For this week I read Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I really enjoyed this short novel and the underlying themes that went along with it. Some of the things I noticed were the revealing of reality and how it is never as it seems, comparison of adulthood versus childhood, and the idea of other universes. The one theme that I want to mention and expand on is the idea that every person or being has a different side to them, that is not outwardly visible. In the father's case, it seemed that he was being controlled by the "flea" Ursula Monkton and almost drowned his son in the bathtub. This makes you wonder - did the evil person/creature make him do this or was there something evil and resenting in him the entire time? With the main antagonist, Ursula Monkton, she is an evil creature from another world that entered the world that we know it, disguised as a human. This provides some interesting perspective, that sometimes the evilest traits and experiences can most often be found in humans. Lastly, the Hempstocks, appeared to the general public as a family of farmers, nothing out of the ordinary. However, the Hempstocks never age and possess powers of time and space that many believe to be impossible. These "powers" so-to-speak, are what bring the evil creatures into reality, as well as take them out. Overall, it seems as though in this novel everything is about the dark side of the truth. Someone may seem like an ordinary farmer on the outside, but their true self is the one that can move oceans, take out pieces of reality, and conjure and cast away mysterious creatures. Everyone has this other side, the dark side of their moon, and revealing that side can either be disastrous or the best thing that ever happened. You just have to take the chance.
Discuss how the text(s) you read for this week's assignment did or did not reflect the values and perspectives of majoritarian culture. This piece did not reflect the values and perspective of majoritarian culture in the ways that it was portrayed as distinctly alien, and that humans were the invaders of another planet, and that in order to survive, humans had to have relationships with alien creatures that laid eggs inside of our intestines and organs. This storyline specifically is not something that people tend to think of on an everyday basis. The young main character of the story being chosen as the one to carry the alien babies, and going back and forth on whether to go through with it or not, is ultimately somehow a little bit closer to how we think. If there is any major decision we have to make as humans, it is often dragged out and thought over the possibilities many times before finalizing anything, let alone if other people's lives are at stake. This piece does re...
This duality aspect of the novel never actually occurred to me when I read this story! I couldn't really find a theme in this book, it was all sort of magical and random to me, but I think this is a nice interpretation. And I like your theory about Ursula bringing out the father's evil side, and it's funny because she came from within the protagonist's body, but from what I remember no one else acts differently because of Ursula. So I wonder if that theory really holds any water. I'm not an expert (even after reading the book and then reading the summary multiple times I'm still a little confused) so it can still be valid!
ReplyDeleteI have heard great things about novels written by Neil Gaiman. This one I will diffidently check out!
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