Annoated Bibliography Robert Finch

The Martian Annotated Bibliography

Weir, Andy. The Martian: A Novel. New York: Crown, 2014. Print.

Robert Finch

The Martian is a piece that divided our group as an audience. Many of us found us found it far from an easy read, and were resistant readers, while I (Robert Finch, the writer of this section) found that the book was standard science fiction and thus I felt at home with the format. My goal throughout this document is to bring together my group’s collectives thoughts on the Martian as to build upon the analysis to delve into the four subjects assigned to our group, namely the “Reading for” or mimetic and thematic reading, the structure of the piece from the various forms (eg repetitive form), the intertextual codes, and finally an analysis of the narrative intentions of the author to his audience.

Section 1

The Martian, a book by Andy Weir, is a novel which in the mimetic register details an aborted human study of the Mars planet where Mark Whatney, one of the astronauts, becomes stranded on the planet with material designed to last several weeks at most.  His only choice is make-do with what he has to survive until the next manned-mission can picked him up, at the very least in several years.  It’s a race against time as NASA struggles to reduce that time-frame and Whatney struggles to grow food and survive in a hostile environment.  Thematically Alexis and I agreed in our value graph that his  predicament saddled Mark Whatney with an “instinct to survive” and that the controlling value is whether his fortitude will result in his living out the rest of his natural life.

The Value Graph is from the first three chapters of the book, where Mark is figuring out ways of creating food and surviving while being stuck on Mars.

This story is as many in our group described it a “science-fiction” novel. According to the Free Dictionary a “science-fiction novel” is “A literary or cinematic genre in which fantasy, typically based on speculative scientific discoveries or developments, environmental changes, space travel, or life on other planets, forms part of the plot or background. “ The Martian does fit this category, taking it upon itself to describe potential future technology that humanity (particularly NASA) will use to explore Mars via a manned mission

It was this particular aspect that created resistant readers out of my groupmates in their initial reading-fors (As well as throughout their reading experience). As Alexis states

“Throughout the first few chapters, I felt myself resisting the text, like when he was explaining how to separate hydrogen from hydrazine or how the equipment and supplies that he was using or wearing worked, like the MAV or his space suit. “

And for Laura

“As I continued to read on I noticed, I was not quite a resistant reader to the text, but more along the lines of an inauthentic submissive reader. I was mechanically going through each paragraph and then realizing I was not paying attention to the words on the page. “

The very subject matter, the science-fiction element, alienated many of us, from Alexis’s stated difficulty reading the scientific passages to Laura simply not connecting with the scenario.

However there was another aspect that did come up during our reading-for’s, and that was a feeling of a “survival story” aspect. As Brittany states

“Reading deeper into the book, I begin to think that it maybe more then just a science fiction book and maybe a book about a fight for survival.“

This consensus was shared by all of my group mates (with the exception of me) in regards to the idea that a Science-Fiction novel would involve something more than simply a man on mars trying to create the world’s first martian grown potatoes. In fact many of our group’s submissive reading followed when we see Mark Whatney’s emotions as he fails and succeeds in his attempt to survive. According to Laura

“Other times while reading, I felt as if I were becoming a submissive reader and allowing the text to work it’s magic on me. I was open to the narrator showing me the ways of which he was going to survive Mars with only a maximum of 300 days food. When he states, “Okay, I’ve had a good night’s sleep, and things don’t seem as hopeless as they did yesterday” (23). I can put myself into his shoes without being on Mars. I can feel him panicking the night before and falling asleep to some glimpse of hope to survive. “

As for my own reading-for, with my strong interest in Science-fiction I was submissive in different parts than my groupmates. I actually enjoyed the technical talk while much of Mart Whatney talking about his worries actually grew tired in my personal opinion since it felt repetitive. But that’s more of a subject to tackle in a future section on cultural codes, since the cultural codes I’m used to seeking are different than those of my groupmates who didn’t have much experience in science-fiction.

Section 2

The Martian in terms of Form had a very specific style.

