Happy Birthday Adam!

Jonathan Dee portrays the parental roles in a family of the new millenium in The Privileges.  Dee, a parent himself, depicts a married couple where one spouse strives to earn enough wealth the other spouse can live in comfort with hopes that the lavish lifestyle will bring happiness to their relationship.  Adam, in the Moreys' case, embraced the role of breadwinner and attempted to provide all the wealth he believed his family needed to live happily. Adam, however, has the problem of taking risks beyond the necessary lengths to reach prosperity. Dee notes that Adam's practices "[weren't] just about the money," instead more of an obligation to sustain power and leadership over less daring brokers in his insider trading circle (123). Adam's minimal ambition for gaining wealth and more interest in the leadership factor portray him as power hungry in addition to selfish. These traits result in continued patterns of taking serious financial risks for hardly any significant gain. Dee reveals that without Adam's shady financial decisions the Morey family "wouldn't feel the money's absence at all," which leads me to question Adam's morals as he continued his sketchy business (123). I believe Adam has a serious need for some sort of intervention to relieve him of the financial risks he takes. Therefore, as a gift to Adam from me for his birthday (hypothetically of course) I would invest in some counseling for the serious financial gambling he did. In addition to providing an intervention to his risky ways I would also encourage Adam to rethink his role as a parent. Like Adam's own partner Devon, I would like to pose the question: "Why are you doing it still?" (144). Hopefully my attempted shot at using logos to change Adam coupled with the intervention would make him quit his practices but just in case I would purchase a gift for his birthday again to remind him of the emotional role of a father. Maybe a nice framed picture of the beautiful Morey family to put in perspective who Adam lives for. A picture of his family may trigger a revelation about fatherhood that the responsibility of a dad revolves around providing love and teaching morals to one's children. With those two factors encouraged, love and morals, maybe Adam could readjust his own morals to prioritize a family that needs him for his love, not his overseas bank accounts that they have no dependence on. For his birthday I would like to encourage Adam to place more attention on his loved ones for their sake, rather than his insider trading circle.

Let's Live it Up

As a teenager I found myself unaware of the thoughts and internal conflicts that aging involves until reading Elizabeth Strout's novel, Olive Kitteridge.  I acknowledge that my young age has the effect of ignorance on my consideration of topics like death and loneliness.  Like many young adults I imagine I still have feelings of invincibility allowing me to take risks and do things I want to do without death or injury really crossing my mind.  In contrast, Olive appeared much more aware of the close proximity she had to death due to her old age.  Instead of knowing its inevitability a long way away that my generation tends believe, Olive asks that her death "be quick" (253).  Strout's implication of serious fear of death that seniors have juxtaposes the lack of thought I really have regarding the issue.  As a result, I find myself sympathetic of those that fear the inevitable and do not have reassurance that they have time to live it up.  Due to that pathos I have pledged to spend as much time as possible with my elders that I love and encourage them to live the remainder of their lives to the fullest with my help.  Additionally, Strout motivated me to see my grandparents more often as a result of the empathy the author imposed while Olive lived alone after her husband's placement in assisted living.  Olive described her life of loneliness as "'hell'" and due to hell's extremely dark and depressing connotation I want to alleviate the loneliness some of my loved ones may suffer from by visiting with them more frequently and speaking with them more often (255).  Little moments I try to spend with my grandparents to avoid the feelings of "'always [being] alone'" (255).  I consider myself extremely independent and even I can not stand loneliness for too long, so empathetically I do not want any of my loved ones to feel the same way.  People have packed schedules these days I know, but I also know adopting monotonous schedules that look the same, day in and day out, like many senior citizens do can not provide any enjoyment.  The sympathy and respect Strout instilled in me regarding my elders has changed me.  I want them to enjoy life as much as I do and have schedules as entertaining as the one I follow.  Grandparents provide a lot to get little in return.  Spending time with them compares well to the high-ticket gifts we always rely on them to get us at birthdays and holidays.  Why not return the favor and give them the gift at the top of their list?  Only time appears on the price tag. 

