I’m actually pretty interested on the part the movies play in this book, at least, in the beginning. Bigger seems to form many of his viewpoints based on the lives he sees played out on the screen, rather than his own. Which makes sense, in a way. He’s very limited in his worldview, forced into a very specific role by society as a whole, unable to fly, as he says it. So, how would he be expected to develop an opinion of the rich white people, or the Communists, based on his own experiences, when he was never afforded the opportunity to have them?
Stemming off of that point, another interesting aspect of that whole idea is the way rich white people and Communists are so closely compared to one another, both directly and indirectly. The both of them are little more than concepts in Bigger’s mind, each representing a class of evil, destructive forces, be it through bombs or subjugation. Both lifestyles are portrayed almost comically, as unreachable extremes, which, especially when seen through the eyes of someone with no other experience of either, allows the readers of this book to take a good look at the ridiculousness presented by the both of them.
Which, I think, plays well into the introduction of Mary, a character who embodies the main features of either group. She offers us the first tangible intertwining of two seemingly opposite worlds, the world of the rich white people, and the world of the low-down Communists.
Anyway, I thought all that was interesting. Good use of… I don’t know, would that be symbolism? I don’t think so, but I can’t think of the word, right now.
Also, this video relates perfectly to Mary and Jan’s trip around town. It was pretty much all I could think of the entire time I was reading it.
No comments:
Post a Comment