In terms of Syllogistic progression the Martian often brings forth these Premises.  That Mark Whatney has suffered a major setback (I.E. his potato farm has failed) he mopes about it, feeling as if he’s about to die. And then he realizes that all isn’t hopeless “Well, I didn’t die” (51)  He decides that he isn’t going to die, finds a solution to the problem.

Often during this strategy Qualitative progressive form is used.  During Whatney’s journal entries in which he addresses the audience he often uses jokes and dry humor to convince him “I am one lucky son of a bitch [the potatoes] aren’t freeze-dried or mulched” and through this griping we laugh along with Whatney laughing at himself.

In true repetitive form disasters happen over and over again, and as these occur Whatney thinks, panics, and then resolves the issue.

In terms of genre and in terms of defining it, my groupmates and I had very different expectations and understandings. We agreed, the genre of The Martian was Science-fiction, but what we expected and saw the genre as was entirely different. Case in point, a quote by Alexis

“During the first reading, my initial reading for was the science fiction elements that are prevalent in sci-fi…but it surprised me to find out that it also seems to be more about the survival story of the main character, Mark.”

And then again coming up in Laura’s entry

“I started to see that maybe there is more to the genre than just science-fiction. This could be a story about Mark’s survival….This text might be dealing with the certain ways we must survive in a bigger genre [than] science-fiction.”

As these readers indicate, rather than what is commonly accepted as aspects of the genre (Ex. Epic space battles, future societies, alien beings) we have elements of survival fiction in here where the story focuses primarily on the survival of one man in the inhospitable environment of Mars.

But as we remember from section one, The Free Dictionary says science-fiction is

“A literary or cinematic genre in which fantasy, typically based on speculative scientific discoveries or developments, environmental changes, space travel, or life on other planets, forms part of the plot or background.”

As Laura states

“As I was reading, I started to notice that, yes, there is a lot of scientific information in the novel.”

and thus we have that quality down, that the book does focus on the science element.

To quote Laura’s quoting the text

“Hydrazine breaking down is extremely exothermic. So I did it a bit at a time, constantly watching the readout of a thermocouple I’d attached to the iridium chamber” (53).

referring of course to Mark Whatney’s effort to introduce water into the soil by burning rocket fuel (the Hydrazine). She explores this issue further in saying

“I started to see that maybe there is more to the genre than just science-fiction. This could be a story about Mark’s survival. “

In other words she noticed that her perception of the genre “science-fiction” was simply not the same as the text of The Martian was delivering.

This calls for a definition of the “Survival” genre. Book-Genres.com describes the survival fiction genre as

“… made up of stories where the main character or characters are trying to survive with little or nothing… who have gotten lost or hurt in a natural environment and have to survive on their own until rescued. The main theme… is the knowledge and how-to to make do with what one has in a limited environment and keep themselves and/or others alive.”

Concerning The Martian this is a very adequate description. Mark Whatney is stranded in a “natural environment” (you can certainly say that Mars is “natural” and he has to “make do” with materials he has on hand. Yet when you compare The Martian with other survival stories like…say the movie Cast Away, you realize that not only is the setting different (Cast Away takes place on an uninhabited island) but there is an element that simply isn’t there…namely the science!

Mark Whatney, our protagonist, is always explaining himself and his methods (see the early quote about the Hydrazine) and the fact that even manned travel to Mars is futeristic, many of the methods described in The Martian are simply hypothetical even if they are based on current science. While survival stories often take place in modern or past environments, The Martian takes place in a hypothetical future where this technology has been developed and is in use. Thus although we can state that the novel does have survival genre elements, the environment is not some frozen wilderness or an island but on a planet that as of this date mankind has never even set foot on personally. Thus the definition of “typically based on speculative scientific discoveries or developments, environmental changes, space travel, or life on other planets, forms part of the plot or background.” is more defined here despite many in my group feeling that the survival elements place it in a different genre.

