While reading Snow Crash--I had conflicting feelings. I either felt this mechanical feeling like even the real living characters weren't real, they seemed computerized even outside of the Metaverse. For example, YT has this superhuman ability to poon fast moving cars and skateboard behind them--which, I am sure happens in reality but, still seems incredibly and unrealistic. While Hiro is running around with a sword--which screams of being in a video game. When I viewed these characters in a sort of robotic way--I had trouble emphasising with them. There was also a self assurance in the Hiro and YT that kept me from feeling pity for them in hard situations--because, I felt confident that they could handle them. For example, on pg. 77 YT has been taken to the Clink and is handcuffed up but her mom calls her personal phone and she talks to her in total confidence about the fact that she is at her friend's house. --what normal 15 year old would be locked up and not only not calling mom for help but, not utilizing talking to her when she does call?
On the other hand, I would see aspects of the characters that I felt were more humanistic and I would briefly feel differently towards them--feel empathetic and view them as a real human and not a character--the scene that stands out in particular is on pg. 149 when Hiro realizes that Raven has just killed Lagos.--He has just finished meeting and talking with Lagos and while he left with negative thoughts in his head he was still intrigued by Lagos and had had the desire to talk to him more--and now he was dead and it says: He (Hiro) is beyond astonishment as he stands and stares at Lago's corpse. All the emotions will probably come piling in on him later, when he goes home and tries to sleep. And as we see later, he is unable to sleep. I forget what page it is on exactly--but, YT also shows vulnerability when making delivers she at times will be fearful of her surroundings.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
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I agree that the feeling in this book is seriously realistic, but I think that you are having problems "suspending reality" like we talked about in class. If you are in the world, I bet you its perfectly normal that Hiro walks around with weapons to protect himself. And we learned that this is not the first time YT has been taken to the Clink or somewhere like it. I think its a world where many people are very individualistic, or at least the characters that we see don't depend on anyone else but what their own abilities can provide them. They may collude together, but ultimately, they've learned to survive with little help from others.
ReplyDeleteI can completely agree with your second point, that we feel for the characters at many instances in the book. Both Hiro and YT have many decisions that most of us wouldn't even consider... probably because we don't exist in the world that they do. But we do feel for them that they have to fight for everything, that they lead somewhat dangerous lives. It may just be me, but I can also feel for them because I can feel that something is going to happen to them that won't be generally desirable, something bad is coming. I feel that each will have to go through obstacles to reach the climax of the book, and its going to be especially difficult for both of them.