Adolescent Fiction: Purpose of the Letters

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Purpose of the Letters

The novel Annie on My Mind was written in the form of epistolary, also known as the letter writing tradition. It must be mentioned that Liza is writing the letters to Annie. As the reader we are giving the special opportunity to not only see into Liza’s thoughts in her mind, but also the thoughts she puts on paper. This can only aid the reader in forming their opinion of Liza while also forming her character in their own minds. The letters aid the reader, but how exactly do they aid Liza?

The novel initially starts out at the end… but the end of what? A relationship? Experimentation in sexuality? The reader is left confused, and then, Liza starts to write and the reader begins to feel an attachment to this character. The girl, Liza, is obviously hurting, and questioning things in her life. The introduction is short, but pulls the reader in with Liza’s thoughts and her letter. The novel then jumps back to the beginning and we get to work our way through just how Liza found herself in her confused state of mind.

While the novel is impactful in the reader getting to know Liza’s thoughts and why she does specific things it does little to explain the depth of her feelings. The novel flashes back and forth between present day (the letters) and the past. We are left wondering how her feelings for Annie developed so quickly and so deeply. The letter writing does remind the writer that the two major characters are in high school/college, an age where letter/note writing is prevalent. While the letter writing is impactful in helping develop the character Liza, it also serves as a reminder of the age and maturity level of Annie and Liza.

The letter writing and time jumping adds some confusion to the story. The reader is not fully sure as to how Liza and Annie became separated or how their feelings are in the present. This ties in with Liza’s confused mind. She is unsure what to do with her relationship with Annie, and so she writes those confused thoughts on paper. The letters offer the reader a look into the confusion of her thoughts. Liza struggles with her decision in mailing the letters to Annie (162). Numerous times I did question if Liza was simply trying to get her thoughts in order so that she could work up the courage to call Annie.

While the letters were impactful to the story and the formation of characters, I wish they had been more prevalent throughout or had more of an impact in the conclusion of the story. Liza seems to be working her feelings out in the letters. She writes of the black twisted shape and how she feels it is inside her since spring (225). She reminds herself a few times that their love is ok as long as it hurts no one (161). Liza has used her letters to help her get to the “conclusion” of her feelings, and then the letters just don’t seem to matter anymore. The story seems to just end and we are left wondering not only what will happen with Liza and Annie, but also what will happen to the letters? I wish they had been more symbolic to the conclusion. Liza has been pouring her thoughts into these letters and yet she ends the novel by calling Annie. Will she mail them to her? Show them to her? Use what she wrote in those letters to give her strength as she moves forward? Or were they just to be used by the reader to form the character of Liza and to help Liza realize what she wants?

1 comment:

JenMarch 15, 2012 at 2:36 PM
It's interesting to me that you want to know about the letters--what happens to them. Sometimes, letters seem to be as much for the letter writer as they are for any intended recipient, to work something out or to express something difficult, for example. So for me, Liza's final phone call signals her completion of working out whatever she has needed to, and her phone call demonstrates that the letters never were for anyone other than Liza.

Anyway, wonderful writing and strong ideas about the function of the epistolary framework of the novel.
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Post #9 Shakespeare Bats Cleanup (due MONDAY, 4/30 by class time)

Shakespeare Bats Cleanup explores a number of themes, among them grief, identity, coming of age (Bildungsroman), friendship, love, and others. Kevin, our adolescent narrator, shares his story with us as a poetic narrative which includes poems written in conventional forms and free-form poems. Choose one theme which the book develops, and show its development through the text. As you do so, be sure to consider and articulate how the book's structure (as poems) affects whatever theme you discuss.

Post #7 Warriors Don't Cry (due Sunday 4/15 by 8 pm)

Choices for responses:

1. The title of this text refers to warriors. How are the characters warriors? Are you comfortable with that depiction? Why or why not? Be sure to offer specific description as you explore characterization.

2. While it could certainly be argued that the author of our last novel does place himself in the text, that book is fiction. This text is not; rather, it's a memoir. How does knowing that the book is non-fiction shape your reading of it? Does it cause you to respond differently? If so, how? If not, why not? Consider characters, events, and the historical context carefully as you respond.

Post #6 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (due Sunday, 3/25 by 8 pm)

Post #5 Annie on My Mind (part 2) due Sun 3/11 by 8 pm

You have several different options for your response:

1. How is social transgression framed and treated in the novel? Do you as a reader find that the characters are affirmed or punished for stepping outside of social conventions?

2. We've talked a bit about parallel spaces in texts, spaces in which characters encounter very different experiences. After reading this novel, can we argue that those parallel spaces never intersect? What function might those separate (or not so separate) spaces serve?

3. The story is written in the epistolary (letter writing) tradition. How does that framing affect your reading? Your interaction with characters? Your response?

Post #3 Due by Monday's class (2/20)

For this post, you have three options:

1. Respond to some theme you identify in the novel. Be sure that you make a claim and support it using specific examples from the book.

2. Apply the article's claims to the novel. Be sure that you make a claim and support it using specific examples from the article and the book.

3. Examine the novel as science fiction. How is it both utopic and dystopic in its function? What might it be warning us as a society against? Be sure that you make a claim and support it using specific examples from the text.

Post #1 Due by Thursday's class (1/26)

Ellen Raskin's novel The Westing Game is a detective novel, yes, but we can tease out many themes as we examine the text. A few we introduced and explored briefly in class today:

the Cinderella effect

the roles of women

identity construction

gaming and strategy

trust (as it relates to other themes or on its own)

oppressive/repressive (think Trites) parents

Choose from a theme on this list or choose a theme you've noted in the text, and write about the way the theme is introduced and developed through the novel. As you show how the theme works throughout the book, be sure to offer specific examples to support your ideas.