Saying goodbye (and hello) to freaks and geeks...

After this course, I can definintely say I have developed a critical eye for freaks and geeks in fiction. I like the theories of patriarchal rule and feminism, because that is not usually what I read for in texts or novels but after so many examples of this concept and its subversion in Nights at the Circus it will be hard to miss in the future. I especially like the concept of subversion, because once I learned what that word meant (ha ha) I could see it everywhere! I found it especially interesting when the subversion happens between reader and author, such as in Never Let Me Go, where Ishiguro subverts the concept of "freak" from being the studnets to humankind for subjecting the students to such an inhumane future. So I would like to say goodbye to the books that I'll be selling, the class discussions and debates over freakery. It has been fun!

However after reading the course novels, I reailze how much I've been taking freaks and geeks for granted! Being aware of concepts like magical realism, carnivalesque, the grotesque body, and the freak as a subjective, ever-changing being, I am compelled to re-read books like The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood, to better understand Marian's relationship and fear with food, marriage, and love. I would be elated to analyze Franz Kafka's Metamorphasis if I didn't already read that one on a yearly basis. So in fact I'd like to say hello to the freaks and geeks I will encounter in my future reads, with a better understanding of what truly makes their story "freaky".

Reversing the Role of Freak

Throughout the novel Never Let Me Go, I actually found it quite hard to imagine the clone characters as "freaks" at all. Perhaps it is because the perspective is first person, making it all too easy to relate to Kathy and and her struggles. It is perhaps a typical argument, but I found that throughout the novel the clones' struggles suited to make them more relate-able as real "people".

For instance, Ruth and Kathy's pretend play underscores their normalcy, as pretend play fosters children's' creativity and role models future adult behaviors and relationships. That they can conceive of a future with relating to people and taking care of objects (possessions, pets, people, etc.) is something we as people can naturally sympathize with. Or when Ruth has trouble fitting in at the cottages, she tries to take on the behaviors of her seniors; the clones, even being aware of their fate in their late teens, still strive to find companionship and a place for themselves, which is also something most people can relate to (minus the clone part).

Not that relating is the only point. Even if a person can't relate to the individuals or the circumstances, the basic human principles of finding oneself and being a part of something are there, thus, making it hard for me to see their "freakishness" throughout the story. In fact I find it the cleverest way to force the reader to realize instead to our own true human freakishness for creating something so like us (well, exactly like us in some cases!) and then proceeding to outcast it from society and label it "weird" and a "freak".

Tod Browning's freaks are not just freaks...

They're humans too. In his movie, Freaks, he implies that they are of normal human genetics, born with distinguishing physical disabilities. This is why I found it so difficult to believe that one reviewer stated that "it is impossible for the normal man or woman to sympathize with the aspiring midget." Why is it so impossible? We may not see the world standing from four feet, and we may not be used to the context so outlandish as the circus, but why can't we sympathize with another human being about love and betrayal? Most people can surely sympathize having feelings for someone who is "out of their league" or beyond their circle of friends, like when Hans falls in love with Cleo. And I'm sure others can sympathize being a victim of jealousy or betrayal by a boyfriend or girlfriend, such as when Hans finds out that Cleo is giving him poison in a scheme with the Strong Man.

My point is that even though the context is completely different, what with the "freaks" as main characters, it is still very likely and human of us to sympathize with them about typically human issues.