Near the beginning of the month the Southern Nebraska Register posted on Facebook that they were looking to "increase their talent pool" of freelance reporters and asked people to send a writing sample by August 31st. Since then I've been working on a couple and am planning/hoping to send it in next Monday (8/25). Unfortunately the only writing I really do anymore is on here, so I modified two posts - an opinion piece and a book review, which I included below. I would love some feedback on them...if you like them, hate them, think they're blah, general thoughts, criticisms or even have another idea I can work over the weekend...anything.
(Deep breath...here goes nothin'.)
#1 - Shades of Grey
As a 28 year old woman, I find myself in a semi-exclusive group in never having read Fifty Shades of Grey. I am familiar with the premise and have read several articles about it, including The Catholic World Report and one by Dave Barry of TIME Magazine, as well as excerpts from the book itself. And while I am not a fan of romance novels in general, this particular best seller angers me for some very specific reasons separate from its intended arousal capabilities. Those reasons boil down to the glorification of a physically and emotionally abusive relationship and romanticizing the character Christian Grey.
I am aware that romance novels are not known for providing examples of healthy relationships, but the deeply flawed interactions between Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele are beyond dysfunctional. Ana is partly responsible for this, due to her distinct absence of backbone, but I lay most of the blame for my upset squarely on the shoulders of Mr. Grey. He is possessive, controlling, manipulative, jealous and selfish. The quintessential poster child for an abusive, stalker boyfriend. He talks a good game - how much he cares about Ana, but does not follow this up by his actions. He is jealous of every relationship Ana has with another male. He invades her privacy, beginning with tracking her cell phone after only knowing her five days. He is successful, rich, handsome and admits to using “sex as a weapon.” He buys Ana a car, laptop and cell phone, knowing full well such gifts come with certain expectations. He knows that Ana has feelings for him and uses that to take advantage of her at every turn. He dismisses any concern she has regarding their relationship (better called an arrangement, given the circumstances), telling her that she’s overthinking things. When she’s uncomfortable with something they've done, he asks if it’s due to how she actually feels or if she just thinks that is how she should feel, given it’s outside the societal norm. He wants to dictate what she eats, how many hours a night she sleeps and what she wears. He repeatedly tells her “You’re mine” and that she belongs to him. Ana herself describes his behavior as disturbing, frightening, angry, scary and threatening.
What part of Christian’s behavior would anyone aspire to or seek in a relationship? A healthy relationship is one built on understanding and trust. Describing your partner as frightening and threatening are good reasons to get a restraining order and are listed on the National Domestic Violence Hotline’s website as abuse criteria. Even Dave Barry, a humorist with no moral basis for his conclusions, describes their relationship as “Christian starts stalking her and pressuring her to engage in—and I do not mean this to sound in any way judgmental—sicko pervert sex.” Due to my increasing frustration at the romanticizing of Christian Grey and their relationship, I did some research and thankfully found that I am not alone in my shock at the books’ popularity. In the US News and World Report (USN) article, “What’s Wrong With 50 Shades of Grey,” they quote Amy Bonomi, the chair of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Michigan State University and lead author of a paper published in the Journal of Women’s Health called “Double Crap! Abuse and Harmed Identity in Fifty Shades of Grey.” In the USN article, Bonomi states that "The book is a glaring glamorization of violence against women," and that Christian “controls his young conquest, Anastasia Steele, through stalking, intimidation, isolation and humiliation.” Ana responds to this by modifying her behavior in order to keep the peace in their relationship, “which is something we see in abused women. Over time, she loses her identity and becomes disempowered and entrapped." Women deserve better, real men are far better and stable relationships are so much more than what is portrayed in Fifty Shades. The only reasonable conclusion I have been able to reach is that the throngs of women who rave about these books are drawn to Christian’s perverted masculinity - a strong, decisive, successful male protagonist, albeit a thoughtless, self centered and controlling one. Instead of praising this character as an example for men to emulate, women need to recognize him for what he is, the archetype of destructive male dominance that we should shun and avoid.
