suburbia life

The Fear of the Familiar

2005-11-14T13:28:00.000-08:00

The Fear of the Familiar

I found a connection between the ideas brought forth by Freud and the ideas presented in Rita Felski’s “ The Invention of Everyday Life”. Let us apply both viewpoints to the general concept of ‘everyday life’. In doing so we can note that Felski’s states, “ Both repetition and home address an essential feature of everyday life: its familiarity” (26). This corroborates the viewpoints many of us had in class when we conjured up words to describe “suburbia”; some words included “ boring, repetitive, routine, comfort.” What I notice is these words are associated with the familiar. With that said let us think back to various past lectures when we discussed suburbia. Several of the course books draw on the same theme; almost all the novels draw upon suburbia as boring and stifling because of routine and monotony. In Coming Up For Air and The Queen of the Tambourine as well as most of the other novels, the protagonists loathed the suburbs because of its familiarity. The routine of everyday life with no hope for change or spontaneity is what the characters such as George Orwell and Eliza Peabody strove for and tried to obtain through different means. Freud espouses the same ideas, he explicitly states, “ the uncanny is that class of the frightening which leads back to what is known of old and long familiar” (1). While Freud is discussing uncanniness and not referring to the ideas of everyday life as Felski does, I notice a striking similarity in both works. Freud claims that uncanniness then, is the direct result of our fear of the familiar. This viewpoint can be applied to the notion of everyday life. Both authors share a similar thread: what is familiar is frightening. What I can conclude then is the fear of suburbia stems from the fear of familiarity. Like Eva and George, suburbanites dread the suburbs because of the same boring routine they face everyday. A solution to this lifestyle is posed to us through escape methods such as Eliza’s journals and her longing to escape to a different life or Haroon’s mysticism. Yet how successful are these means of escape? Does that tell us something about the suburbs and suburban lifestyle? Can we ever escape and do we in fact resent the suburbs because of its familiarity?

The Battle of Personalities

2005-10-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

Jack is the focal point of The Cement Garden and is undoubtedly a complex character. His various urges and desires can be attributed to Freud’s ideas of the id, superego and the ego. I’m not a Psychology major but I think this is an interesting concept that can be explored in relation to The Cement Garden.
Freud claims these three components are found in all individuals yet there is a struggle over which is the dominating component. It is argued that, “Freud came to see personality as having three aspects, which work together to produce all of our complex behaviors”(http://www.wilderdom.com/personality/L84StructureMindIdEgoSuperego.html). All these components are part of Jack’s personality and there is a struggle in his attempt to achieve a balance.
The id is known as the pleasure-seeking component. It is described in this site as the “irrational and emotional part of the mind” (http://www.wilderdom.com/personality/L8-4StructureMindIdEgoSuperego.html#Id). We can see this factor in Jack’s behavior through his obsession with masturbation. This action produces instant gratification, regardless of consequences. This is evident when Jack is helping his father and excuses himself to masturbate while being “ aware of his impatience” (18). Later Jack dreams about masturbating in front of his mother. When she asks him to stop he replies, “ I can’t stop, it’s nothing to do with me” 96). This shows that Jack’s id is at work. His need for self-gratification becomes his primary concern.
The super ego is the opposite of the id. It is the “the rational part of the mind” and “relates to the real world” (http://www.wilderdom.com/personality/L4StructureMindId EgoSuperego.html#Id). Jack’s ability to use rational thinking is apparent when he tells his sisters his plan for their mother. In his plan he thinks realistically, taking into account several factors. When his sisters think they should bury their mom in the garden, Jack thinks,
I did not think the garden was a good plan. We would have to dig deep and
it would take a long time. If we did it in the day someone would see us and
if we did it at night we would need torches. We might be seen from the tower blocks.
Although morbid thoughts, they show rationalization.
Finally the superego is the “moral part of the mind" (http://www. wilderdom.com/personality/L8-4StructureMindIdEgoSuperego.html#Id). Jack’s moral urges are shown in instances that involve his mom. One example is when Jack rushes back home after feeling guilty for the way he has treated his mother. Although he only watches her through the window then runs away when she calls his name (26) his desire to go back is a proper decision. Another time he offers to walk his mom to the shops. Even when she claims that is unnecessary Jack answers, “ Feel like a walk” (34). Jack shows his moral urges in these examples.
Jack’s complex behavior can be attributed to the struggle between his three personalities. His Id seems to be the most prevalent personality but the Superego and the Ego are also seen in some instances.

