"He took a duck in the face at two hundred and fifty knots"
Anchor Passages:
Pg. 35 (After seeing the Michelin Man, says this mantra, gives story of the origin)
Pg. 158 (In the bar, after getting the watermark number. Relaxes her after the meeting).
General Thematic Significance:
(a) The importance of the ideas is that it is an examples of and tool of coping. By repeating the story, or phrase, after stressed situations, she calms herself, "land" the plane, and overcome the situation. The story was told to her by her father.
(b) It comforts her. A verbal tic.
Related terms:
"secure the perimeter," pilates, advertising, low chance occurrence
Questions:
1. What does the duck mean?
2. Why does it comfort her?
/Fashion/
Anchor Passages:
Pg. 17 (Cayce explains that she has a significant negative reaction to labels)
Pg. 148 (An extreme reaction to branding, specifically Hello Kitty)
Pg. 18 (Fashion has becomes a 'simulacra of simulacra of simulacra'with re: Tommy H)
Pg. 35 (Cayce has a phobic/allergic reaction to the Michelin Man)
General Thematic Significance:
(a) Cayce is adverse to things that are not unique and to consumer culture in general. She feels, on a deeper level, a disgust for teh practice of society to be defined by logos and the things they buy.
(b) Cayce is symbolic of a society in which abstract concepts like 'fashion' and 'marketing' manifest themselves so strongly that they become actual physical sicknesses. Like 'TH' the simulative, artificial aspects of our culture have become reality.
Related terms:
Labels, brands, Michelin Man, 'Tommy Hilfiger event horizon'
Questions:
1. Why is it important that Cayce feels aversion to the things that society values?
2. Why is it that the consumerist idea is important to Cayce's job?
3. How great an impact do you think trademarking has on our social and cultural perception?
4. To what degree does our modern day fashion represent our culture?
/Jet Lag/
Anchor Passages:
Pg. 63 (Jet lag affects the brain and the soul)
Pg. 1-2 (Literal effect of jet lag on the body and the more abstract effect, the loss of self-awareness)
General Thematic Significance:
(a) Jet lag is a form of disconnection with the self. We get caught up in the business of everyday life and constant floods of information & decisions, and neglecting a deeper experience of the world. The physical disruption of our natural rhythms.
(b) Jet lag signifies the alienation between the artificial, modern world and the soul. The soul has a natural order and it gets confused because of artificial times zones. It connects with Cayce's allergy to brands because logos are a symbol of the artificial, modern, mass produced consumerism.
Related Terms:
Fashion, Footage
Questions:
1. How are jet lag and footage connected?
2. Does Cayce resolve her jet lag by the end?
/Footage/
Anchor Passages:
Pg. 78 (Footage as an aft form that gives Cayce a sense of purpose and connects a community together)
Pg. 66 (Bigend describes footage in terms of how it is made, organized, and at 'face-value', while Cayce recognizes its deeper meaning and its impact)
Pg. 22-23 (Parkaboy says you should go to new footage..)
Pg. 69 ("Do you imagine that...the footage is a work of proven genius")
General Thematic Significance:
The footage consumes both Cayce's personal and professional life. It symbolizes a complex relationship between the market world and the truly organic. Everything in the novel, in the same way, is connected to the footage, of the idea of the footage.
Related terms:
marketing, art
Questions:
1. What isn't related to the footage?
2. What is Gibson trying to tell us with the image of the footage?
/Mirror World/
Anchor Passages:
Pg. 108 ("They're part of the mirror-world...")
Pg. 70 ("Everything, today, is to some extent the reflection of something else.")
Pg. 3 (When C. explains the term to mean slight differences between cultures)
Pg. 60 (After a company dinner...)
General Thematic Significance
(a) Gibson's idea of a mirror-world in Pattern Recognition reflects characters' distorted views of the world. Cayce refers to this mirror-world in a negative way, almost as if this 'mirror-world' is a distorted reflection of life. This is significant, because the book exposes how a society oversaturated with media view the world.
