Kristina Blazevska (Flames and dangling wires & Diptych)

To what extent do the texts you have studied reveal both the emotional
and intellectual responses provoked by the experience of discovering?

The unique contexts in which interpersonal discoveries occur can be

triggered by memories, ultimately shaping their perspectives on personal
identity, evoked by emotional and intellectual existential outlooks through
time, place and people. These notions are exemplified in both Robert
Grays poems, Diptych and Flames and Dangling Wires and Jennifer
Eagans post-postmodern novel A visit from the Goon Squad. We envision
in these texts the extent that memories play, the nature of context, and
only through itself, the experience of discovering can occur.

The implication that discoveries occur through reminiscing, allows for

intellectual discovery evoked through emotional journeys. In Grays
Diptych, explicit elements of the personas family are embedded in the
anecdotal ongoing tension between the persona and his father. His
parents, like panels of a diptych, were forever separated whilst in
proximity, as this affected the persona and his father, as Gray was able to
see the inadequacies of their extreme temperaments. The dialogue
between the two, Nothing whinging. Nothing by New York JewsNothing
by women, provides insight into the fathers personality and educated
character, and it is only through the accompaniment of anaphoric
repetition of the harsh, despairing nothing denotes the limited
relationship and disconnection between the two, resulting in the negative
representation. In addition, Grays depiction of idiosyncrasies to illustrate
his father as a clearly intelligent but hopelessly melancholic individual
obsessed with maintain appearances establishes his alienation in relation
to society. It is only through the fathers personal failure and perpetual
pessimism that the persona has discovered himself intellectually and
emotionally through reflection. However, this is only enhanced after the
persona experiences the death of his father. It is only then, that the
persona discovers new emotional connections through nostalgic fondness,
ultimately reconsidering their past relationship. The accident, my pocket
knife slid, sideways and pierced my handand so I dug with that one, into
his ashes, is paramount in the personas emotional discovery. The mixing
of his blood and his fathers ashes to a mauvish-grey marble dust
symbolically unifies the two, highlighting the intellectual knowledge of his
fathers death has lead to the emotional acceptance between the two.
Therefore, an individual can only discover ones self through reminiscing
about past experiences.

Similarly, Jennifer Eagans novel A visit from the Goon Squad explores
the emotional connections between time and growth throughout
characters pasts directly linking to post-modern America. Egan chooses
to personify time as a goon, and instantly the imagery that accompanies
time establishes the negative connotations in relation to the characters.
Bosco has gone from a rock star to a sickly, dying man, Jocelyn has
changed from a hopeful young girl into what she sees as a pathetic
middle-aged woman and Scotty has gone from being the popular teenager
Kristina Blazevska (Flames and dangling wires & Diptych)

to a mentally unstable adult. Through Boscos foreshadowing and

rhetorical question of himself, Times a goon right? You gonna let that
goon push you around? he unknowingly accepts the consequences of
time on ones self as he later acknowledges the fact that The goon
won It is evident that through the emotional connection to time that it
has become a prominent component in the novel. Although the characters
start off in different places, like Gray and his father in Diptych, they all
end up facing similar regrets and lost opportunities through their nostalgic
memories for the old days. The only characters that dont waste time and
therefore have not established an intellectual connection with time are the
ones that die young. Rob and Ralph both die very young, living on forever
in their youth in the emotional memories of family and friends. Boscos
skepticism about himself is evident throughout his evocative line, I dont
want to fade away, I want to flame away - I want my death to be an
attraction, a spectacle, a mystery. A work of art. Boscos realization that
time has caught up with him provokes him to experience himself once
more through his emotional connection with music. And itis only through
the world that Egan has created, the avoidance of being crushed by time
is to die young therefore establishing the connection between intellectual
growth and emotion.

In Grays Flames and Dangling Wire, the aim of the persona is to indulge
into a reflection of the changes that seem insignificant to our world but in
reality it is what society is leading too, leading to an incentive of
intellectual discovery allowing for an appreciation of the environment.
Through simile, and we came to a landscape of tin cans, of cars like
skulls evokes the reader to understand the conveyance of real
perspective regarding the world. The personas physical journey into the
wasteland cultivates the reader to interpret the physicality of the ruins of
cars, into skulls, associated as dead matter, as our consumeristic lifestyles
are degrading the environment. Gray successful establishes that the
modern way of living will one day, consume society itself, and
understanding the constant changes will have consequences. In addition,
the persona's perspective is detached, yet it is also involved
simultaneously. He is detached as a human, foreseeing his 'vision' of the
dump, I realise I am in the future outlining that this dump is a direct
parallel to the future of humankind. The persona realises that our future is
a wasteland 'made of things that worked'. The paradox is that the
persona is also involved in the dump, and linked to it, if only by his
presence. Subsequently, Gray warns us of the consequences of changes of
the environment, through specific allusions. In the line, the raft of the
Medusa it references to a famous painting by Gericault. It illustrates a
visual representation of dying survivors of a shipwreck. The corruption and
disrespect towards the human body represented in this painting, is a
representative form of the human race as a whole, consuming
themselves, due to the leniency of materialism. Not only does this
accentuate the inevitable demise of the human race and the environment
itself, it demonstrates the slight yet constant changes to the lifestyle of
many underlining the journey towards the expiration of humans. Grays
Kristina Blazevska (Flames and dangling wires & Diptych)

ability to connect sequences of ideas which takes in theories of evolution,

aspects of theology, nineteen century paintings, future skepticism and
deft economy allows for the responders to see the emotional impact of our
consumeristic lifestyle, whilst intellectually discovering what our future
holds. Overall, Gray explores the destructive nature of the consumeristic
human lifestyle, connecting emotionally to us as responders. It is through
the consequences and destruction of our materialistic lifestyle that Gray
hopes for an intellectual discovery in the hope for change.
A parallel can be drawn to Egans novel, as although the characters are
beaten up by time and regrets, they ultimately find a way to salvage
themselves and deal with times unceasing self. An aspect of this idea is
developed through Sasha. At the beginning of A visit from the Goon
Squad, the audience sees her as a kleptomaniac, taking objects simply
for the sake of taking themtrying to create meaning and excitement in
her life. It is through her intensive therapist session that she finally admits
her habit with the dejected tone Okay, steal it! However, at the end of
the novel, we as responders see how she has turned this negative bad
habit into something constructive, and this is only exhibited through her
intellectual discovery of herself. Through the eyes of her daughter, we see
Sasha turning stolen objects into art. Sasha has learned how to deal with
the passing of time, like in Diptych when the persona accept his father
for who he was, Sasha has discovered that she can become a better
person. Mirroring this character is Scotty, who similarly finds a way to deal
with the goon through the emotional connection to music. When the
audience is presented with him bringing a fish to Bennies office, they
know he cannot be completely unstable, whish is symbolised though the
satirical quote of Youre giving me a fish?. In turn, in the final chapter of
the novel, Scotty gives a concert that is unforgettable and more real than
anything he has ever experienced. He himself has taken knowledge of his
bad experiences to create something emotionally meaningful through
time. It is through the evocative language that we, as responders, learn
how to cope with life and time through these characters and allow the
room for growth emotionally and intellectually.

In conclusion, it is highly evident that interpersonal discoveries are

directly linked to either physical environment, or their personal
experiences triggered by memories and past experiences. Robert Grays
Diptych and Flames and Dangling Wire, and Jennifer Egans A Visit from
the Goon Squad convey these notions to a great extent. It is only through
the extent of our individual memories and our confronting context, that
we, allow for the experience of discovery.