The United States includes North America, South America, Australia, and the United Kingdom, to name a few. The company a person works for is taken as their surname. And outside the Government, the NRA and the Police are two other organizations of power. These are only a few descriptions of the world that Max Berry has created in his novel Jennifer Government. While the novel may seem like any other fiction book, reading the book closely will reveal Berry’s true purpose of crafting this type of world. In this fictional story, an aspect of life that Berry makes prominent is consumerism. For example, the book is built from the mistake of the first character that is introduced, Hack Nike. Hack works for the Nike Company, and when he receives an opportunity to receive a higher salary, he mindlessly signs a contract, sealing the deal. However, the contract has required him to execute certain illegal activities. …show more content…
While there were action scenes, the novel had failed, at times, to give an effective ending to when scenes had reached a climax. It seemed as if the purpose of the novel at the beginning was to illustrate a fictional world and provide an underlying important theme. However, towards the end, Berry prioritizes the theme and not the world he has created. As a result, while the message Berry attempts to get across is successful, the quality of the execution of the fictional storyline declines. In Jennifer Government, while there are aspects that can be improved, there are others that have been developed intricately. For example, the way the plot flows between each storyline has been elaborately crafted. In the end, this fictional book this book should be read in order to understand the concept of consumerism, and more specifically, the concept of money, which is depicted through the multiple storylines that Berry had strategically
Starting at a young age, the main characters lives are intertwined. They form a special bond, which have both positive and negative affects on their relationship. At the time when Jim and Antonia are growing up, a rigid social structure exists in Nebraska. This social difference contributed to the creation and alteration of their friendship; in part, it is responsible for their behavior toward one another.
Typically, a novel contains four basic parts: a beginning, middle, climax, and the end. The beginning sets the tone for the book and introduces the reader to the characters and the setting. The majority of the novel comes from middle where the plot takes place. The plot is what usually captures the reader’s attention and allows the reader to become mentally involved. Next, is the climax of the story. This is the point in the book where everything comes together and the reader’s attention is at the fullest. Finally, there is the end. In the end of a book, the reader is typically left asking no questions, and satisfied with the outcome of the previous events. However, in the novel The Things They Carried the setup of the book is quite different. This book is written in a genre of literature called “metafiction.” “Metafiction” is a term given to fictional story in which the author makes the reader question what is fiction and what is reality. This is very important in the setup of the Tim’s writing because it forces the reader to draw his or her own conclusion about the story. However, this is not one story at all; instead, O’Brien writes the book as if each chapter were its own short story. Although all the chapters have relation to one another, when reading the book, the reader is compelled to keep reading. It is almost as if the reader is listening to a “soldier storyteller” over a long period of time.
.... I found that the use of unclearness in the narration was really confusing but at the same time it gave me an idea that there would be a big twist the end of the novel about the narrator. Also, the Holman challenged some of the characters characteristic and human conditions that our society on girls and how they are viewed by our society that we currently live in. Though out this novel Holman made lots of connection to real world situations and she used lots of different ways to develop the novel so that the reader could find something interesting about her writing style.
Some of the antagonists’ poor personality traits are revealed by implication of what will happen later in the story. Jennifer threatens to leave Norman for ridiculous reasons showing she does not truly care for him and Liam’s ignorance is revealed. Nature is also connected with the characters feelings. The bear and rain represents the characters problems, now gone. Jennifer and Liam’s true characteristics are revealed throughout the stories more so, when in conflict others. Liam is proven to be jealous and always thinking high of himself as Jennifer is beyond disrespectful. . Both protagonists in the stories have to rid themselves of their unhealthy relationships and the negativity in their life to be self-empowered thus being the only way to gain
The realm of higher education is in a state of constant evolution, which can be witnessed on as small of a time scale as a year-to-year basis; however, the more drastic changes are most notable in larger scales, such as five years, ten years, and so on. One of the main forces for change is the student body and their parents, to some extent. Mark Edmundson, a professor of English at the University of Virginia, wrote his essay On the Uses of a Liberal Education: As Lite Entertainment for Bored College Students about the more recent changes of not only universities, but of the student body as well. He laments how consumerism has transformed these institutes of learning into, basically, glorified daycares, and he does make a rather compelling argument by drawing upon his personal experiences as a teacher.