Section 3

Moving on from a discussion on genre we have the “intertextual code” or otherwise the question “how does this book relate to other texts?” or “ what outside sources or experiences can we use as a reference to better understand this book?” We have the genre, that being that The Martian is a Science-Fiction story with Survival story elements, but what does that tell us? It tells us the playground that Andy Weir, the author of The Martian is playing with in that genre narrows down the type messages and stories he can tell within his chosen genre. But now we dig deeper, what is Andy Weir trying to convey?

We of course know the structure of the story. Alexis, in her entry on the matter, writes on the proairetic code,

“From what I have read, there have been times when he finds ways of surviving, like when he figures out how to grow potatoes and make water while being stranded on Mars…”

bringing her to the conclusion that

“based on what I have already read, I can make a general prediction that the main character, Mark, will survive by the end of the story.”

But I personally think that The Martian‘s message is not necessarily about whether Mark Whatney will or not survive his mission. I’ll get more in touch with what Andy Weir is trying to communicate in the fourth section, but here I’m going to talk extensively on the cultural codes present in The Martian to give us a strong sense of, now that we know what the genre is, what Weir is doing with genre.

First we start with Mark Whatney. As I write on the cultural code

“Reading the story I find certain codes. For one Mark Whatney does not have the composure of a stereotypical scientist. He often makes off-color jokes, curses when angry, and acts genuinely emotional in ways coded for a sympathetic under-educated everyman than a loyal scientist and intrepid explorer. At the same time he’s coded as an underdog as well, experiencing several failures and realizing his own slim chances for survival while never given up and always trying for solutions. “

And why is he defined in this way, to be palatable of course. Most of the audience reading The Martian won’t be scientists, so an everyman character such as the underdog is needed, but it goes deeper than that. Andy Weir wants to, as I’ll explain later, to show us a human presence on Mars and he wants us to care.

Building off what I cited Alexis as stating earlier about the proairetic code, Weir is building up throughout the book to Whatney’s survival throughout the book, what with as each problem occurs a solution is presented. In other words, Weir wants to show us Watney’s success, and given his mission on Mars as well as him being representative of a NASA astronaut, he is showing a scenario where NASA successfully (though not without incident) has a successful mission to mars and is trying to persuade us, the audience, that NASA really is something to invest in. Because success does equate to viable in the eyes of the reader. I’ll go more into this in section four.

As for the Semic Codes, there is much to say as for the norms and structures of The Martian.  For one Mark Whatney’s habit for appealing to the reader in what we assume are audio-diaries are always accompanied by cursing and lingo.  For example

“Things aren’t as bad as they seem.  I’m still fucked, mind you.  Just not as deeply.  Not sure what happened to e Hab, but the rover’s probably fine.  It’s not ideal, but at least its’s not  leaky phone booth. “

These sections reaffirm the cultural code of Whatney as uncultured, frank, and direct.  From cursing at each failure (as he does above) to using as short-hand for a scientific distance formula named “Pirate-Ninjas” Whatney seems to joke or curse each time something bad happens to him, in a way reaffirming his sanity when later he solves the problem he once was cursing about.

Section four

This brings us to the narrative audience. What, in the end, does Andy Weir wish to convey and who is he conveying it to? As I state in one of my own blogs

“Weir’s audience, in a way, cares about the science and is able to digest the scientific bit to understand how amazing what Watney does is and ultimately how it’s doable. “

In other words, Weir intends his audience to care about the “science” elements of the story with his ultimate goal is (as previously stated) to convince his audience that NASA is viable and that in conclusion, a Mars mission is viable.

