Post 8 - Thesis Proposal

For my American Author, I chose Michael Chabon and read two of his books, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, and Wonder Boys. I am still in the process of finishing the second book, but I’m sure I will have it read by next week.

In Kavalier & Clay the theme throughout the novel is comic books and superheroes. Chabon gives several main characters in the book alter-egos in the form of comic book superheroes. As the story progresses, whatever a character experiences, his or her superhero-ego reflects their feelings. A characters’ secret obsession for spying and hiding could be identified in his superhero-ego. Near the end of the book, one of the main character's super-egos is destroyed, so he is forced to come to terms with himself. This does not happen with other characters, but other superhero-egos are identified.

In Wonder Boys, however, there are no comic books or superheroes in the story. One similarity I notice between the two books is that the main characters of each are either authors or artists. I have noticed some passages in the book where the main character and narrator reflects on himself, and how he is unsure of his life and purpose.

Based on this, I was thinking that for my thesis I would focus on character identity, and how characters pour their dreams, fears, and feelings into fictional characters they create. I have found a lot of evidence for this thesis, but my main concern is how to word it properly. I want to say it in a way that will pave the way for the evidence I’ve collected. Also, I am not clear on how to answer the question “So what?” in my paper. I am not sure of what bigger picture character identity could be pointing to. To be quite honest, I have no idea how comic books relate to society or the world in general. One possibility, and this is completely hypothetical, it’s about coming to terms with yourself that’s truly important. That could be a subject that everyone can relate to and understand. As soon as I finish Wonder Boys I’m sure I’ll have enough evidence and ideas to connect the two books and their similar themes.

When writing my paper, I want to have a strong structure to make my argument all the better. I plan to introduce my thesis in the second or third paragraph. After I want to look at character’s identities and how the evolve. I want to try and look at why Chabon does this, and what benefit is has to each individual character and the story as a whole. Apart from discussing my thesis and how it connects to both books, I would also like to look at Chabon’s writing style. I want to see if characters in both books experience similar things that shape their personalities.

Post 7

As I climb deeper into my second book, Wonder Boys, I notice similar patterns in Chabon's style of characters. In Kavalier & Clay, Chabon uses the theme of comic books to help certain characters escape from reality into a different world. When the their comic-ego is no longer present, the character is forced to come to terms with themselves. In Wonder Boys, Chabon presents themes of identity, including a drag-queen as a main character, to suggest a similar theme. I will see if this theme of identity is present in both books as I continue to read. One scene in particular stuck out to me in terms of changing your identity. It's from when the drag queen, Miss Sloviak, is changing her appearance back into a man:

"With a succession of cotton balls she wiped the makeup from her face and stripped her nails of their pale pink armor. She reached up into her dress for the waistband of her panty hose and dragged them down along her smooth legs to her feet. The she extracted a pair of pressed Levi's for the suitcase, unfolded them, and, with some difficulty, slid them up under the skirt of her black dress, which she then tugged up over her head and off. Her brassiere was black Lycra, padded, with a pearled ribbon at the junction of the cups and a near pair of small protuberances meant to simulate erect female nipples; the chest beneath it was small but muscular, and free from hair. She put on a striped pull-over, white socks emblazoned with a polo pony, and a pair of white Stan Smiths." (pg. 91)

Since my last post, I have gotten a clearer picture of the narrator, a man named Grady Tripp. He is a struggling Jewish writer, living in Pittsburgh, PA. He is best friends with his bizarre editor Terry Crabtree. Also, he is having an affair with one of his colleague's wifes, who is now pregnant with his child.

Post 6

Alas, I have the finally finished the behemoth Pulitzer-prize winning novel that is The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. I did enjoy the book, although some parts of it were insanely boring and droll, most of it kept me interested and further allowed me to develop my thesis on character identity. As the book came to a close, more and more evidence siding with my thesis presented itself. This was nice, because it gave me the feeling that I will be able to write a well supported argument in my AA paper.

