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Tag Archives: jonathan franzen
Richard Katz’s Suicide
Some sense of sincere emotional impact falls short in a lot of scenes throughout Freedom. However, there might be no point throughout the novel in which a character’s emotions seems as contrived as when Richard Katz briefly contemplates suicide. The … Continue reading
Playing against type
In lieu of posting about how angry, in re-reading this book, I’ve become over the portrayal of Connie and Patty and other generally morally vacuous women dependent on the validation of men (though I clearly do have opinions about that), … Continue reading
Walter’s view on equal rights
One moment in the book I was thrown by was the moment when Lalitha and Walter try to negotiate with Mathis unsuccessfully. We’ve seen Walter’s desire for equal rights in the past, especially when Walter and Richard are roommates. This … Continue reading
Franzen’s Archaic Sex Roles
The idea that this post consists of one white male (me), taking issue with another white male’s treatment of female sexuality speaks to the basic problem for men trying to discuss the aforementioned topic: we don’t have vaginas. Nevertheless I … Continue reading
A Love Triangle: Realistic Result?
Throughout my reading of Freedom, I kept wondering why did Patty marry Walter in the first place. The love triangle of Richard, Walter, and Patty is reoccurring during the novel. Right when Patty was first ready to give Walter her … Continue reading
Blog Post for Freedom
I was specifically interested in Patty’s relationship with Joey and why she paid special attention to him. She reminded me of one of those annoying parents that thinks her child can do no wrong and just laughs at them when … Continue reading
Bright Eyes, Coolness, and Richard Katz
Since it had been my plan to bring in some Bright Eyes to the classroom tomorrow, and we will be without stereo equipment outside, take a listen: and a couple that are, quite frankly, painfully sincere:
National Funeral
We’ve been talking a lot this semester about the idea of 9/11 as a National Tragedy (or, in fact, the National Tragedy). I was interested in the contrast between the widespread issues and tragedies explored in Freedom and this passage … Continue reading
Representing America But Also Kind Of Not [Just], Sometimes : Blog Post #4
Freedom has been called the Great American Novel, yes?, so this means that consciously representing America would be one of the main goals, right? So I think this is accurate but at some points in the novel I get kind … Continue reading
Rape Image
Whenever reading the passage in Freedom about Patty’s rape scene I was enraged by the comments made by her father regarding her participation. Pg. 46 “You shake it off. Move on. Learn to be more careful.” Pg. 47 “But sometimes … Continue reading