With the cultural codes I mentioned in the previous section, Weir has been predicting his readership. As stated, Watney is an “everyman” in that rather than having the qualities of a logical academic that puts all his faith in science. Most importantly though…Watney is a joker, a sort of “class-clown” character. For example when relating his plans to rehabilitate his own refuse to use as fertlizer,

“…Being completely desiccated, this particular shit didn’t have bacteria in it anymore, but it still had complex proteins and would serve as useful manure. Adding it to water and active bacteria would quickly get it inunudated, replacing any population killed by the Toliet of Doom”

We see hear not only casual speech (such as the use of the expletive “shit”)

So it can be safe to assume that Weir is targeting the same sort of audience who usually watch American action movies, the non—professionals who often see a movie to see action scenes and explosions. This is clearly evident in the constant explanation of science, since Weir expects the reader to be uninformed, but at least willing to learn. For example

“According to NASA, a human needs 588 liters of oxygen per day to live. Compressed liquid O2 is about 1000 times as dense as gaseous O2 in a comfortable atmosphere. Long story short: With the Hab tank, I have enough O2 to last 49 days”(106).

These sorts of fact are prevalent throughout the book and Weir expects his uneducated audience to follow the science involved in his use of laymans terms. However he is not effective in this capacity, as Laura states when reading over the aforementioned quote “I feel as if I just glanced over times like this in the text. This is supposed to be a vital moment in the book and I feel as if the author was repeating multiple times how this man is trying to survive. I could not keep an interest and, as a reader, I was not being ethical to the author at all in this novel. “

Thus as stated, although a layman or lowest denominational everyman is the target audience of The Martian there are resistant readings that my groupmates suffered throughout the story. Thus there is a gap in my reasoning, in that I have myself proved that although Weir intended his book to target the “average” person my groupmates being unused to the Science-Fiction genre were unable to receive the message of the book. As Alexis states “I had expected it to be really scientific and full of technical terms that I would not understand and because of that I would not enjoy the book because of those aspects. Those were my projections going into the book, and they were justified rather than being wrong as I started reading further into the story. “ Alexis therefore felt that the technical terms and the focus on them made the book difficult for her to read and delve into.
So who is the narrative audience…? I’d like to point to the book “The World is Flat” a book that I was recommended as a teenager which was a layman’s term book on globalization economics. The book expects the user to be unfamiliar with the internet and how it works, and thus goes into in depth explanations of many modern technologies and practices from the ground up. I found the book incredibly dull, but still very well written given its context, because I simply was not interested in economics. Thus I state that Weir intended the reader to not only be a layman, but willing to put in the effort and tolerance to understand the scientific aspects of the books to in turn be “taught” by Weir how NASA and a Mars mission are not only possibilities, but worthy goals. For many of us we simply weren’t interested enough in the concept, I know for me I found the stuff incredibly interesting and was able to finish the book in record time. In terms of mimetic, thematic, inter-textual and narrative the book delivered for me, mostly because I was able to become the audience the author expected me to be.

Brittany: Ending The Witness

As I continued to read The Witness, I found myself really enjoying the text and story line to it. I have to understand why Robert was being a resistant reader: It is a book definitely geared towards women. I really enjoyed the style of her writing and how easy it was to understand exactly what is going on in the book. Normally I find myself being a resistant reader and zoning out, to quickly realize “what just happened, let me read it again” During this book, however, I did not do that. I was completely drawn in to what the text was about and exactly the story line of the book.

At first, I was really skeptical about it being a romance story. As i continued to read through Brooks and Abigail’s section, I soon realized that I could not be more wrong. I feel as if this book relates to real life for most women. The fear of committing to a relationship, for the fear that it will not last. Abigail does this with Brooks. He wants so bad to take the relationship to the next level, however, Abigail is resistant. Totally understandable from everything that she has been through. Most people can relate to this and understand where Abigail and where Brook’s are coming from.

Wrapping Up The Witness

As I continued to read The Witness by Nora Roberts, I found myself automatically submitting to the text. Much like Alexis stated in her blog, I became the audience that the author desired for this text. I found myself enjoying each page as I read on. There were very few times my mind wandered and I was completely involved in what I was reading.

