Blog 3 Josh W.
After finishing the book I realized something. However, this something isn't about Esther and frankly my feelings of irritation and animosity about her remain. My realization is about the world in which she lives and the world that present readers of this book are living in. Back then both society and Esther herself seem to think there is indeed something wrong with her personality, attitude, behavior, choices and/or whatever you want to call it. And because of this lack of understanding, they try to "cure" her in ways normal to that time. But what it comes down to is a combination of pity, a need to conform, isolate those who don't, and in a weird way become the stereotypical ideal of current trends even if they are complete and utter TV bullshit. And from this I have to ask the question of were people living in the 50s and 60s really like the stereotype or just trying to become it? Again this depends on situation because from what my father and mother have told me about their lives growing up was similar to what is now referred to as normal. I can't help but wonder if society is trapped in its own bell jar (sorry to make that ultimately corny reference but it was necessary) forced to be one specific thing for each generation instead of realizing its all the fucking same. We do now what they did back then except we fake understanding and empathy. There is no such thing as empathy and anyone who thinks they have felt it is either an idiot or they are lying to themselves. I know Esther is complex but she's simple too. It all depends on what aspect you're looking at and who you are as whatever you want to consider yourself. Before writing this I thought of the perfect analogy for my opinion: at the end of The Simpsons' episode "Bart gets an elephant" the Warden says "Well, animals are not unlike people, Mrs. Simpson. Some of them act badly because they've had a hard life, or have been mistreated...but, like people, some of them are just jerks." People are who they are and for the most part that doesn't change.