During Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, the theme of escapism reappears countless times to create the idea that both Sam and Joe use The Escapist, and their careers as superhero artist, to be able to escape from the obstacles and insecurities in their lives. The novel fleshes out this theme by using various important bug metaphors throughout the story. One way to make their significance more apparent is through the exposure of a distinction between the definition of escapism as we know it and the one present in the novel. As told in the form of Houdini’s magical stunts, escapism was never just about a question of escape, but also a question of transformation; accordingly, it was called ‘Metamorphosis.’(Chabon, 4).
…show more content…
One of the first times he does in when he starts evaluating the meaning of the word boyfriend as it applies to Tracy Bacon. The book describes it as the word that “flew into Sammy’s mind and careened blindly around it like a moth while Sammy chased after it with a broom in one hand and a handbook of lepidoptery in the other”(Chabon, 372). In this passage, the symbol of the insect comes up once again to symbolize Sammy’s sexuality. Since Sammy had priorly described his dreams as a pupa struggling for freedom, this means that for Sammy to complete his transformational escapism, he will have to therefore accept his …show more content…
In an interesting twist of events, the child that was conceived by the love of Joe and Rosa, but raised by Sammy as his own, comes to be “known to none as the Bug”(Chabon, 503). As young Tommy growths, his newfound superhero identity plays a role in him coming to terms with the past experiences of his parents. As he explored the 102 packages of Joe’s newly move-into the family household, Tommy got the idea that “he would build himself a Bug’s Nest”(Chabon, 625). Here, the Kavalier family of Joe, Rosa, and Tommy come together to retell their memories through old pictures, collection of novels, and a pair of orange socks. This bug nests culminates the representation of the bug metaphors that are present throughout the story. From Luna Moth, to Joe’s past, to the connection of Sam’s sexuality in a picture of Tracy Bacon. The significance that this allusions have in telling the second part of escapism, the transformation or better called metamorphosis, ties the progression of all the major characters in the
One of the first times he does in when he starts evaluating the meaning of the word boyfriend as it applies to Tracy Bacon. The book describes it as the word that “flew into Sammy’s mind and careened blindly around it like a moth while Sammy chased after it with a broom in one hand and a handbook of lepidoptery in the other”(Chabon, 372). In this passage, the symbol of the insect comes up once again to symbolize Sammy’s sexuality. Since Sammy had priorly described his dreams as a pupa struggling for freedom, this means that for Sammy to complete his transformational escapism, he will have to therefore accept his …show more content…
In an interesting twist of events, the child that was conceived by the love of Joe and Rosa, but raised by Sammy as his own, comes to be “known to none as the Bug”(Chabon, 503). As young Tommy growths, his newfound superhero identity plays a role in him coming to terms with the past experiences of his parents. As he explored the 102 packages of Joe’s newly move-into the family household, Tommy got the idea that “he would build himself a Bug’s Nest”(Chabon, 625). Here, the Kavalier family of Joe, Rosa, and Tommy come together to retell their memories through old pictures, collection of novels, and a pair of orange socks. This bug nests culminates the representation of the bug metaphors that are present throughout the story. From Luna Moth, to Joe’s past, to the connection of Sam’s sexuality in a picture of Tracy Bacon. The significance that this allusions have in telling the second part of escapism, the transformation or better called metamorphosis, ties the progression of all the major characters in the