As Alexis discussed in her last blog that I mentioned earlier, Robert speaks about how he was a resistant reader to this book.This could be because it is not particularly geared toward a male audience. I believe the author’s intended audience is for someone who enjoys romance novels. There is quite a bit romance as you read on with the two characters Abigail and Brooks. The relationship between Abigail and Brooks is complicated because Abigail is afraid to let herself go and let someone in. She is afraid to let her guard down and fall in love with Brooks. I think this is relatable to a certain audience because there are some people that feel the exact same way. People do not want to get hurt, but deep down yearn for another to love them; it’s human nature. We see this in the text when Brooks is addressing Abigail and it states,

“I’m half in love with you,” he told her, “and heading fast toward three-quarters.”

“Something inside her burst like sunlight before it flooded away on a rise of panic” (258).

An audience that can relate to the yearning for love, but the fear of commitment or hurt becomes submissive to this type of genre. I can say that I was a very authentic reader when interpreting this text. I noticed at times that I was experiencing interpellation, which is defined as “a “hailing,” very much like when someone appears to call out to you.” At times, I felt as if the narrator was addressing me directly even though I have never witnessed a murder, nor have I been involved in the witness protection program. I had not experienced the same events as Abigail, but I could relate fully to her feelings on love and commitment. If the audience is authentic to this text, you can feel the fear Abigail has of jumping into the unknown.

 

Rhetorical Relationships in Station Eleven

First off, I want to say that Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel is something I would have never gravitated towards. It is not the typical genre that I usually read. As I began to read into the text, I noticed that I instantly was captured in the mimetic (relating to) aspect. I became a submissive reader and found myself wanting to go through the motions of the characters. I wanted to feel the emotions of what each character was feeling before and after the collapse of civilization. It is something that can be suspenseful in today’s society as we deal with epidemics and other environmental factors.

As I continued to read into the text, I tried to look more into the themes at play. I noticed that each of the characters are linked together. This kept my interest as Alexis stated in her previous blog for much of the same reasons. I found myself wanting to figure out the mystery of how they were related to each other in the text.

The way Emily St. John Mandel wrote the novel was interesting as it jumped from different time periods to show what the world was like prior to the outbreak and twenty years after the fall. I found that this added to the writing and my reading for because it provided further interest. I wanted to learn more about how the characters dealt with themselves and their relationships from the before and after aspect. For instance, Kirsten is one of the main characters and we meet her in the beginning (before the outbreak of the Georgia flu) when she is a little girl. She is seen as being scared and timid. Then we see her again twenty years later and she is much more independent and can hold her own in questioning circumstances. She is not afraid to talk to strangers and she carries knives with her for protection. For instance in the text it states,

“Even in this calmer era, who would admit to being outnumbered? His gaze rested on Kirsten’s knives. She was finding it difficult not to stare at the scar on the side of his face” (146).

This is when Kirsten and August, both members of the Traveling Symphony, are lost and stumble upon a man named Finn.

As I stated earlier, I found myself submitting to the text, playing the role the narrator intended for the reader. I was going through the emotions with the characters and trying to solve the mystery of how each character was linked together.

Station Eleven: Hermeneutic Code

The hermeneutic code has ten parts ( not all ten have to be present) that allows the text to propose, maintain through numerous delays, and resolve enigmas. I believe that this can be seen in the novel Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.

As I summarized in my previous blogs, the text is a post-apocalyptic novel that is written in the perspectives of different characters and different time periods. In the first part we are introduced to Jeevan, who tries to save a Hollywood actor, Arthur (who dies) on stage. We are introduced to the Georgia flu, which is the epidemic that causes the collapse of civilization.

The first part of the hermeneutic code is thematization. This is defined as “the semic definition of character, object, place as mysterious.” This can be seen when Kirsten is introduced in the second part of the text when it jumps twenty years after the collapse. She is traveling in a Symphony from town to town performing various plays. She is connected to Arthur because she is first introduced in the scene when Arthur passes. She was a young girl who had a small role in the play. As the Symphony is traveling, they come upon a town that they left their friends in. While searching for the two friends, they notice that the town has changed dramatically. It is now run by a cult with a leader known as the Prophet. This is the first mysterious place the reader encounters. The second mystery is the graveyard with names the names of their friends and a young girl that follows them. Again, the reader is introduced to another mystery as members of the Symphony go missing after leaving this town.