(b) Mirror-world provokes the idea of simulacra. The thematic significance is that everything is a simulacra or mirror of something else. Everything is moving closer to being artificial or digital.
(c) Mirror-world is Cayce's way of exposing parallels in societies different from the one that she is used to. ON the surface they may look similar but they each have small variations that globalization can't account for. Cayce notices mirror-worlds throughout the novel and always makes her uneasy.
Related Terms:
Simulacra, disorientation, allergy, parallelism
Questions:
1. Since Cayce views the world as a mirror-world, how does this alter her views about people?
2. What purpose do the MW serve?
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
A Post Modern Reader's Guide
Chapters 2 & 3 (Kayla, Emily, Courtney, and Emma)
1. Parody:
“They stretched all the way down past the music library and onto the interstate. Blue, green, burgundy, brown. They gleamed in the sun like a desert caravan.” (5)
“Not that we don’t have a station wagon ourselves”. “It’s small, it’s metallic gray, it has one whole rusted door.” (6)
-We thought that this was parody because first they describe the station wagons as something that rich people have and how marvelous they were, and then they describe their own with a rusted door. It was a little ironic how they described a so-called “car of glamour” with a rusted door.
2. Breakdown between ‘high’ and ‘low’:
“That’s exactly what I want to talk to you about, “ he said. “You’ve established a wonderful thing here with Hitler. You created it, you nurtured it, you made it your own. Nobody on the faculty of any college or university in this part of the country can so much as utter the word Hitler without a nod in your direction, literally or metaphorically.” (11)
-Murray is equating Hitler with Jack as two people being synonymous, but he is using it as a compliment. Murray is giving him a form of an expert, but most people wouldn’t equate Hitler with a compliment.
3. Challenging “grand narratives”:
“You’ve evolved an entire system around this figure, a structure with countless substructures and interrelated fields of study, a history within history. I marvel at the effort. It was masterful, shrewd and stunningly preemptive. It’s what I want to do with Elvis.”
-Equating Elvis with higher education is a weird association. Instead of him being seen as a cultural value, he should be part of a music class instead. Hitler changed the world, where as Elvis was for entertainment.
4. Simulacra:
“Wilder was still seated on the counter surrounded by open cartons, crumpled tin foil, shiny bags of potato chips, bowls of pasty substances covered with plastic wrap, flip-top rings and twist ties, individually wrapped slices of orange cheese.” (7)
-Food is something that we see on TV therefore we buy it. Even though most of the time you don’t know what you’re buying, what’s in it, or if it’s real or not, but you believe that you should buy it because it was on TV.
5. Disorientation:
“The smoke alarm went off in the hallway upstairs, either to let us know the battery had just died or because the house was on fire. We finished our lunch in silence.” (8)
-The characters in this book have a distortion of reality. The have been desensitized from possible harms. It’s like they are “on the other side of the TV”.
1 & 4 (Parody and Simulacra):
“Being here is a kind of spiritual surrender. We see only what the others see. The thousands who were here in the past, those who will come in the future. We’ve agreed to be part of a collective perception. This literally colors our vision. A religious experience in a way, like all tourism.” (12)
-Tourism is kind of a joke. Everyone is taking pictures of the same barn, but they are not viewing it for organic purposes. Each person thinks that they are creating their own “original version” when in reality, everyone is ending up with the same picture.
Chapters 4-5 (Frosty, Becky, Robby)
1. Chapter Four opens with a scene of great parody. Jack describes overeating and obesity as an addiction and a sickness that has fallen upon the people of Blacksmith. Much like Babette, despite their better efforts, the people of Blacksmith remain overweight. Nevertheless, the eldery, the people who can't even keep track of their own thoughts and actions, are "slim and healthy-looking" and well dressed, while the townspeople "don sweatsuits".
