Department of Speculation Blog 4

When it comes to The Department of Speculation, I’m not sure that there could possibly be a better word to describe the overall analysis of this work than “speculation”. The author, in this case, has managed to craft such a compelling piece of literature that it not only transcribes multiple genres, but also creates some confusion as to whom this book is written for, and indeed, to whom the protagonist, the wife, is speaking to.

 

The very fact that for the latter half of the book, the narrator describes herself as nothing more than “the wife” as if she were an outsider looking in on her own life, takes the almost journalistic first person POV early on in the book and flips it entirely on its head. Not only that, but it also complicates the matter of what exactly the narrator’s purpose is in telling this story, transcribing it for others to find. Who is the intended audience, if there is one at all? Perhaps this entire text is nothing more than a rambling stream of consciousness, an outlet for a poor, downtrodden wife as she falls further and further into the grips of despair? There are many questions raised by the overall narrative of The Department of Speculation, not the least of which is whether or not there is an explicit intention for this work to be read by others (outside of, of course, the fact that the real-life author of this book wishes to make sales off their work), and I will do my best to address the possibilities of whom the intended addressee is throughout this fourth blog post.

 

As mentioned, throughout the first half of the book, the novel is written in first person, through the POV of a woman who goes unnamed. We learn early on that this woman is an author with great aspirations for a bright future that include taking advantage of all that life has to offer, being both independent and possessing a fairly positive outlook on life. The stream-of-consciousness style in which this book is written still lends a somewhat chaotic vibe that a simple journal entry would lack. In fact, it is almost as if the reader is being plunged headfirst directly into the mind of the narrator, the woman, and experiencing each and every sporadic, spastic thought that crosses her mind.

 

This is perhaps the most intriguing element to this novel, the fact that the addressee would seem to be someone that is allowed to peer directly into her mind as if a window were literally installed in the back of her skull. This is also what makes the book so entertaining and thought-provoking to read, as it prompts the reader to empathize with the woman in the sense that we, as human beings ourselves, can understand and accept that this is in fact how most of us think on a daily basis, from moment to moment; however, seeing such a detailed and thorough outline transcribed onto pages through the written word is something thnat most of us have rarely, if ever, experienced.

 

On the other hand, if one is to view this as a more literal journal entry, just one that happens to be written with a stream-of-consciousness fashion, then there are several possibilities as to whom the possible target audience is. It could be that the author wrote this in the style of a journal like most people keep, one that is to be kept private for therapeutic reasons. Perhaps the journal was meant to be passed on one day to the woman’s husband as a way of detailing how things went so horribly wrong, and using that for alternative therapeutic reasons in something like marriage counseling as a last ditch effort to save their failing marriage. Maybe the journal was meant to be passed on to the wife’s daughter when she grew older, serving as a cautionary tale of sorts, warning against letting go of her dreams and settling down too early and easily for her own good, as the book clearly demonstrates the wife’s slow descent into madness.

 

The final option would rest in the fact that, as we are made aware, the wife is both a teacher and writer by profession. She could, in fact, mirror the author herself, with the target audience consisting of those who would be inclined to pick up and read such a narrative from the local bookstore. The alternative possibility here is that she could be writing this all down for her students, for much the same reasons mentioned as that for her daughter, serving as a more broadened cautionary, yet entertaining tale for the younger generation to consume, take heed, and hopefully find some sort of entertainment from

 

At the very least, the author’s inclusions of jokes and explicit ways to make her transcribed thoughts more entertaining point towards the fact that The Department of Speculation goes far beyond a simple journal entry, meant to be kept secret for the entire life of the wife. Such an example can be found on page 124,

 

“Why couldn’t the Buddhist vacuum in corners? Because she had no attachments.”

 

The inclusion of simple jokes such as these speak volumes as to the exact type of addressee that the author, or the wife herself, would be writing all of this for. The humor is one way of providing entertainment, but the high-brow twist provided by the fact that one must first have knowledge of Buddhist principles to understand the joke speak towards a more scholarly reader, one that is fairly worldly and enjoys thinking critically. Basically, the intended addressee may indeed be the philosopher, much like the one she speaks of throughout the novel.