The proposal of the enigma, which is “the dawning of the actual mystery” can be seen as the audience reads through Kirsten’s perspective. She is wondering what happened to her friends as the group is searching for them. She contemplates whether they were taken or left the Symphony on their own. Then we see the formulation of the enigma (various supplementations that amplify the mystery) when a letter is found in one of the missing person’s things. It sounds like a suicide note, but the group is not sure on the time when the letter was written because dates mean so little after the collapse. Then again when Kirsten and August (a boy around her age) was left by the others in the Symphony. It states in the text,

“Why would the Symphony travel in a downpour, unless there was some unexpected emergency?” (143).

Finally the request for an answer can be seen in the text after Kirsten and August are on their own. This is when we see a character’s desire to resolve the mystery announced. In the text it says,

“Kirsten slept fitfully, aware each time she woke of the emptiness of the landscape, the lack of people and animals and caravans around her. Hell is the absence of the people you long for” (144).

She is longing to find her friends and the Symphony. She wants to understand what happened in the town with the Prophet because it is inclined that she thinks the two are connected. I believe she will find out the correlation between all the characters and Arthur.

Station Eleven: Form and Genre

The Novel Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel presents the genre of post-apocalyptic as Alexis stated in her previous post. It contains all the characteristics of what a world would be like after the fall of civilization. There is an epidemic, known as the Georgia flu, that completely collapses the world as we know it. It spreads quickly and efficiently, leaving much of the population deceased. Technology is no longer present and there is no government or stability in the world.

As Robert suggested in his previous post, the story is written in different perspectives. He discusses how each perspective is intertwined with the one character, Arthur Leander. In the beginning, we see Arthur, a once big-time Hollywood actor, fall to his death on stage. This is the very beginning of the outbreak of the Georgia flu. In the next section of the text we see a different perspective from Kirsten, a little girl who was at the play that Arthur was performing in when he died. This takes place twenty years into the future after the outbreak. We meet another perspective, Arthur’s ex-wife, which flip flops between when they were together and after she has separated from him. I notice that in this text time jumps forward, backward, and what I believe to be the present.

I believe that the syllogistic progressive form can be found in this text. It is defined as “unfolding the steps of an argument, such that the conclusion follows as a matter of necessity once the premises are laid out for the reader.” As I have not finished the text yet, I am only making an educated guess on whether or not it will follow this exact form, but I believe that through reading what I have thus far the text will lead to an ending that will deliver the readers with answers. As readers, we want to know how this epidemic occurred, how are these characters connected, and what will happen? Will civilization be rebuilt and will they survive?

An example of this form in the text is the correlations between the different characters. Arthur seems to be the connecting point. In the text it introduces Kirsten in the beginning when it states,

“Kirsten”, the girl said. “I’m Kirsten Raymond.” (7).

This is in the beginning when Arthur collapsed on stage. She is a small girl playing a role in the play. Then in the second section we meet her again when it says,

“Enter Lear,” Kirsten said. Twenty years earlier, in a life she mostly couldn’t remember, she had had a small nonspeaking role in a short-lived Toronto production of King Lear” (35).

There is a man named, Jeevan, who tried to save Arthur’s life that night. He is later introduced as part of the paparazzi that takes pictures of Arthur and his ex-wife. There are hints throughout the text that leave the audience curious as to how these characters are connected and hopefully in the end gain the knowledge by a conclusion.

 

Intertextual Codes Found in The Witness

After reading a good portion of The Witness by Nora Roberts, I found that like my other group members, the hermeneutic code was present in the text. Alexis provided a thorough definition of what the hermeneutic code is in her previous blog. There are ten parts to this particular code, although not every ten must be present.

