Within the story “Carnal Knowledge” by T. Coraghessan Boyle, ideological values create an inner conflict between Jim and himself. He has to figure out what is more important to him: giving up the values in which he has grown up with his entire life or Alena Jorgensen. While he may not notice it as dramatically as the readers do, he is giving up his entire self just so that he can be exactly what Alena wants him to be. Jim is giving up his identity for the one she created for him. While Alena’s ideological values are quite explicit, Jim keeps his more hidden and implicit, most likely due to the fact that he himself does not even know what they are. We are easily and readily able to explain what Alena’s values are, she is willing to do many
…show more content…
It is shown to the reader that he is not going to be the one by the end leading marches and being the one to take charge because he had no reason to do so. The only reason he had for doing any of the protesting was for Alena and her approval. From the very moment he laid eyes on her, he was hers. Jim stated when he first saw her, “I don’t want to make too much of the moment, don’t want to mythologize it or clutter the scene with allusions to Aphrodite rising from the waves or accepting the golden apple from Paris, but she was a pretty impressive sight”(566). This shows the reader his obsession with her right from the beginning and that it would be easy for her to get him to do virtually anything. However, Jim just follows along with the motions and learns to adopt them all because of this woman. “I marched out there on the street, feeling exposed and conspicuous, but marching nonetheless-- for Alena’s sake and for the sake of the foxes and martens and all the rest, and for my own sake too”(570). It is shown how uncomfortable he first feels out there because it is for a cause he isn’t all in with. He is battling with himself, and even if it is not shown explicitly, the reader is able to tell because there is only one sole reason he is doing …show more content…
Or was it all for another reason? It appears that instead of wanted to help for a good cause and do something good, that she just wants to cause an uproar. For example, she ruins fur coats so nobody can use it and the animal already died for it so they died for nothing. This is just making it so that the animal who is already dead no longer has any use. Also, she set the many turkeys free for them to just die in an even worse way and to not be used for their purpose of feeding people. This again is another example of how she is just wanting attention because her actions are worse than if she just left it alone. Part of Alena’s values is attention. All of the things she is doing is because she wants to cause commotion. While she does obviously have a connection with actually wanting to do something for the animals, it does not seem to be her main
It is shown to the reader that he is not going to be the one by the end leading marches and being the one to take charge because he had no reason to do so. The only reason he had for doing any of the protesting was for Alena and her approval. From the very moment he laid eyes on her, he was hers. Jim stated when he first saw her, “I don’t want to make too much of the moment, don’t want to mythologize it or clutter the scene with allusions to Aphrodite rising from the waves or accepting the golden apple from Paris, but she was a pretty impressive sight”(566). This shows the reader his obsession with her right from the beginning and that it would be easy for her to get him to do virtually anything. However, Jim just follows along with the motions and learns to adopt them all because of this woman. “I marched out there on the street, feeling exposed and conspicuous, but marching nonetheless-- for Alena’s sake and for the sake of the foxes and martens and all the rest, and for my own sake too”(570). It is shown how uncomfortable he first feels out there because it is for a cause he isn’t all in with. He is battling with himself, and even if it is not shown explicitly, the reader is able to tell because there is only one sole reason he is doing …show more content…
Or was it all for another reason? It appears that instead of wanted to help for a good cause and do something good, that she just wants to cause an uproar. For example, she ruins fur coats so nobody can use it and the animal already died for it so they died for nothing. This is just making it so that the animal who is already dead no longer has any use. Also, she set the many turkeys free for them to just die in an even worse way and to not be used for their purpose of feeding people. This again is another example of how she is just wanting attention because her actions are worse than if she just left it alone. Part of Alena’s values is attention. All of the things she is doing is because she wants to cause commotion. While she does obviously have a connection with actually wanting to do something for the animals, it does not seem to be her main