Friday, April 5, 2013

Are we insane?


Barth feels that authors are complacent with traditional format of stories, and I think Barth wants Title to be an original piece, which implies that Barth wants to defy the traditional rules. Barth writes, “I’ll ignore her, he vowed” (Barth 1063), which implies that Barth is choosing to reject traditional writing styles, because he does not want to “same old story” (1062). Is this insane?

Comparatively, Pygmalion, written in 1912 (the same century that Title was written in), is a traditional rags-to-riches story, or a Cinderella story- a plot so common that it has its own name. Barth remarks, “[It has] become an exhausted parody of itself [literature]” (1064).Barth criticizes authors who follow this modeled writing. Is that insane?

Is Barth’s mockery of his literature peers for writing the same story insane or is reading or writing the same story insane? According to Albert Einstein, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Are we insane for reading these books or watching these movies, when we can already predict the ending? Do we expect things to change in the final chapters or scenes and have an ending we could have never expected, or do we want the perfect, predictable ending? If so, then why do we want it?

I think we do want to perfect ending, not because we are insane, but because we need some predictability. Even Barth is willing to admit that the style of writing he is criticizing is “even enjoyable. For…both of us [the author and audience]” (1062). We all want to underdog or the protagonist to overcome his or her obstacles, because we sympathize with Eliza Doolittle and her struggles, and Cinderella with her evil step-mother. We are not crazy; we just understand what the characters are feeling.

I attached Underdog by Imagine Dragon, because I think the chorus summarizes what I am saying. “That sounds like my luck.” We understand the character’s situation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsnvLX-1GMc

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