Structure of Mind: Freud’s Id, Ego, & Superego. Last updated 28 Jul 2004.

the 'uncanny'

2005-10-07T12:47:00.000-07:00

APPLYING THE ‘ UNCANNY’
When I was reading Sigmund Freud’s article I had a bit of trouble completely understanding him. That’s when I decided to think of an uncanny situation in my own life and apply Freud’s ideas to my own experience in order to better comprehend Freud’s article. In brief then I will describe a personal experience of the uncanny and point out the features of this experience that support Freud’s ideas.
Last year I lost my wallet. I was extremely upset not only because I had money in the wallet but mostly because I was leaving for Montreal in a few days and needed my credit cards and picture ids. In the morning I was eating when the doorbell rang. It was an unfamiliar man and he was holding my wallet. Apparently I had lost it in the neighborhood and he had found it and returned it to me. What a relief, all my picture ids were returned in time for my trip. A few days later I boarded the plane for Montreal. I was busy reading a magazine when my passenger took his seat next to me. When I did look up and glanced at him we both were shocked. It was the same man that had come to my house to return my wallet. It was an uncanny experience.
Freud says, “ from what I have observed this phenomenon [the repetition of the same thing] does undoubtedly, subject to certain conditions and combined with certain circumstances, arouse an uncanny feeling” (9). The notion of repetition and strange coincidences most certainly produce an uncanny feeling. Freud discusses how repetition produces an uncanny effect when he gives us the example of the number “62” coincidently showing up at various times (9). My feeling of uncanniness was based on the fact that I was encountered with the same man twice. Just like the number 62, the man came up unexpectedly in my life.
Freud also emphasizes the uncanny has the element of realism. He claims that literature is sometimes unsuccessful in producing an uncanny feeling because, “ the situation is altered as soon as the writer pretends to move in the world of common reality” (15). Therefore my situation is all the more uncanny because it was a real example. Even when placing it into words it seems to lose the feeling. The ideas of repetition, coincidence and realism were all elements I came to understand when looking at the uncanny as I found these were the factors that made my experience uncanny. I think Freud may be onto something.

MARKETING THAT ‘KITSCH DESIRE’

2005-10-04T15:51:00.000-07:00

MARKETING THAT ‘KITSCH DESIRE’

Let’s face it; we are a kitsch crazed society. We crave little objects and souvenirs and imitation spin offs of high-class trends despite how tasteless and tacky they are. All you have to do is look to ebay as an example. How many “one of a kind” items are there? At a brief glance (purely for research purposes) I found 159 Louis Vuitton monogram purses, more than half of which are not authentic. However despite knowing that these purses are cheap imitations of the original and that they are available in mass quantities, items such as these purses are selling rapidly. Why? Because there is a need and a demand for kitschy items. Dwight Macdonald supports this idea when he claims, “ business enterprise found a profitable market in the cultural demands of the newly awakened masses” (found in Cainesco p 242).
Cainesco claims the “ fundamental trait of modern class hedonism is perhaps that it stimulates the desire to consume” (italics authors own). I believe this is accurate as our society definitely has a desire to consume; in the present day social distinctions are less rigid and it is harder to tell if a person is wealthy or middle class. The way we present ourselves is a determining factor of how wealthy we are even if we aren’t. Presentation however is expensive and therefore in order to cut costs while still appearing to be well off, many individuals purchase kitschy items in order to boost their status. Superficial? Yes, but that’s reality. We can lay blame on the producers of kitsch for pushing these objects into our life but that is hardly fair.
Before placing blame on the creators of these tasteless items, let us take a look at ourselves. How many of us can claim that we despise replicas and souvenirs? Herein the problem is not found amongst the producers of kitsch who are only cleverly creating and marketing what is in demand but our society, which is filled with kitsch addicts.