#2 - Book Review: CS Lewis’ Space Trilogy
I greatly enjoy book series, such as The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by JRR Tolkien, The Strain Trilogy by Guillermo Del Toro and The Oscar Wilde Mysteries by Gyles Brandreth. They provide better character and story development, which is why I also love long books, like Count of Monte Cristo (unabridged only!) by Alexandre Dumas and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. The characters come to life and you feel invested to a far greater extent than with just a short paperback or stand-alone novel. It's one of my favorite aspects of reading - the personal investment in the characters themselves.
If you are in search of such a literary investment, I would recommend considering C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy - Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength. Written approximately ten years prior to his better known Chronicles of Narnia series, this science fiction trilogy is a less heavy handed allegory looking at humanity, the merits and drawbacks of technology, greed and goodness. While a little slow at times, the trilogy is thought provoking, well written and overall worth your time.
The adventure begins in “Out of the Silent Planet” with the abduction of Dr. Elwin Ransom by a radical physicist and his associate. Forced to travel with them in a spaceship to the planet of Malacandra, Ransom escapes once they land and flees across the alien terrain, risking his life and his chance to return home to earth in order to elude his captors. What he finds are life forms like he never imagined. The thing that impressed me most about this book was that it provided the first viable example I've come across of what life would look like if God created a world sans humans while retaining free will. The inhabitants of Malacandra are not "made in the image and likeness of God," nor does "evil" exist for them in the same way it does for us, but rather in a more passive or infrequent sense, as opposed to our constant struggle with the affects of original sin. There are several species that are very dissimilar (the Hrossa, Seroni and Pfifltriggi) and each carries out a unique roll while coexisting without malice or contention. While they are non-humanoid, they are not lesser species by any means. They communicate, hunt and gather, build, even create art. They think, make decisions and are kind, because it's the (right) thing to do. To me they are credible examples of what God might create should He want a world and civilization completely different from our own.
After safely returning home at the end of the last book, Dr. Ransom is summoned to a new planet - “Perelandra.” While Malacandra was an older planet than Earth (Thulcandra), Perelandra is a brand new world. Mostly covered in water, there are only two human-like inhabitants and endless flora and fauna (there's even a dragon!). Shortly after his arrival, Ransom recognizes a dark force trying to influence the course of Perelandra’s budding history. Called to this planet by angel-like powers called eldil, he must contend with evil disguised as wisdom as it tries to seduce Perelandra towards its first sin. He verbally battles evil and fights for the collective soul of the planet, trying to direct it away from the lures of temptation. It's this fledgling planet's own Garden of Eden, only over several days and this time "Eve" has advocates for both sides (good and evil). It's what "a new Earth" would look like...how free will might handle a clean slate. My only complaint is that there wasn't more about the dragon.
“That Hideous Strength” takes place on Thulcandra (Earth), where Dr. Ransom must now fight against dark and ancient forces that, having been repelled from Malacandra and Perelandra, have converged upon Earth itself. He and a group of close friends work to undermine a malevolent organization that is pushing social reconditioning, trying to change pivotal aspects of the human spirit. It is rumored that Merlin, the legendary Arthurian wizard, will rise up and tip the scale in the upcoming battle...but for which side? While providing a good resolution to the trilogy, I thought this book suffered from too much set up and consequently it was too long for its own good. Part of it may be my lack of understanding (or frankly, interest) in the politics behind Britain's higher education system. It was also longer than either of the previous two books. But while it does have a rather slow start, the plot was intricate and followed several story lines, which requires the reader to remain engaged throughout. It also forces the reader to wonder what they might do in a similar situation, assume “the system” is working and do nothing, fight to protect our most basic humanity or put blind faith in some deific entity for “the greater good.”
Aaaaaaah, so stressful. I wanted staggeringly brilliant and I ended up with fine (which is better than nice, lol). :)
Thanks in advance for any and all help! Wish me luck! :)
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