2.The chapter proceeds to go into a sense of great disorientation. Jack lists all the things that Babette does, and finds himself asking "What do I do?" Furthermore, Jack and Babette have a discussion about where Bee and Steffie met, and their hypotheses vary as far apart as California and Florida. Jack and Babette are so far removed from their own lives that they don't even know which coast is which. Also, Jack's equilibrium is so disrupted that he frequently sees colored spots.
3. The grand narrative of true love and marriage is then called into question and parodied when Jack states "Who will die first?". Although a valid question, this inquiry completely misses the point of being in a loving relationship. Why are Jack and Babette so interested in this question? Are they just waiting to move on to the next person as they've both done multiple times in the best, or do they feel that what they have is too good to be true and can't possibly last?
4. Jack's disorientation is again brought up on the last page of the chapter when he states "I am the false character that follows the name around". Jack does not know what he is or what he is doing, but just follows the expectations that are set before him, much like a member of the Nazi party, unquestioningly obeying. Furthermore, this purveys a strong sense of simulacra, simply doing what is projected or suggested by the media or some other outside influence.
5. On the first page of Chapter Five, the TV provides an example of exquisite parody and simulacra. Thinking about one's spine is hardly the original intention of yoga, yet somehow the TV suggests that everyone should sit half lotus and do exactly that.
6. Murray provides an incredible example of the breakdown of high and low. Firstly, Murray feels that buying off-brand food is somehow a contribution to the greater good, and says that irregular peanuts are avant garde. Furthermore, Murray states that Babette has "important hair", which, for anyone whose relative has had cancer and chemotherapy, knows isn't true. Hair is actually unimportant in the long run.
Murray provides further parody on the last page of Chapter 5 as Jack discourses about Murray's development of vulnerability. The idea and purpose of personal development is to draw out the positive, empowering traits that help one to be successful, not to develop one's vulnerabilities.
Chapters 6-7 (Heather, Andrew, Shane)
1. Parody In Chapter 6, Jack and Heinrich are talking about rain."Is it raining," I said, "or isn't it?" "I wouldn't want to have to say." "What if someone held a gun to your head?" "Who, you?" "Someone. A man in a trenchcoat and smoky glasses. He holds a gun to your head and says, 'Is it raining or isn't it? All you have to do is tell the truth and I'll put away my gun and take the next flight out of here.'"
This is an example of parody because Jack and Heinrich are debating on whether it is raining outside or not which should be a simple question with a yes or no answer. Instead, Jack turns it into a life or death situation. By doing so he shows how Heinrich can't commit to an answer and stick with it. Clearly, Jack's story shows the absurdity of the situation.
2. Breakdown between 'high' and 'low'
On page 30, Jack and Babette are in their bedroom fooling around, but decide to look at old photographs. Photos are usually representative of the good times that you are trying to reminisce in. Instead while looking at the photos they see people that are uncomfortable. "Children wincing from the sun, women in sun hats, men shading their eyes from the glare as if the past posessed some quality of light we no longer experience," Also, after looking at the photos for hours with his wife, apparently having a good time, Jack asks "Who will die first?" An unmistakable example of high and low.
3. Challenging grand narratives
On page 26 after watching a film on Hitler Jack says, "All plots tend to move deathward." In many stories this is certainly true, but by no means is this true in ALL plots. Many plots have nothing to do with death. By making such an overgeneralization Jack makes the studentsquestion the plots of all filmography and thus challenge "grand narratives."
4. Simulacra – In the discussion between Jack Gladney and his son, Heinrich, on the car ride to school, Heinrich questions his father about the reality of the rain. The debate begins when Heinrich tells his father that the radio said it is going to rain. Jack tells him their senses tell them it is raining now, and Heinrich begins to relentlessly challenge this statement. Heinrich refuses to rely on his senses that tell him it is currently raining, and he only believes that it WILL rain because that is what the radio said. The radio has become his reality.