 

Rather, I believe that the scenario of the wife, a writer herself, directly mimicking the author, or the possibility of her writing this for future generations as a sort of cautionary tale are the more likely scenarios. As such, the intended addressee would be either the widespread audience that would be drawn towards a unique, compelling twist on the standard tale of a housewife that lost her way in the local bookstore, or the wife’s students, including her own daughter.

 

Lastly, I do think that the inclusion of so many high-brow jokes, philosophical diatribes, and internal monologues of quite the philosophical nature mean that this book was meant for those who, above all else, wish to shift their perspective inwards. To better understand the inner workings of their own mind, and maybe even how they got to the situations they are currently in right now, just as the wife did. After all, the wife was not aways the wife. At one point in her life she was a naive child, one that could have very well used a book such as this to guide her along the way, because, “No one young knows the name of anything.” (177)

By Jordan

Annihilation Blog 1L Beginning of The En d

When I was first introduced to this novel, one which I have honestly never heard of before, I immediately found myself in the comfortable position of having a surrounding background of knowledge that should be able to guide me through, utilizing certain tropes and conventions. While I may have never intentionally gone out of my way to read a work of fiction in this genre, thriller or science fiction, I have consumed massive amounts of media that have familiarized me enough with the expectations and values of the genre such that I feel well prepared to tackle the undoubtedly thick layers of Annihilation.  I am well  aware that the covers of different print books will differ greatly, but the basic premise combined with the artwork depicting a beautiful yet menacing plant on the forefront is what really drew me in. In such a manner, knowing that the genre is science fiction, and can be seen as a sort of thriller, I sought comfort in my childhood memories of Little Shop of Horrors. Much like the carnivorous plant from Little Shop of Horrors, perhaps the “great evil” did not start off as such a horrendous creature, but was through our nurturing as a species that the monster came to be. The everlasting theme of the survival of the fittest finally shone through. Perhaps it would be a tale that begins with man’s best intentions, looking to further our own well-being while making advancements that could very well benefit the world at large with agricultural industrialization, but my fore-knowledge of the genre made me much more prepared to read for subtle allegories, cautionary tales, and the like.

 

The book begins with four scientists, all of whom remain unnamed, crossing the border to a mysterious and condemned area known only as “Area X”. The name alone sounds intimidating enough, but the fact that every single other expedition team before the current one has gone missing is the real kicker here. How and why did these previous search teams vanish? Who knows, but it’s questions like this, and being in an element of the deep, dark, unknown of a world we still barely understand, that give this novel an element of thriller and, perhaps, even vibes of horror. After all, the reader may not feel incredibly connected to any of the protagonists in particular at this point in the story, but we are still able to connect with them as human beings and as cogs in the machine in which we are all expected to play our specific roles in. If nothing else, we are able to empathize with the protagonists by the specific role, or function, that they have been given in the machine before the events of the novel even took place. Specifically, we are dealing with the surveyor, anthropologist, biologist, and a psychologist. The psychologist is perhaps the most interesting wrench thrown into the story here. We come to learn as readers that it is specifically her job to subdue the rest of the crew via hypnosis whenever deemed necessary. Adding a crack further to this dynamic is that the biologist soon discovers that unknown spores she may have ingested could make her immune to this hypnosis, leading for an explosion of drama and excitement that honestly makes me not want to put this book down. That’s all we get, so far because, due to the unique way in which this particular novel was written, the paperback novel is actually meant to be a sort of collection of field journals.