Beware: Old People

Elizabeth Strout focuses on an aging woman who shares her name with Strout's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Olive Kitteridge.  The book consists of thirteen chapters of anecdotes involving Olive intertwined with underlying internal and external conflicts she encounters through her aging years.  At first glance I never thought a seventeen year old male like myself could possibly have interest in the novel, however I found myself breezing through it without much complaining.  The conflicts that dominate the story definitely did not relate to the moments I live in currently, however Strout changed my outlook on topics like senior citizens, loneliness, and death.  Therefore, I do not suggest Olive Kitteridge to anybody incapable of summoning sympathy and willing to turn themes of novels into new practices in their own life.  I do not see many of my peers having particular interest in the novel as subjects like the "nursing home" occurred frequently in the life of Olive (158).  Students at my age typically can avoid the nursing home and I even see family members that have reluctance to visit relatives that must live an assisted lifestyle.  Ultimately, I see a generation like my own as one uninterested in the loneliness and hopelessness surrounding nursing homes and those affected by them.  We mostly see them as a place to ship our relatives off to when we no longer want them as a burden on our hands.  Additionally, another source of complication in Olive's life was her "new daughter-in-law" (142).  Last time I checked, none of my friends had sons yet, so logically this issue has no relevance to my peers.  I, however, learned a number of lessons regarding the interaction with in-laws from Olive that I may have to put to use in the future (fingers crossed).  Coincidentally I see characters that compare to Olive's daughter-in-law, Suzanne, as people that should not read this book as well.  The setting of the book has the tendency to depress and darken situations as Maine's climate consists of long winters and little time to savor the beautifully, incomparable autumns the area has to offer.  Suzanne justified her and her husband's controversial move to the state farthest away from Crosby, Maine and her parents-in-law's residence for she "'[likes] sunshine'" as opposed to the "'darkness'" that consumes Maine over the long winter (143).  Like the climate, Strout's writing has an abundance of focus on darker topics and struggles of a senior citizen like death and loneliness.  Therefore, those living in the moment and those fearful of living in solitude may not like the foreshadowing Strout provides by focusing on Olive's life.  Readers of Olive Kitteridge must have the power to note themes and lessons that Strout teaches through her fictional work and also have the willingness and memory to put those lessons to work later in life when they have more relevance.  If one does not possess the understanding to dissect the thoughts of a lonely, old woman they have no chance of having any sympathy for Olive and as a result will not gain anything from reading the novel.

Judging a Book by Its Contents

As Elizabeth Strout characterizes personalities in her 2008 novel, Olive Kitteridge, she associates physical appearance with character traits that members of the story possess.  Strout's technique appeals to me for she disregards a traditional theme in literature, to not judge a book by its cover.  The protagonist, Olive Kitteridge, receives this treatment when a former student of hers had a chance run in with her in chapter two.  Kevin had Olive as a math teacher in seventh grade and recalled liking her while others did not.  However, when they crossed paths later the older Kevin seemed almost intimidated by his former teacher's presence.  At first glance he thought, "Mrs. Kitteridge. Holy shit," that adopts a fearful tone that reminded me of a soldier's reaction to an officer of higher rank (34).  From the perspective of Kevin, Strout continues her description of Olive's presence by proclaiming her "a big woman," which I found synonymous with imposing as a result of her commanding company (34).  Therefore, Strout characterizes Olive as an intimidating character, one that demands the respect of those surrounding her simply by her presence.  Strout dives deeper into her character via physical characteristics during her encounter with Kevin as she notes Olive's "forthright, high-cheekboned expression" that very much reinforces the blunt, condescendingly direct reputation Olive possessed in the eyes of many of the other residents of Crosby, Maine (34).  Strout's use of physical descriptions that relate to the personality of the characters in Olive Kitteridge leads me to believe that the appearance of a person can truly tell you a lot about their identity.  Then again, I believe Strout's added complexity to characters like Olive as the book progresses call for deeper looks into the character of people.  As a result, Strout acknowledges the stereotypes of appearance while also encouraging those that dwell on physical characteristics to explore the personality of someone deeper and find the intricacy of all people.