5. Disorientation – After Jack shows the film of background scenes to his class, a student’s question provokes a discussion of plots. Jack begins to lecture to the class about how “all plots tend to move deathward.” After this he questions the reality of his own statement, exemplifying disorientation: “Is this true? Why did I say it? What does it mean?”
Chapters 10-11 (Paul, John, Joe)
Murray's descriptions of ads show the breakdown of high and low. On Pg 51 he describes the experience of television as a religious experience, fitting into a psychic pattern to the chants and mantras of advertising jingles. He describes how the "medium overflows with sacred formulas," with the word sacred obviously tying into a higher belief. Equating television, an everyday entertainment, with material goods, base requirements for life, with something spiritual clearly shows that the ability to distinguish between high and low is gone.
The discussion of the murder's motives reveal simulacra. Jack asks questions about how and why the man shot these people which expresses the traditional story the media publishes about the man with the rifle. The feet that Tommy Roy actually did kill in that way suggests that he learned that method of killing from the media also. This suggests that the cycle of simulacra will continue.
Disorientation can be seen not just in these two chapters but the whole book. Jack wakes up in the middle of the night, and immediately starts to have an attack over odd numbers and what they represent. The time he sees when he wakes up is off and he realizes he will be turning 51 the next week. He wonders why he is infatuated with this and he is not sure what it means. Soon after getting of this topic, Babbette bring is back up saying that the difference between 50 and 51 is what is odd and what is even, once again questioning the difference and what it means.
Chapter 10 begins with a strong parody of the value of college. It begins by listing the high cost, and afterwards naming the seeming uselessness of the education delivered. They sit in a terrible posture in the library, which ties into the value which elders place on posture in the section about Babette teaching classes on the subject. This marks the lack of value of college, as though this grand amount of money is spent on the education, true maturity, represented by posture, is in no way achieved.
The section involving the ATM is a definite example of challenging the grand narrative, in this case capitalism and self-value through financial game. Jack goes to check his ATM balance and finds that the system has "blessed his life". The tie between his value and money is clear literary irony, challenging the ideal life that the world feeds us. The description of the deranged person being removed from the bank by armed guards shows that a defunct person has no financial value.
Chapters 12-13 (Ryan, Ryan, and An)
1. The parody in this section is based around Jack’s German teacher, Harold. When he was talking about meteorology and the effect in his life, he said that he lost his faith in God. He then said he “turned to meteorology for comfort” after seeing a young, confident weatherman. He became a teacher and began teaching in everyday places, even to include church basements. In this sense, meteorology became a parody of religion. He even stated that when teaching, he, “…saw a hunger in their eyes. A hunger, a compelling need.”
2. The breakdown between high and low can be shown when the police hire a psychic to find the Treadwells. The fact that the police, a supposedly respected organization that uses science and certain proven methods to solve cases (the high) are using a psychic, an unproven and often times inaccurate way to solve problems (the low), displays this.
3. This section challenges the “grand narratives” via the German lesson at the beginning of chapter 12. When one views education, they picture universities and refinement. This is shown more as an examination by the teacher. The experience was described by Jack. “When I opened my eyes he was only inches form my mouth, leaning in to peer. I used to wonder what he saw in there”. This description described Jack as more of a man being observed for amusement than one being educated.
4. An example of simulacra comes during Harold’s story about meteorology. He explained that he was watching a weather report on TV when he first discovered his love for the science. He watched a weatherman predict the weather for the next five days and was “mesmerized by his self-assurance and skill. It was as though a message was being transmitted from the weather satellite through that young man and then to me in my canvas chair.” He saw a pattern between the weather on confidence, and upon learning more about it, would even be confident enough to talk to people on the street.
