Author: CAROLINE TURNER

Are We All Fools?

On By CAROLINE TURNERIn Uncategorized4 Comments

A few weekends ago, my family had a movie night, and we decided to watch the thriller, “Primal Fear.” The movie follows a suspect in a murder trial. Everyone believes that this man is guilty, as he is seen running in blood from the crime scene. One lawyer who is taking a leave from his profession sees this chase on TV and immediately sees innocence in this man. The lawyer decides to come back to work to defend the suspect for free. 

Throughout the movie, we see memory loss and an overly apologetic tone in the suspect. Then the suspect, when angered, turns into another hostile personality. By the end of the trial, the lawyer is able to prove the suspect innocent because of his apparent multiple personality disorder. The lawyer believed that it was not the suspect’s fault and that this disorder does not define who he really is. However, after the trial successfully ended, the suspect turns to the lawyer and explains, “You are so stupid,” and “Did you really think I was that cute innocent boy?” This plot twist reminded me of the ending of “Good Country People.” 

Towards the end of Hulga’s date with the salesman, the true character of the salesman is revealed. When Hulga begs for her leg back, and the salesman refuses, we find that he was fooling her the entire time. He collects rare items such as that prosthetic leg or a woman’s glass eye. Once Hulga asks why he would do this because he is a Christian, the salesman exclaims, “I hope you don’t think,…that I believe in that crap!”(9). This exact line reminded me of “Primal Fear” because both the salesman and the suspect were able to play such innocent characters so well. The salesman, who once admired Hulga for everything about her and how brave she is, tells Hulga, “you ain’t so smart…”(9). I think it is significant to note that Hulga was the one who was proved a fool, though she has never been interested in anything ever. The one person who sees the “real” and the non sugar coated version of life, unlike her mother, is the one who is lied to. This twisted end makes you wonder: are we all fools?

“Escape From Spiderhead”

On By CAROLINE TURNERIn George Saunders1 Comment

I think mutual recognition appears at the end of the story and does not really show up while Jeff is still in the Spiderhead. One section that really stood out to me is when Jeff refuses to agree to Rachel receiving Darkenfloxx. On page 75, Absenti asks, “Verlaine, what’s the name of that one? The one where I give him an order and he obeys it?” This reveals the authority binary in this dystopian future. This binary is kept until Jeff sacrifices himself. I believe this is when he experiences mutual recognition and individuality as Benjamin explains because on page 81, Jeff describes his encounter with birds, “I joined them, flew among them, they did not recognize me as something apart from them…” Jeff and the birds recognize each other as equals part of the same community yet being their own individuals.