Tower and Town, November 2023

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Thoughts Invoked By Literature

Year 13 student, Georgina Sleight, offers a rebuttal to Caitriona’s argument

When responding to this question, the concept of gender is moot; our focus should remain on the struggle to articulate something independent from our own experience. Every individual has a mental framework through which we interpret our current interactions, and this is cultivated through our experiences. So, when writing about the abstract concept of love, it is practically impossible to remove this personal cognitive blueprint and properly capture someone else’s experience.

In Fitzgerald, we are given the perfect example to a man who has an inability to see beyond his own nose.

There is much proof of this, for instance his friend Sarah Murphy’s comment “you haven’t the faintest idea what anybody but yourself is like.” Alongside, Hemingway who later told Max Perkins, “Scott can’t invent characters because he doesn’t know anything about people.” And finally, Fitzgerald’s family physician “he refused to accept any regime which was not to his liking.”

One cannot help but understand from these comments from friends and close acquaintances that Fitzgerald’s perception is skewed by his own self-centeredness. When writing to his publisher in 1925, he wrote “this book contains no important female characters.” Fitgerald’s stories pilfered information and direct events from the people and experiences in his life. Yet, how he did so was questionable. Responding to a reporter Zelda said “I recognised a portion of an old diary of mine which mysteriously disappeared shortly after my marriage. He seems to believe plagiarism begins in the home.”

Earlier, we heard from the opposition that, by using the exact words of females in his life, Fitzgerald is accurately portraying their experience. However, the fundamental flaw in this line of argument is that by separating such words from the voice and context in which they were written allows Fitzgerald to fit them into his narrative and remove the meaning and purpose in which they were originally stated. I am sure most individuals here today can relate or imagine a sentence of theirs being plucked from its context and be interpreted in another way.

Fitzgerald can be seen as a case study to demonstrate the difficulty of detaching ourselves from our personal experience; the struggle to create a wholly unbiased piece of work.

Year 10 student, Sophie Richards, recounts her experience of discovering the novel The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides and shares her thoughts on the text.

‘All wisdom ends in paradox.’

It was late July of 2022 when I first came across this novel. Nostalgia lingered in the air, entrancing me as I wandered down a cobbled lane on the island of St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly. Turning down a small alleyway, I found myself greeted by a stand on the left side, displaying an array of different items. Small crystals littered one corner, whilst the other side held homemade bracelets and necklaces, with a stack of five worn and read books next to them. I glanced at the first book, stopping with slight shock at the title. The cover was dark green with a pink box and five green flowers. The title read ‘The Virgin Suicides.’ Intrigued and startled by this casual mention of taboo subjects, I rifled through my purse to find a pound coin. I dropped it into the can and made my way to the beach with the novel.

Set in the quiet suburbs of Michigan in the 1970s, it follows the five Lisbon sisters and the events leading up to their deaths. The story is told in first person plural and past tense by a group of boys who claim to have loved the sisters. By using this narration technique, the author creates a sense of unity with the readers and the narrators, however still leaving an air of mystery around the girls.

Eugenides uses symbolism in numerous ways to explore themes of isolation, adolescence, and loss of innocence in a way that brings the reader to feel a deeper connection to the story. For example, the trees outside the sisters’ house hold significant symbolism, serving as a visual representation of the decay and rot occurring in the seemingly perfect neighbourhood. The trees witness the girls' lives as they grow and change, capturing the transient nature of youth. As the trees wither, so do the sisters and their mental health.

"The Virgin Suicides" emphasises the elusiveness of understanding others fully. Despite the narrators' intense fascination with the Lisbon sisters and their many attempts to unravel their lives, they ultimately fail to grasp the depth of their experiences and motivations, seeing them not as individuals, but as a collective consciousness. The novel suggests that true understanding of another person's inner workings may remain elusive, demonstrating the limitations of humans’ comprehension of one another. However, it is important to note that the novel also critiques the male gaze and the objectification of women; it presents the consequences, highlighting the tragic outcomes that result from the girls' lack of being understood and their repression within a patriarchal society.

These messages intertwine to create a complex exploration of repression, alienation, loss, and the intricacies of human existence. "The Virgin Suicides" prompts readers to reflect on societal pressures, the challenges of adolescence, and the fragility of life, provoking a deeper examination of the human psyche. Jeffrey Eugenides combines important messages still relevant in society with an incredible story, leaving a lasting impact on those who read his work.

Georgina Sleight (y13)