5. Disorientation is the major principle n chapters 12 and 13. An example would be Denise and Bob’s conversation on page 56. She was asking him questions about his work and what he’s raising money for, and suddenly a British voice is mentioned that says “There are forms of vertigo that do not include spinning”. This has nothing at all to do with the situation and yet it is put into the book. Also, on page 58, Jack is thinking about the marriage that his wife and her ex-husband Bob had and how terrible it was. Yet, despite this, he notices his wife having a look of sympathy and fondness towards him. Why would one feel fondness towards a man such as Bob? The final example we would like to provide is on page 60. The psychic sent the police on a trail to find the Treadwells and, instead, found something completely unrelated. Each time she sent them looking for something, the police found something else.
1. Parody:
“They stretched all the way down past the music library and onto the interstate. Blue, green, burgundy, brown. They gleamed in the sun like a desert caravan.” (5)
“Not that we don’t have a station wagon ourselves”. “It’s small, it’s metallic gray, it has one whole rusted door.” (6)
-We thought that this was parody because first they describe the station wagons as something that rich people have and how marvelous they were, and then they describe their own with a rusted door. It was a little ironic how they described a so-called “car of glamour” with a rusted door.
2. Breakdown between ‘high’ and ‘low’:
“That’s exactly what I want to talk to you about, “ he said. “You’ve established a wonderful thing here with Hitler. You created it, you nurtured it, you made it your own. Nobody on the faculty of any college or university in this part of the country can so much as utter the word Hitler without a nod in your direction, literally or metaphorically.” (11)
-Murray is equating Hitler with Jack as two people being synonymous, but he is using it as a compliment. Murray is giving him a form of an expert, but most people wouldn’t equate Hitler with a compliment.
3. Challenging “grand narratives”:
“You’ve evolved an entire system around this figure, a structure with countless substructures and interrelated fields of study, a history within history. I marvel at the effort. It was masterful, shrewd and stunningly preemptive. It’s what I want to do with Elvis.”
-Equating Elvis with higher education is a weird association. Instead of him being seen as a cultural value, he should be part of a music class instead. Hitler changed the world, where as Elvis was for entertainment.
4. Simulacra:
“Wilder was still seated on the counter surrounded by open cartons, crumpled tin foil, shiny bags of potato chips, bowls of pasty substances covered with plastic wrap, flip-top rings and twist ties, individually wrapped slices of orange cheese.” (7)
-Food is something that we see on TV therefore we buy it. Even though most of the time you don’t know what you’re buying, what’s in it, or if it’s real or not, but you believe that you should buy it because it was on TV.
5. Disorientation:
“The smoke alarm went off in the hallway upstairs, either to let us know the battery had just died or because the house was on fire. We finished our lunch in silence.” (8)
-The characters in this book have a distortion of reality. The have been desensitized from possible harms. It’s like they are “on the other side of the TV”.
1 & 4 (Parody and Simulacra):
“Being here is a kind of spiritual surrender. We see only what the others see. The thousands who were here in the past, those who will come in the future. We’ve agreed to be part of a collective perception. This literally colors our vision. A religious experience in a way, like all tourism.” (12)
-Tourism is kind of a joke. Everyone is taking pictures of the same barn, but they are not viewing it for organic purposes. Each person thinks that they are creating their own “original version” when in reality, everyone is ending up with the same picture.
Chapters 4-5 (Frosty, Becky, Robby)
1. Chapter Four opens with a scene of great parody. Jack describes overeating and obesity as an addiction and a sickness that has fallen upon the people of Blacksmith. Much like Babette, despite their better efforts, the people of Blacksmith remain overweight. Nevertheless, the eldery, the people who can't even keep track of their own thoughts and actions, are "slim and healthy-looking" and well dressed, while the townspeople "don sweatsuits".
2.The chapter proceeds to go into a sense of great disorientation. Jack lists all the things that Babette does, and finds himself asking "What do I do?" Furthermore, Jack and Babette have a discussion about where Bee and Steffie met, and their hypotheses vary as far apart as California and Florida. Jack and Babette are so far removed from their own lives that they don't even know which coast is which. Also, Jack's equilibrium is so disrupted that he frequently sees colored spots.
