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The Ultimate Performative Male; Lee Oswald as Depicted in “Libra”

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The term “Performative male”– a man who performs for women as women’s ideal man to get gratification and often sex– is a term utterly befitting of Lee Oswald’s character in “Libra”. In his case however, instead of performing for physical gratification, he performs for emotional gratification and a sense of superiority that keeps his sly smirk on his face. His audience in his performance is everyone, but he feels superior to those who don’t understand him, and recognized by those who do; other communists.  From the start of the novel, we see a severely dyslexic Lee attempt to read the massive “Das Kapital” and other books to show off his elite communism. This initial performance is met by a non-understanding audience. Nobody gets him. He’s not like other Americans. This lack of understanding/pushback does however bring him a sense of superiority because he is unique in his community. Later, we see him join the marines, with the manual memorized, being a know-it-all. But gratificatio...
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Kindred could not have ended any other way; the power of being unpredictable and inevitable.

Kindred is a novel in which you spend a lot of time wanting to read ahead– finish just another page– to get over the cliffhanger. Nonetheless, there’s an inevitable quality to the novel’s conclusion, and really everything that happens. Of course Rufus didn’t send Dana’s letters to Kevin. Of course Dana had to use her knife. Of course Rufus had to die. Of course Hagar was born. Chekhov’s gun has to go off once introduced; and it always does. The inevitability of this novel’s events are due to foreshadowing. However, thanks to distractions, the readers are kept guessing on what’s to come, and the novel stays unpredictable.  The book ended with a few main conclusions: Dana survived, Hagar was born (of rape no less), Dana had to use her knife, Rufus wanted Dana, and the others were not free. All of these conclusions felt inevitable. For Dana’s knife, it’s almost like Chekhov’s gun in the sense that once it was presented, as well as the dangers that told her she could face it (42-43...
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A Viral Concept; What is Jes Grew?

  The oral tradition is often spoken of when discussing the histories of places where written language didn’t exist, or at least was not prominent. Often, we may think of Africa (although it is much too large a continent to describe well briskly). In the book (Our Text; “Mumbo Jumbo”), Jes Grew; an anti-plague (or plague, depending on who you ask) began it’s outbreak in New Orleans– in connection to Haiti– and is described to have a Text. This Text contains the dance moves of a prince from ancient Egypt, who was the first recorded case of Jes Grew. However, the text turns out to have never really been, nor would it have fully encapsulated the polytheistic and ever-fluid Jes Grew. So, what exactly is Jes Grew?       One might consider Jes Grew to be a feeling (after all, those are caught easily). One might especially be led to believe this due to the Papa La Bas quote on page 211. “Scott Joplin has healed many with his ability to summon this X factor, the Thing...
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Nudity, Girlhood, and the Child Within; How Little Girl becomes Evelyn Nesbit's Inner Child

       The concept of the inner child is one often explored by therapists, modern media, and online life gurus living out of their vans. This very same concept of the inner child; unresolved childhood traumas becoming formative elements of adults’ lives, is explored through Evelyn Nesbit’s relationship with Little Girl. Evelyn Nesbit is the exact character who would need a strong inner child, as she had been exploited from a young age, and continuously exploited since.       On page 42, Evelyn steps out of her car after her chauffeur opens the door for her, and kneels down in front of Little Girl. After a description of the little girl’s appearance, we are given two sentences back to back. “She gazed at Evelyn without curiosity.  She was the most beautiful child Evelyn had ever seen,” (Doctorow 42). This sequence– a description of the girl’s qualities, ending in a short sentence about her not recognizing Evelyn, swiftly followed by Evelyn’s a...
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