‘Brave New World’ by Aldous Huxley is a science-fiction book in which people live in a futuristic society and a place called the World State. In ‘Brave New World’, Aldous Huxley used the idea of consumerism to describe the behaviors and lives of the citizens of the World State. The practice of consumerism by the people of the World State fulfilled their satisfactory and happiness. However, it also blinded purity and truth among its people. Different classes and different genders of people practiced different acts of consumerism such as consuming soma, technology and bodies. They sought happiness from them and eventually these acts became a social norm. However, these practices of consumerism also had side effects. It blinded truth such as
In the opening scene, she was highly sexualised and popular, who used her sexual orientation as a way to identify herself. A stark contrast to her twin, David. The sequence of her getting ready was played simultaneously with David’s, showing her putting on makeup while him fetching crisps and soft drink. The image of her getting ready for a date reinforces the idea of Jennifer being an extrovert and very popular. However, once she was planted into Pleasantville, she began to explore different pathways for herself. The most pivotal scene of her character is when she started reading. Jennifer put on Mary Jane’s glasses and read, something previously she never has done, then really enjoyed it. She rejected Skip’s offer to Lover’s Lane, contrasting her initial image. Jennifer wholeheartedly embraced these changes and became more matured as a result. She also started to dig deeper into her passion instead of using her sex as her identity. The final scene depicts Jennifer in the aftermath, choosing to stay behind in Pleasantville to pursue higher education instead of returning home to the real world. Overall, Jennifer developed from a rebellious teenage girl to a mature and intelligent character. Her growth presented change as a positive concept for the audience and helps them understands that by accepting it will allow an individual to be a better version of
The final part of the novel tells of the anarchy of the days immediately after the end of the war and ends with Jim being reunited with his parents. Again, the fascination is with the people and how they react to their new found freedom.
"At the very end of the novel- what is represented as being important? Find two quotes to illustrate this".
As James emphasizes, “The people strike me not as character, but as representatives, very picturesquely arranged, of a single state of mind;”. The characters seem to be placed specifically for a certain purpose and do not resemble real people in any way. James gives an example of Pearl, she seems to represent a living version of Hester’s sin instead of a child. He also states, “The interest of the story, lies not in them, but in the situation, which is kept before us, with little progression, though with a great deal, as I have said of certain stable variation; and to which they, out of their reality, contribute little that helps it to live and move…”. I believe the novel doesn’t progress well due to the lack of personality within the characters.
...it up to each reader to draw their own conclusions and search their own feelings. At the false climax, the reader was surprised to learn that the quite, well-liked, polite, little convent girl was colored. Now the reader had to evaluate how the forces within their society might have driven such an innocent to commit suicide.
In Don Delilo’s, White Noise different themes are displayed throughout the novel. Some themes are the fear of death, loss of identity, technology as the enemy, and American consumerism. The society represented in the novel views people as objects and emotionally detached from many things. Death is always in the air and trapped in peoples mind. The culture that’s represented in the novel adds to the loss of individualism, but also adds to the figurative death of the characters introduced in the novel.
Imagine a world where your last name is the company you work for. Imagine a world where the United States includes all of North American, all of South America, all of Australia, the Pacific Islands, South Africa, India, Thailand and Russia. Welcome to Jennifer Government. The novel can be looked at by a reader as a simple, yet innovative story. The novel can also be seen as a deep, catawampus story with plenty of plot twists that are nicely blended together. Each successive chapter is told from the view from a different character; each chapter holds a different plot twist that keeps the reader guessing from one paragraph to the next; each chapter delves into sense of human emotion. Max Barry focuses strongly on the use of political satire plot of his story while using a unique style of third person limited point of view to bring about a story of deceit, and scandal.
America can turn out like the novel. 3. The biggest thing the character of Ben Richards learned in this story was that the government or the people that are “in charge” are not you or the people’s friend. They will always be on your/people’s side. They would do what’s good for themselves and get away with it whether it put others in danger.
than ever I need to know about the Fisher account that Owen is handling and this information seems more vital, more pertinent than the bond I feel I have with Bono.” The jealousy Bateman feels towards Owen manifests itself as a threat to his social status and thus to advance his own social status he must remove those above him. Bateman feels as though he has a need to kill, it’s as though he consumes them in order to continue his life, this consumption is not solely metaphorical. In the chapter “Tries to cook and eat girl” Bateman consumes part of his victim, in doing so Ellis uses Bateman as a metaphor to symbolise the issues of consumerism, with the constant thirst to consume more, people will go to any lengths in order to satisfy and pacify