3. The grand narrative of true love and marriage is then called into question and parodied when Jack states "Who will die first?". Although a valid question, this inquiry completely misses the point of being in a loving relationship. Why are Jack and Babette so interested in this question? Are they just waiting to move on to the next person as they've both done multiple times in the best, or do they feel that what they have is too good to be true and can't possibly last?
4. Jack's disorientation is again brought up on the last page of the chapter when he states "I am the false character that follows the name around". Jack does not know what he is or what he is doing, but just follows the expectations that are set before him, much like a member of the Nazi party, unquestioningly obeying. Furthermore, this purveys a strong sense of simulacra, simply doing what is projected or suggested by the media or some other outside influence.
5. On the first page of Chapter Five, the TV provides an example of exquisite parody and simulacra. Thinking about one's spine is hardly the original intention of yoga, yet somehow the TV suggests that everyone should sit half lotus and do exactly that.
6. Murray provides an incredible example of the breakdown of high and low. Firstly, Murray feels that buying off-brand food is somehow a contribution to the greater good, and says that irregular peanuts are avant garde. Furthermore, Murray states that Babette has "important hair", which, for anyone whose relative has had cancer and chemotherapy, knows isn't true. Hair is actually unimportant in the long run.
Murray provides further parody on the last page of Chapter 5 as Jack discourses about Murray's development of vulnerability. The idea and purpose of personal development is to draw out the positive, empowering traits that help one to be successful, not to develop one's vulnerabilities.
Chapters 6-7 (Heather, Andrew, Shane)
1. Parody In Chapter 6, Jack and Heinrich are talking about rain."Is it raining," I said, "or isn't it?" "I wouldn't want to have to say." "What if someone held a gun to your head?" "Who, you?" "Someone. A man in a trenchcoat and smoky glasses. He holds a gun to your head and says, 'Is it raining or isn't it? All you have to do is tell the truth and I'll put away my gun and take the next flight out of here.'"
This is an example of parody because Jack and Heinrich are debating on whether it is raining outside or not which should be a simple question with a yes or no answer. Instead, Jack turns it into a life or death situation. By doing so he shows how Heinrich can't commit to an answer and stick with it. Clearly, Jack's story shows the absurdity of the situation.
2. Breakdown between 'high' and 'low'
On page 30, Jack and Babette are in their bedroom fooling around, but decide to look at old photographs. Photos are usually representative of the good times that you are trying to reminisce in. Instead while looking at the photos they see people that are uncomfortable. "Children wincing from the sun, women in sun hats, men shading their eyes from the glare as if the past posessed some quality of light we no longer experience," Also, after looking at the photos for hours with his wife, apparently having a good time, Jack asks "Who will die first?" An unmistakable example of high and low.
3. Challenging grand narratives
On page 26 after watching a film on Hitler Jack says, "All plots tend to move deathward." In many stories this is certainly true, but by no means is this true in ALL plots. Many plots have nothing to do with death. By making such an overgeneralization Jack makes the studentsquestion the plots of all filmography and thus challenge "grand narratives."
4. Simulacra – In the discussion between Jack Gladney and his son, Heinrich, on the car ride to school, Heinrich questions his father about the reality of the rain. The debate begins when Heinrich tells his father that the radio said it is going to rain. Jack tells him their senses tell them it is raining now, and Heinrich begins to relentlessly challenge this statement. Heinrich refuses to rely on his senses that tell him it is currently raining, and he only believes that it WILL rain because that is what the radio said. The radio has become his reality.
5. Disorientation – After Jack shows the film of background scenes to his class, a student’s question provokes a discussion of plots. Jack begins to lecture to the class about how “all plots tend to move deathward.” After this he questions the reality of his own statement, exemplifying disorientation: “Is this true? Why did I say it? What does it mean?”