Return to Adolescence (Abigai'ls Party)

2005-10-04T14:40:00.000-07:00

RETURN TO ADOLESCENCE

The thing that struck out to me the most in Abigail’s Party was the title of the play. The play is named after Abigail yet we never meet this character, are never brought directly into her party and learn almost nothing about her. The play in fact centers on Beverly’s party. Why then is it not appropriately named? I think the title of the play insinuates that Beverly and her friends are attempting to revert back to their youth. The most humorous and overt example of this is Beverly’s perfume, called “ Youth Dew.”
The adults speculate on what is happening at Abigail’s party, a girl of fifteen. They imagine older blokes, alcohol and snogging taking place. However from the glimpse we get of Beverly’s party it seems much more problematic than Abigail’s party. For example, alcohol, lust and childishness are rampant. Drinks flow freely, husbands are swapped during dances and peer pressure is evident in comments such as “ Yeah come on Sue, I’ll just give you a little top up” (17). The insistence on drinking and smoking despite refusals is a reoccurring theme. By the end of the party we are told that Abigail’s party seems “all right” (35) and that “there’s nothing to worry about” (38) while at Beverly’s party Sue has fallen sick due to the amount of alcohol she has consumed, Beverly is subtly hitting on Tony and the play ends tragically with Lawrence’s death. The title of the play suggests that the adults are attempting to imitate the youth culture but are unsuccessful. Throughout the play Susan frets about Abigail yet it is the adults who need guidance. The play ends on a sad note where the adults perish and the youths continue to flourish much like the modernity sweeping in and displacing the older generation.

Coming Up For Air

2005-09-29T15:20:00.000-07:00

George Orwell’s Coming Up For Air

In George Orwell’s, Coming Up for Air we are presented with a character named George Bowling. Bowlings adult life appears to be a prison as he is repressed in many ways. His wife, and his monotonous life serve to restrict the amount of freedom and choice he has in his life. Consequently George has become trapped into an uncompromising lifestyle. George’s body can also be viewed as a prison, much like the life he leads.
In the subway, Bowling muses on the restrictions placed upon fat men. He notes that others disregard a heavier person’s emotions and feelings. In addition fat men cannot ever be seen as heroes, nor can they do the same things as other men. For example, George notes,
I know the difference fatness makes to your outlook. It kind of
prevents you from taking things too hard. … He [the fat man] can't ever be present at a tragic scene, because a scene where there's a fat man present isn't tragic, it's comic (Part 1., Ch.3).
George feels constrained by his weight as he notes that fat men are not provided with the same opportunities as their thinner counterparts. George’s weight is one way in which he is restricted in his life.
The lack of independence George faces comes from his wife Hilda and his monotonous life. These forces work against George and actively restrict his yearnings for freedom. Hilda restricts George’s freedom by constantly questioning him and prying into his business. The end result of this is that George cannot even tell his wife the truth, as she would regard it as a lie. His life in the suburbs is blatantly described as a prison when George states, “What IS a road like Ellesmere Road? Just a prison with the cells all in a row” (Part 1. ch.2). The combination of George’s suspicious wife and his suburban life are vividly seen as repressive and suffocating forces. The comparison of Ellesmere Road to a prison defines George as an inmate.
George Bowling’s fatness is viewed as a type of restrictive barrier. Others make assumptions about George based solely on his appearance. Other forces such as Hilda Bowling and Georges’s suburban lifestyle also inhibit him. As a result George is trapped in a type of prison, since he cannot seem to escape from these barriers.

just checking

2005-09-26T19:08:00.000-07:00

jsut making sure its working