow as a parent throughout the course of the novel, and to discover reasons that explain her self sufficient persona.

American Novel: Nineteen Minutes "Introduction"

Introduction


     For my American Novel, I chose Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. She is a brilliant author, and I enjoy her simplistic writing style. She uses high level vocabulary and is talented in getting her point across while invoking strong emotion in the reader. I have read this book a couple years ago, and vaguely remembered it to be an enjoyable, powerful novel. While reading, the plot is still clandestine and I can not accurately predict the upcoming events. In the beginning of the novel I am annotating insightful information and the usage of literary elements to enhance the plot.