Essay Two Different Connecting Stories Told in "Middlesex"

Johnson provides a brief account of the novella 's plot, together with his own perspective on the fact that so much of literature and literary analysis concentrates on the relationships that the characters have. In this case, the author examines the family as composed of children of ineffectual parents. While this writer does not know this with certainty, it is possible that many cases requiring family therapy are due to this very cause. The author then goes on to discuss the family in the context of the greater social system.

The first passage reveals the parallel suffering occurring in the lives of different members of the family, which emphasizes the echoes between the sufferings of the father and the narrator. The narrator’s father’s despair over having watched

“The story is told through the photographs, and so what may appear to be autobiographical is not always so. On the other hand, many of the events are completely fictional, although they may be true in a historical context. For some of these events, there are photographs; for others, the image is a collage; and in all cases, the result is entirely of my doing. So although it may appear that these stories are my family’s, they are not precisely, and yet they are. (xi)”

Throughout the book, Cal’s character had a evil side just as his mother Cathy. He had also did a lot of evil bad things, maybe Cal will be also thinking his future will be bad as his mother. But there should be some changes in his future when he will become an adult because of the Adams forgiveness for him. Adam’s forgiveness would make a very huge impact on a change in Cal’s Character. Also being with Abra, her love, affection and support will make a Cal a better person. In this book Cal is known to be the one who had a very bad past. But his willingness and compassion will drag him out from the evil dark place to the good

On 10/28/12 at approximately 1330 hours, Deputy J. Berner and I (Deputy M. Young) was dispatched to 2712 Dwight Road in reference to a domestic disturbance. Upon arrival, I met with, Mrs. Tiffany Howell (complainant).

Middlesex by Jeffry Eugenides is a book about Calliope “Cal” Stephanides. In the beginning of the book, Cal, as he likes to be referred to as, tells us about his condition. Cal has a 5-Alpha-Reductase pseudohermaphrodite which is, simply put, a condition that affects the sexual development of males before the birth of the child and also during puberty. In Middlesex, incestuous marriages were secretly accepted among the villagers which resulted in Cal being conceived by cousins. Before Cal’s birth, the tradition of his family was gender prediction by his grandmother, Desdemona Stephanides. It seemed to be a traditional thing for the family from the Greek roots. When it was time to predict Tessie’s, Cal’s mother, baby, Desdemona declared that the child would be a boy. Milton, Cal’s father, disagreed because there was no way the baby could be a boy scientifically. This could also be based on the fact that Tessie and Milton wanted a baby girl. Until the age of sixteen, Cal was raised as a girl even though he had a male brain biologically.

Austen describes Willoughby through three different perspectives. The first perspective is the narrater’s perspective, next Marianne’s perspective and lastly Elinor’s perspective. These different perspectives reflect the different tones Austen uses. Austen seems to support Elinor’s view of Willoughby, which suggests that caution in relationships is the overall message of the book.

A collection of short stories, O’Brien writes about his life’s adventures, mainly in first-person but switches to third-person multiple times. The variation, and the fact there is variation itself in these stories, is a pivotal literary tool to focus on. Arp recognizes that authors use point of view “to yield the greatest possible insight” and O’Brien tells us something with multiple perspectives (259). His stories in first-person are personal, ones he wants his readers to see through his eyes so they can understand his actions and his reasoning. Contrary, the stories in third-person are distanced from O’Brien, he doesn’t want to focus solely on himself, but rather what was going on in the situation overall.

As the daughter of an attorney who often expressed a strong preference for his sons, she made clear, early on, a desire to thrive in all intellectual and other “male-dominated” realms. Following the devastating death of her last surviving brother, she declared that she would work hard to achieve all that her brother had accomplished and beyond. In spite of her efforts, however, her unremorseful father simply responded that he wished she was born a boy.

Before analyzing the narrative, I would like to address Jacobs’ choice in writing a fictional narrative instead of a personal narrative told in first person. I believe this decision also contributes to the craft that Jacobs writes with in that the fictional narrative allows for a window of reaching out to the reader, while the personal narrative approaches the reader directly. By using a fictional narrative, Jacobs is able to form a connection and bond between her character and her reader by having a beginning, middle, and an end to her novel. This medium allows for

Lately, whatever she said about Cal was read as criticism. “You’re just feeling competitive,” he said. “And controlling.” She bit her lip and said no more.” The some had learned to use the fact that his tutor had told his parents to give him his freedom to have a sort of control over his mother.

Cal is not bound to anyone or any thought. He can be different from his father because although they share the same blood, they each of their conscience. Steinbeck reasons that having a choice creates change and infinite possibilities. He implies that everyone has the faculty to do so, but only a few know that they truly do have a choice. Of those that know so, only a fraction dare to make a choice and then act upon it.

It’s the tale as old as time, the monster that lurks within the shadows under the bed, or withering in the corner of the closet. The child tremors until the parent checks the entire room, vanishing all doubts of safety. As a child, I shared these fears, but as I outgrew these demons I learned that the real angst was always hiding within my self; the fear of the unknown. It’s uncontrollable, and only discovered once time has revealed its destiny. It goes beyond the standard questions of why or what. The anxiety that fell upon me was so overwhelming it disturbed my everyday; making the future my personal villain.

Describing how Cal became intersex grounds the novel in realism and makes the fiction seem like nonfiction. There are many instances where this occurs like in the first page when Cal tells the readers that, “Specialized readers may have come across me in Dr. Peter Luce’s study, ‘Gender Identity in 5 Alpha-Reductase Pseudohermaphrodites,’ published in the Journal of Endocrinology in 1975. Or maybe you’ve seen my photograph in chapter sixteen of the now sadly outdated Genetics and Heredity” (Eugenides 1). Eugenides implements science to make Cal seem like an actual hermaphrodite. This can make readers who are unaware that Middlesex is fiction believe that Cal is more lifelike and this adds more human characteristics. This is a method to bring needed attention to the lives and discrimination that hermaphrodites faced and still face. Eugenides use of heredity also adds more realism to the novel by describing how Cal became intersex. This adds more color to the ancestors of Cal and grounds him in realism down to his genes. This kind of microscale realism adds to the effect that this is nonfiction. Eugenides goes even further by describing Cal’s genitals. This may seem to be inappropriate, but it

The existence of a “dark double” abounds in many literary works of the Victorian Era. These