I have to agree with Alexis that thematization, proposal of the enigma, and request for an answer all all present for the reason’s she suggested, but I also believe that there are other elements to this code at play in this text. I agree that Abigail Lowery is one of the most mysterious characters in the story and that I found myself, as a reader, trying to figure out if she was connected to Elizabeth, the teenage girl that witnessed the murder involving the Russian Mafia. As Alexis discussed, the request for an answer is surrounded by Brooks trying to figure who Abigail is because she behaves in such odd ways. He pushes Abigail to befriend him, even when she clearly has no intention of being bothered. There is a scene in the book where he rides to her house to question her about a gun she was carrying while food shopping. He sees that her house is heavily guarded and she gives him the cold-shoulder, not allowing much information to slip. Brooks states,

“And triple locks, a riot bar, secured windows, top-grade alarm system. Who the hell was Abigail Lowery, and what-or whom-was she afraid of?” (108)

This shows the audience that he is very curious and wants to find answers to the mystery that surrounds her character.

I also believe that there are instances where formulation of the enigma and jamming are seen throughout the novel. Formulation of the enigma is defined as various supplementations that amplify the mystery. For instance, Brooks spends the night at Abigail’s house and in the morning he looks through her cabinets to find toothpaste. In the text it states,

“He opened the drawer of the little vanity, saw the neatly rolled tube of Crest, and her Sig. Who the hell kept a semiauto in the drawer with the dental floss and toothpaste? A fully loaded one, he noted, when he checked” (201).

This is a clue to the reader that there is a correlation between Elizabeth and Abigail, especially since it was mentioned that both characters have an “eidetic memory”. But the real mystery is that while Elizabeth was under witness protection she was attacked because of crooked cops being intwined with the mafia, so it leaves the readers wanting to know how Elizabeth became Abigail. There is also a mystery to whether or not Abigail is going to let go and allow Brooks to really get to know her.

Brittany :Hermeneutic Code

While reading through Robert’s post on female coding, I do agree to a point why he feels that this book is geared towards the female eye. It is written by a woman author, who usually bases books around the female generation and also adds female issues into her story lines. As I have stated before in previous blogs, this book is about an unsolved mystery: it is very suspenseful with a touch of romance in different parts of the book. So i can understand why he would not feel as comfortable reading a genre like this then other books.

The hermeneutic code is broken up into ten different sections. Throughout this book, I find that the witness has the thematization coding sparatically popping up through the book. Thematization is based around the character, object or place being mysterious.

The request for an answer is also a main topic in this book. Brook’s, the detective in The Witness, is longing for an answer as to what has happened that night and the secrets behind it. The desire to find the answer, leaves Brooks determined to figure out who Abigail is, what she is hiding from and exactly what role she plays in the mystery, craving to get to know her better.

 

The Witness: Form and Genre

I would have to agree with Alexis and Brittany when they discussed the genre of The Witness by Nora Roberts in their previous blogs that it is a suspense fiction novel with a touch of romance. In the beginning we see suspense by murder and mystery and as we read on we are introduced to a male character that takes interest into a mysterious female character, which creates the romance.

The novel is set up with different sections throughout the book for different characters perspectives. In the first part of the book, we see the main character Elizabeth. The audience sees the struggles that she faces within her daily life, within herself and relationships, and with her witnessing a murder that involves a part of the Russian mafia. In the second section of the book, we are introduced to Brooks. We start to see a brand new character that faces his own struggles. One thing I find interesting when reading a book with different perspectives is that, I, as reader tend to gain more interest in the novel. I believe this is because my focus becomes reiterated into the novel and I do not become as bored when an author introduces a new narrator.

As I kept reading, I noticed some deeper elements to the character of Elizabeth. First of all, she has a way of speaking that is much different than all other characters. She is intelligent and you can see she lacks social skills by the way she interacts with the other characters. For instance when Elizabeth is showing Julie the fake id she made you would think she would have a relaxed tone and manner, but instead the audience hears her speak with refinement and sophistication. Here is an example from the text,

“They came out very well. I could do better, I think, with more sophisticated equipment, but for tonight, they should do” (21).

