Postmodern Eyes

Yesterday (April 21) we had a brief discussion over the end of BlackSwanGreen , specifically how Jason feels about the move and how Julia helps him deal with it. Coming from a personal standpoint, I wanted to say how well Jason is dealing with this. Jason was me a few months ago, after my parents broke the news that we would be moving to Texas from Illinois (granted, this was move was a little bit bigger than Jason’s move and came at a terrible time for my family). But while reading the last chapter of BlackSwanGreen , I could completely relate to Jason’s feelings 100%. In a way, the last chapter of BlackSwanGreen mirrors my life. First, Jason will be living with his mom only and has the opportunity to visit his dad. Although my parents are getting divorced, I will be living with only my mom for a year and will have the opportunity to visit my dad during breaks and extended weekends. Secondly, Jason and I both have an older sister who can relate to what we are going through and o...

Unlike Housekeeping where emotion and the overall plot was a little boring for me, BlackSwanGreen is the complete opposite. One of the reasons why I like BlackSwanGreen by David Mitchell is Jason’s use of syntax for expression of emotions and sounds. Although the book does have a pretty jam packed plot that keeps me engaged and anticipating the next page, the syntax and language just heightens the overall experience of reading the book. For example, Dean’d gone yahoooo ooo oooooing down Ali Baba’s Helter Skelter ahead of me. Just as I got my mat ready fireworks erupted in the sky over toward Wellan. Guy Fawkes Night’s not till tomorrow, but they can’t wait in Welland. Stalks climbed, then popblossomed into slow-slow- slow … motion Michaelmas daisies. Raining-silvers, purples, phoenix golds. Chunkly booms arrived a second late … boom … boom… Fireworkpetals fell away and faded to ash. Only five or six big ones went off, but what beauts they were. (page 251) Within just this ...

Strangely enough, I seem to have drawn a connection between Jason’s dad and Jason himself. This connection, which I briefly mentioned in class, is almost like a Star Wars father/son relationship. We first get a glimpse of something Star Wars like with the dad’s chair, “Dad’s swivelly chair’s a lot like the Millennium Falcon’s laser tower.” (page 4). From just that line, something clicked in me to equate Jason’s dad and Jason with Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. The first line of connection I drew between the two father/son relationships was the way Jason defies his father by going into his office to sit on the Millennium Falcon chair. The Millennium Falcon is a sign in Star Wars of the good side. For Jason to defy his dad (Darth Vader) almost seems like Jason is defying his dad to become part of the good side (Millenium Falcon) whereas his dad (Darth Vader) is on the Sith/bad side. Another way Jason’s dad reminds me of Darth Vader is the authoritative style of Jason’s dad. Jason’s dad...