Overall, it is my belief that the two most dominating controlling values for Annihilation is the never ending struggle between two opposing ideologies: should human beings use every means at their disposal to better their own lives, even at the risk of permanently changing the environment, or should we be satisfied enough in the state of technology and advancement we have now as to not risk permanent negative effects with onward pushes? The environment of Area X seems to exemplify the struggle between these values. The biologist notes a strange sound that is heard every night coming from a distance:

“All you heard was the low moaning. The effect of this cannot be understood without being there. The beauty of it cannot be understood, either, and when you see the beauty in desolation it changes something inside of you. Desolation tries to colonize you.” (Pg. 5-6)

This example illustrates the point perfectly.  For one of the sets of controlling values within the confines of this narrative, the innate desire of man to innovate. That is to say, if is it perhaps better for human beings to accept their blessings as they are to an extent, living themselves happily and comfortably in the world that they have come to know, or if the risk of pushing the boundaries for something new, and potentially far greater, would be worth the inherent risk.

Does our meddling, for all of the technological wonders and boons that it brings, ultimately lead to our downfall. The howling almost seems to call out as if nature is giving the humans a warning. This has been a longstanding fear of the human race since the day that our species was first successfully able to ignite flame. Does the flame itself harm? Possibly, yes indeed it can, but so long as it is handled correctly, the capacity to be able to wield fire brings a near-endless supply of benefits to human society. In such a case, using technology to harness the power of nature for our own benefit can and should definitely be seen as a positive thing, and as such, an example of its corresponding controlling value winning out, at least temporarily. In addition, the idea of “desolation tries to colonize you” implies nature is fighting back. That in our downfall, nature will be the one to control us, not us controlling nature.

On the other hand, what if the future depicted in Annihilation is anything but the dystopian future with possibilities of dangerous outliers that we, the readers, were first meant to believe? Early on in the book, It is clear from the very first few pages of the novel that the narrator has several misgivings about trusting the government in general, let alone the people whom she is to lead this expedition with. For example, when they first cross the border into Area X, they are informed that the psychologist must put them under a sort of hypnosis to protect them, and prevent their minds from tricking them, because “apparently hallucinations were common. At least, this is what they told us. I no longer can be sure it was the truth.” Furthermore, the exact role of the psychologist in such a limited pool of available scientists for the expeditions, combined with her description of “An imperceptible smile on her lips as she watched us struggle to adjust” (10) is evidence of far more than simple foreshadowing.

When it is revealed that the government sets up these expeditions in part to serve as a sort of distraction for the people, steering their attention away from the real issues plaguing their society. This is not stated outright, at least not so far in the novel, but the author herself makes mention of the fact that for her part, “it hardly mattered what lies I told myself because my existence back in the world had become at least as empty as Area X. With nothing left to anchor me, I needed to be here” (12) The fact that this narrator, intelligent and successful as she should be by modern standards, would feel the need to embark on such a journey along with so many others on his expedition speaks volumes about what the Southern Reach, the clandestine government agency, has set up for the world surrounding them. These explorers embark on this journey not only for a sense of freedom from that desolation they are already accustomed to, but also the possibility of freedom from a clandestine government that, as has been suggested through the text and inclusion of hypnotic psychologists, is just another illusion of freedom to keep the populace satiated.

It is here where the defining lines between the two dominating controlling values becomes clear: Following strict order and sacrificing freedom, perhaps even individuality and freedom in the sake of forward progress, or reverting back to our more instinctual bonds and values, becoming one with nature once again, even if it means that we must sacrifice some of those progressions and innovations?

However, this is not always the case and fears of what the other end of the spectrum, those who believe we should leave nature as intended, have been saying such for years. From films such as The Terminator, to simple documentaries such as An Inconvenient Truth, examples abound and prove why such a genre needs to exist in order to tackle such prominent, relevant issues. The fact that the current expedition of the novel is the 12th unsuccessful venture speaks to some of our former controlling values discussed in Cat’s Cradle (hyperlink).  In Cat’s Cradle seeking out the truth in the first place in inherently risky, because the the search of exactly how and why things went so very wrong at area X in the first place puts not only the char

acters of the story, but slso the reader, at area X puts the individuals at risk due to the potential uncomfortable truth lying beneath the surface. From the premise alone, it seems as though Annihilation, much like Cat’s Cradle, serves as a sort of cautionary tale to warn us against some sort of dire future at the cost of or repeating mistakes in our own lives, playing off both the elements of science fiction and satire.As discussed with the elements and necessity of satire and science fiction, both of these genres have a need to exist that is driven by the way in which human beings react to our civilization, and the world at large.