We see this manner of speech every time Elizabeth is introduced into the text. As I read on into the Brooks section of the novel, we are introduced to Abigail. Abigail has the same exact way of speaking as Elizabeth does, leading the reader to believe that she is, in fact, Elizabeth under a different identity. Abigail is speaking to Brooks in the next example I am providing to substantiate this evidence.

“The act of sex is a normal physical function, and a pleasant experience” (138).

First of all, I thought this was a strange way to talk to a man that you are attracted to, but every time I notice Elizabeth speak, she has a socially awkward way of addressing people. I think this is a repetitive form throughout the book. I believe this allows the reader to see Elizabeth as an intelligent woman, but also a withdrawn character, which as I discussed in my first blog, is the controlling values at play in this novel. Elizabeth has been isolated by her mother to ensure her safety into medical school and now she is isolating herself for the safety of her own life. She walks a fine line between wanting to break free and live her dream, but is always held back and withdrawn.

The Witness and the Need for Companionship

Nora Roberts is known as an author writing for a female audience.  Her style has been termed “romance” and by this reader’s impression, “romance” is a genre seeking to find an outlet for sexual fantasies.  However in this, the first romance novel I have ever read, it is more than an author seeking to take advantage of base desires in her audience.  Instead it is a matter of composing a narrative that her female audience would be accepting of, or would consider being “true” or “sublime.”  Even in the midst of a woman on the run for her life there is one message or theme that holds true, that concludes the novel.  That is that a “perfect” life for a woman is not, as expressed in the beginning, that of a Harvard degree influenced living or even the flair of independence and strength as Elizabeth/Abigail demonstrates throughout the book.  Instead there is one message, and that is that despite everything in one’s life connecting with one’s match is the most important.  Although definitely writing her audience, this goes beyond what I had expected in terms of “base thrills.”

To explain lets summarize the four named sections of the story.  I went over these sections in my previous post, but let me clarify that these are thematic and represent approximately one fourth of the book per part.  Of these parts the first part chronicles Elizabeth’s teenage rebellion and the crime she witnesses, causing her to have to on the run.  The fourth part revolves around Elizabeth confronting the Russian Mob to use the crime she witnessed to destroy the cartel.  But what of the other two parts…?  Elizabeth is under the assumed name of “Abigail” and lives her life in seclusion, until Brooks the chief of police becomes interested in her and inserts him into his life with persistence and genuine caring for her well being.  In other words a good half of the novel is spent primarily on Abigail opening up to this suave man and developing a romance with him.  Of course, it’s more complicated than that.

Knowing her audience Roberts has an interesting back and forth, being the controlling value of isolation versus companionship.  The book opens with Elizabeth under the guardianship of her masculine mother, a woman who puts her own career and her daughter’s academic future over her emotional needs.  This results, in addition to her trauma of witnessing a murder and finding herself hunted, in her developing a personality as an adult that’s rather cold, controlled, and awkward in social situations.  Thus Elizabeth/Abigail slowly becomes a more “normal” human being.  Towards the end she loves her betrothed, loves her betrothed’s family, loves the town that they both live in, and although she continues financially supporting herself she finds herself emotionally happy as well through human contact.

So in targeting a female audience Roberts creates a scenario where a woman, living a very abnormal life, slowly finds herself entering a “normal” life that most of the female audience Roberts is targeting could relate to, that being that their lives as married women in small towns is depicted as idyllic and enviable.  Rather than a steamy romance, instead we have a typical romance leading to a typical life, an encounter that takes up most of the book rather than focusing on Elizabeth/Abigail’s struggle with the mafia.

However, as part of a male demographic whose ideal of life is not simply living at home and growing flowers (as the protagonist does at several points) felt myself resisting the message at several points and overall not enjoying the novel.  I guess after reading “exciting” novels for the previous three books in the course which take place on Mars, in a apocalyptic setting and an “evil” sort of high school setting that eventually I would find something that didn’t interest. But, such are demographics.