Chapters 10-11 (Paul, John, Joe)
Murray's descriptions of ads show the breakdown of high and low. On Pg 51 he describes the experience of television as a religious experience, fitting into a psychic pattern to the chants and mantras of advertising jingles. He describes how the "medium overflows with sacred formulas," with the word sacred obviously tying into a higher belief. Equating television, an everyday entertainment, with material goods, base requirements for life, with something spiritual clearly shows that the ability to distinguish between high and low is gone.
The discussion of the murder's motives reveal simulacra. Jack asks questions about how and why the man shot these people which expresses the traditional story the media publishes about the man with the rifle. The feet that Tommy Roy actually did kill in that way suggests that he learned that method of killing from the media also. This suggests that the cycle of simulacra will continue.
Disorientation can be seen not just in these two chapters but the whole book. Jack wakes up in the middle of the night, and immediately starts to have an attack over odd numbers and what they represent. The time he sees when he wakes up is off and he realizes he will be turning 51 the next week. He wonders why he is infatuated with this and he is not sure what it means. Soon after getting of this topic, Babbette bring is back up saying that the difference between 50 and 51 is what is odd and what is even, once again questioning the difference and what it means.
Chapter 10 begins with a strong parody of the value of college. It begins by listing the high cost, and afterwards naming the seeming uselessness of the education delivered. They sit in a terrible posture in the library, which ties into the value which elders place on posture in the section about Babette teaching classes on the subject. This marks the lack of value of college, as though this grand amount of money is spent on the education, true maturity, represented by posture, is in no way achieved.
The section involving the ATM is a definite example of challenging the grand narrative, in this case capitalism and self-value through financial game. Jack goes to check his ATM balance and finds that the system has "blessed his life". The tie between his value and money is clear literary irony, challenging the ideal life that the world feeds us. The description of the deranged person being removed from the bank by armed guards shows that a defunct person has no financial value.
Chapters 12-13 (Ryan, Ryan, and An)
1. The parody in this section is based around Jack’s German teacher, Harold. When he was talking about meteorology and the effect in his life, he said that he lost his faith in God. He then said he “turned to meteorology for comfort” after seeing a young, confident weatherman. He became a teacher and began teaching in everyday places, even to include church basements. In this sense, meteorology became a parody of religion. He even stated that when teaching, he, “…saw a hunger in their eyes. A hunger, a compelling need.”
2. The breakdown between high and low can be shown when the police hire a psychic to find the Treadwells. The fact that the police, a supposedly respected organization that uses science and certain proven methods to solve cases (the high) are using a psychic, an unproven and often times inaccurate way to solve problems (the low), displays this.
3. This section challenges the “grand narratives” via the German lesson at the beginning of chapter 12. When one views education, they picture universities and refinement. This is shown more as an examination by the teacher. The experience was described by Jack. “When I opened my eyes he was only inches form my mouth, leaning in to peer. I used to wonder what he saw in there”. This description described Jack as more of a man being observed for amusement than one being educated.
4. An example of simulacra comes during Harold’s story about meteorology. He explained that he was watching a weather report on TV when he first discovered his love for the science. He watched a weatherman predict the weather for the next five days and was “mesmerized by his self-assurance and skill. It was as though a message was being transmitted from the weather satellite through that young man and then to me in my canvas chair.” He saw a pattern between the weather on confidence, and upon learning more about it, would even be confident enough to talk to people on the street.
5. Disorientation is the major principle n chapters 12 and 13. An example would be Denise and Bob’s conversation on page 56. She was asking him questions about his work and what he’s raising money for, and suddenly a British voice is mentioned that says “There are forms of vertigo that do not include spinning”. This has nothing at all to do with the situation and yet it is put into the book. Also, on page 58, Jack is thinking about the marriage that his wife and her ex-husband Bob had and how terrible it was. Yet, despite this, he notices his wife having a look of sympathy and fondness towards him. Why would one feel fondness towards a man such as Bob? The final example we would like to provide is on page 60. The psychic sent the police on a trail to find the Treadwells and, instead, found something completely unrelated. Each time she sent them looking for something, the police found something else.
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