Much like most recurring issues that serve to spawn the works of science fiction and satire alike, our early look at this novel could perhaps point towards very relevant environmental issues concerning the way in which we treat our environment. Also, how our continued technological impacts could serve to further impact that increasingly fragile relationship. There is not only an ever increasing need for innovation and control, but also the need for control over other human beings. The first example, demonstrating a failing control over the environment itself, can be seen in the overgrown nature of Area X itself, while the latter could be evidently seen in the prominent use of hypnosis as a means to directly control the thoughts and actions of the people. In this way, with the controlling values were to be established as sort of a “back to nature/let people do as they choose” vs “controlling the people in the name of the greater good.” Then the scene where the team uncovers the writing on the wall, “Where lies the strangling fruit,” followed by the action of swallowing spores that would seemingly make one  immune to hypnosis, demonstrates a slight victory, or at least a push towards the first direction of nature. In the coming chapters from the biologist, we will have to see which side wins out.

1. The characters themselves representing different segments of this dystopian society. (Entire story told through the perspective of the biologist, so possible bias there)
2. Numerous hints that the psychologists has some sort of ulterior motives and is there for the purpose of control. The expedition is given as an illusion of freedom, but the psychologist is there to keep things in check.
3. This could introduce yet another controlling value of whether or not true freedom is even possible in such an organized and advanced society, particularly in a post-apocalyptic setting. Even “the expendables”, those sent on these trips with a 100% death record must be closely monitored by the clandestine government.
4. The fact that the author, along with her comrades, seem fully cognizant of these facts shows just how little hope that there is left in the world, and leads to a question which could pose ass another controlling value. Is it better to take the risk, to leave one’s entire life behind for the sake of just a glimmer at some sort of higher truth, or to suffer in the monotony of a future that had already, presumably, been predetermined for them back home?
5. Connected to this, it becomes evident very early on that, at least the narrator, has little to no actual faith in the government or expedition in general, as can be seen in the observation that they had been told to “return to wait ‘extraction’…no one ever explained what the form of extraction might take 11) After all… what did happen to the other expeditions? Were they truly missing, killed off some unfortunate series of events, or was it their own employers that simply decided they learned just a bit too much more about the outside world than they should have?  by some unfortunate series of incidents, or, rather, could it be because the government itself was the one willing to silence those who eventually learned “too much”. One of the first quotes in this novel is another example of the psychologist (arguably the assistant most closely related to the government for purposes of control) who asks, “Does anyone yet have even an inking of a sensation of wanting to leave?” Now, considering her abilities, via hypnosis, the message within this statement is extremely clear
6. As a last example of this distrust towards the clandestine government, and another argument either for or against some form of higher control.

                                  

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Blog 3

As stated on the website, we are introduced to different cultural and textual codes within the text. The primary code, and perhaps the most prominant which we will focus on for this blog entry, is known as the symbolic code. This code: “Generates unresolvable oppositions (what are called “antitheses”) that structure a given conflict, and ultimately reinforce dominant cultural codes (controlling values), for instance, between male and female subjects, between those who “know” and those who are ignorant, between those who suffer and those who inflict suffering, the rich and the poor, the clever and the stupid, the simple and the complex, the rule followers and the renegades, the responsible ones and the neer-do-wells, the cops and the robbers, etc.”

Throughout THGTTG the reader is introduced to the eternal conflict between multiple sets of controlling values, one of which is the conflict of things happening by chance, leaving all those in the universe at the mercy of pure coincidence, and the idea that there is some predetermined path for all to follow, with some sort of greater scheme laid out for the future of the universe at large.