As I stated in my previous blog, Chabon gives characters in the book alter-egos in the form of comic book superheroes. As the story progresses, whatever a character experiences, his or her superhero-ego experiences the same things, just in a different way. Near the end of the book, one of the main character's super-egos is destroyed, so he is forced to come to terms with himself.

The ending of the book was what I expected. Joe came back home from Alaska and reconnected with his family and friends, and also with Rosa. He also discovered that Rosa had given birth to his son, while Sammy had been acting as the boy's father figure for all these years. His son was named 'Tommy' after Joe's late brother, Thomas.

I have now started my second book, Wonder Boys, which looks like it will also tie into the theme of character identity.

Post 5

Since my last thesis blog, a lot has developed in the book of Kavalier & Clay. As the years pass and the story progresses, we are learning a lot about the characters personalities.

The overlying theme in the book is comic books, this provides for a very interesting make-up of character identities. Most characters slip in and out of alternate identities, but not in the sense you might be thinking of. Superheroes. Protectors of the people against villainy, treachery, and tyranny. Characters in the book pour their dreams, hopes, and fears into these alter-egos. I will further develop this thesis until I finish the book, but I think that my thesis for my final AA paper will involve character identity.

A lot has changed in the plot since the last post. A main character, Sam, reveled to himself and his friends that he is homosexual, while his cousin, Joe, on the other hand, has fallen in love with the lovely Rosa Saks. And, after finding about the sudden and mysterious death of his brother Thomas, Joe joins the navy and is stationed in Alaska, where he spends twelve years of the books plot. Meanwhile, Sammy and Rosa marry and move to a suburb of Brooklyn.

Post 4

Michael Chabon's work in Kavalier & Clay is in my opinion, very good and well thought out. As I briefly stated in my last post, one very stylish writing technique Chabon uses is that he writes about new comic book heroes as if they were actual characters in the book, but when really they are just the thought process that a character has. Since my last post, several events have taken place. Joe Kavalier and Sam Clay, partners, are making it into the big time in New York City. 'The Escapist' is becoming a radio show, and a new hero, the half-bug half-woman "Luna Moth" was introduced (p. 267 - 274). I am still pondering the possible idea of the theme of identity within the two main characters. There are subtle hints here and there, but none are for sure just yet.

Post 3

I am getting deeper into Kavalier & Clay. The book is getting more interesting; more characters are being introduced and the story of both Kavalier and Clay keeps developing as they turn from boys into men. In this reading, 'The Escapist,' the latest comic book hero was introduced. But one thing that the author, Michael Chabon, did that I enjoyed was that he devoted an entire chapter to the background story of The Escapist, rather than just a little paragraph (p. 123-134). Then, after the chapter was done, it was revealed that the entire chapter was actually a thought process by Sammy Clay, the story writer of the duo. I am beginning to see some themes within the book. Joe Kavalier, the artist of the duo, is the only one of his family who escaped from Nazi-invaded Prague to New York. His family still resides there. He is having a difficult time trying to bring them over, and it shows through his work, through The Escapist primarily. This could be a theme involving Jewish identity. I will keep developing this possible thesis as the book continues.

Post 2

This week, I began reading Kavalier and Clay. So far, I am enjoying this book to the fullest. I read up to page 68. Within these pages, Josef Kavalier and Sammy Clay meet for the first time in Brooklyn, NY. After that scene, it flashes back and focuses on Joesef' escape out of Nazi-Occupied Prague. He was all set to leave by train, but certain complications stopped him from doing so. He then turned to his former escape-artist teacher, a man named Kornblum, to help assist him in his efforts to leave the country. While reading, I noticed that the author, Michael Chabon, has an extensive vocabulary, and likes to insert sudden bursts of humor within conversations between characters. Also, when Chabon introduces a new character, he likes to use multiple paragraphs to describe every aspect of their character. To me, this is something that is good and bad at the same time. And as of right now, I havent noticed any particular themes in the book to develop a thesis on.