Currently (Re-) Reading: The Giver by Lois Lowry
Warning: This post is really long... I tried to shorten it I swear.
Could it be? Is it true? Yes. It is the long-promised The Sirens of Titan post!
Please, try to contain your excitement.
First, allow me to give a brief synopsis of the novel for all
interested parties.
Essentially, the plot revolves around two characters:
Winston Niles Rumfoord and Malachi Constant.
The former is a space/time traveler stuck in a phenomenon
called the chronosynclastic infundibula, which causes him to periodically
materialize on Earth, Mars, Mercury, and Titan. Despite having read and re-read
the explanation of this phenomenon numerous times, the best I can understand it
is that it allows those caught in it to be in multiple places both periodically
and at one time. This means that the traveler simultaneously knows what has
happened, what is currently happening, and what will happen. Again, this is the
best explanation I can offer. In my defense, I’m not a science major and it’s a
fictional space phenomenon!
The latter character, Malachi Constant, is the heir to a
multi-million dollar fortune – created through sheer dumb luck – who gets swept
up into an elaborate scheme Rumfoord has concocted involving a Martian army and
a new world “religion.”
Intrigued and confused yet?
Although this may seem like an impossibly hard plot, don’t
let this deter you from picking up this book! The chronosynclastic infundibula
is pretty much the hardest plot point to understand, I promise. And as it turns
out, Vonnegut is not a hard read when you take the novel at face value.
Honestly, this was one of the most shocking parts of this
reading experience for me. I was expecting Joseph Heller levels of pretentious,
challenging writing in which you literally have to look up at least one word
every three pages. What I found was something completely different. Compared to
Heller, Vonnegut’s writing is like a giant, welcoming hug, even cleverly
spelling out the most complicated concepts through quoting chunks of fictitious
children’s novels in order to use the simplest language in his explanation. How
inviting and easy it all seems…
However, it turns out that Vonnegut is simply showing his
readers there’s nothing up his sleeves before performing Houdini or David
Blaine levels of mind-blowing magic.
Because, holy crap is there a lot more to this book than the simple writing and characters let
on. Guess that makes sense since the book is not really about the characters or
plot. Rather it’s a novel dedicated to exploring an idea and oh hey! That idea?
Oh, it’s just, “What is the meaning of human life?” So this should be a breeze
to discuss and analyze, right?
Bahahahahahahahaha!
Well done, Meredith! Way to take on the colossus of idea
books as your first analytical blog piece. Kudos on your pick, you moron!
Before I continue this post any further, I want to say this
up front and in the most obvious, clear way I can:
THIS CONTAINS MAJOR
SPOILERS!!!
So if you have any intention of reading this novel – which I
thoroughly recommend! – you may want to turn around now and come back when it’s
safe to read.
…
Everyone leave who needs to leave? Yes? OK, then let’s move
on.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the novel for me was
the stark contrast between Rumfoord and Constant’s levels of control in their
lives.
As mentioned earlier, Rumfoord has the advantage of
knowledge throughout the novel. He is constantly living his life both in the
moment and in the past, which means he already knows what will happen while
it’s happening. In other words, Rumfoord can essentially predict the future.
This power helps him to achieve a god-like status among his peers, allowing him
to control hundreds of humans' lives, including Constant's. In fact, his level of
control over everyone’s lives is so intense that he can orchestrate large,
public ceremonies and a war between Earth and Mars.
And then there’s Constant, whose life functions in pretty
much the polar opposite way. Even before he becomes a pawn in Rumfoord’s chess
game, Constant’s success in life is created entirely out of luck and his level
of control only decreases. He’s dragged all over the universe through Rumfoord’s
manipulations with so little control he barely even controls his identity, as
his name changes from Constant to Unk to Space Wanderer throughout the novel. In
fact, his journey reads a lot like someone who is caught in a crowd and keeps
moving with the force to avoid being trampled, but with no idea where
everyone’s going.
The reader thinks he has it all figured out. Rumfoord is
using his knowledge from his space/time travel to twist everyone’s Fates,
including Constant’s, to fit his plans to create a worldwide religion with
Rumfoord at the center. Hooray! The book is wrapped into a nice package of a
power-hungry, all-knowing dictator!
… And then Vonnegut throws the twist at you.
As the quote from Esquire
magazine says on the cover of my copy of the book: Vonnegut “dares not only
to ask the ultimate question about the meaning of life, but to answer it.”
Yup. You can stop looking for answers now, because Vonnegut
has them! Aren’t you glad you’re reading my blog?
According to Vonnegut, everything humans have done since
203,117 B.C. has been to deliver a spaceship part to an alien named Salo from
the planet Tralfamadore whose ship broke down on Titan so that he can continue
his mission to carry a message from “One Rim of the Universe to the Other”
(Vonnegut 274).
And when I say everything humans have done, I mean everything. Every giant structure,
including Stonehenge and the Great Wall of China, was a message to Salo that
the part was on its way. Every great civilization was created to make those
structures/messages. And everything Rumfoord manipulated everyone on Earth,
including Malachi Constant, to do was to get Constant’s son, Chrono, to Titan
with his “good luck” piece…which is the part of the ship Salo needs.
So in reality, no one has been in control of his life, including Rumfoord. Everyone has been
used as a means to an end for the Tralfamadorians’ plan for thousands of years.
The kicker? The oh-so-important message that Salo has been
carrying? It turns out it simply says, “Greetings.”
It may be kind of bleak, but I actually kind of like the message Vonnegut is trying
to convey. Essentially the novel is pointing out
that humans are just tiny specks in the universe so to think we are here to
serve some special purpose is pretty conceited. Even if we are here to serve a
purpose, the universe is so expansive and our perspectives are so limited,
there’s no way we could possibly understand what that purpose is.
So maybe there is a plan, maybe there is Fate, but really?
We should stop worrying about it and just live our lives.
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