The idea that the earth is being destroyed to make way for a bypass, along with the fact that Arthur’s house was being bulldozed for similar reasons

The fact that, in the infinite, vast nature of space, Arthur always seems to be in the right place at the right time in order to be rescued, against all odds. An example of this is when Arthur is ejected from the Vogon ship only to be rescued, and the fact that they were even able to escape the Earth’s destruction at all by hitchhiking onto the ship. The insane coincidence is discussed by Trillian and Zaphod after they pick Arthur and Ford up in space:

“Anyway,” said Trillian, turning her back to the controls, “I didn’t pick them up.”

“What do you mean? Who picked them up then?”

“The ship did.”

“Huh?”

“The ship did. All by itself.”

“Huh?”

“While we were in Improbability Drive.”

“But that’s incredible.”

“No Zaphod. Just very very improbable.” (Douglas 90).

The conversation between Trillian and Zaphod demonstrates the conflict between what seems like coincidence and what seems like a planned event. On one hand, Trillian is saying it is “very very improbable” and even turns away from the controls to as if to say she had no control in the situation. It was pure coincidence. The example could also be viewed from the point of that all things in the universe are predetermined to some extent, rather than being chaotic. Zaphod is confused that there was no one acting, repeating “Huh?” because it is mind boggling to him that no one was in control. His first reaction is “Who picked them up then” because there is always a “who.” As a reader, we are also going “Huh?” We are taught that in stories, everything happens for a reason or that the protagonist is following his fate or that someone off screen is helping him. Even though Trillian says it’s improbable, the phrase “The ship did. All by itself” implies that the ship had the control, even though as an inanimate object it doesn’t. Humans strive to believe that something is in control and that there is an order to things. And maybe there is some greater force at play that wants/needs Arthur and his comrades to update the HHGTTG and accomplish all that they do along the way. But maybe it is also just an improbable coincidence that Arthur and Ford got rescued again.No matter what, the values of order and chaos are struggling against each other, as demonstrated by this symbolic code.

Aside from the aforementioned controlling values, THHGTTG also introduces a conflict between the ways in which people react to what is happening in the universe, along with their general tendencies to embrace either the chaotic nature that they perceive, or follow the orderly, planned values established by their cultures.

The earliest example of this is established in the meeting between Ford and Mr. Prosser. Mr. Prosser firmly represents those who adhere strictly to the molds and regulations set by their society, believing the universe to be a fairly orderly place with laws that must be followed, even if they don’t make all that much sense, and even if they might be inconvenient or unpleasant for some. Ford, on the other hand, represents those who embrace and support the more chaotic nature of the universe at large, moving with the flow as they perceive it, and adapting to whatever situation presents itself without a second thought, or even the slightest hint of a need to cling to a sense of order, or a strict set of rules.

Early on in the book, for the most part, the chaotic nature of the universe appears to be the controlling value which prevails, as is seen with the destruction of the planet earth and Mr. Prosser, who would never think of leaving the earth and the comfort of his orderly rules, and the continued success of Arthur and his comrades through sheer luck and happenstance.

An excellent example of this conflict between the opposing controlling values represented by Prosser and Arthur can be found on page 13 of THHGTTG, where it states that Mr. Prosser finally “realized that he was substantially the loser after all, it was as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders: this was more like the world as he knew it.” This quote clearly demonstrates how Mr. Prosser clings to his sense of order and complacency within firmly established roles in society to such a degree that, even in instances where he comes out as the loser, he is still satisfied simply because it is in line with his values and self-worth.

Overall, the appearance and usage of the symbolic code within THHGTTG serves to strengthen the narrative by adding an interesting dynamic to the setting, and the scenario at large; a scenario that, at first glance, may seem like a relatively simple take at British humor with a setting in outer space. On the contrary, the dynamic offered by the opposition of the controling values within the narrative force the reader to question their own significance in a universe that is not only vast beyond human comprehension, but can also sometimes seem to be unfeeling, and uncaring when it comes to the daily life of a single individual.