Obsession

I can’t stop being fixated by the size of Raskolnikov’s room!  We get this description:

Mistrustfully and with an affectation of being alarmed and almost affronted, he [Luzhin] scanned Raskolnikov’s low and narrow “cabin.”

Sounds tiny, right?  But then by my count there are five people in the room: Raskolnikov (in bed), Razumihin, Zossimov, Luzhin, and (I think, in the corner) Nastasya.  And three of them (Razumihin, Zossimov and Luzhin) are sitting–that means three sitting platforms in addition to the bed…it’s now sounding practically palatial.  But remember he can reach the door from his room.  Maybe it’s some kind psychadelic “breathing” room, expanding and contracting, expanding and contracting.

Or it’s just a normal room that I can’t picture well.  I don’t have a good imagination.

I still don’t understand what puts Raskolnikov in such a snit about Luzhin.  He seems like an okay guy to me…but he can’t do anything right in the eyes of Raskolnikov.

But then again Raskolnikov murdered an old lady, so maybe we shouldn’t trust his emotional intelligence.

Fun fact!  We learn here (Part II, Chapter V) what Raskolnikov’s first name is…Rodion.  So next time you play Trivial Pursuit and the answer is “Raskolnikov” you can say “Rodion Raskolnikov” or even “Rodion Romanovich Roskolnikov” or if you’re feeling cool “R Cubed” and when your opponents look confused you can say with a withering look of disbelief “uh…Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, you know the most famous anti-hero of literature.”  However you say it what you’ll be saying is “I’ve read Crime and Punishment” (we won’t tell them about your lack of blog posts).

Well either “I’ve read Crime and Punishment” or “I’m a pedantic ass.”

Potato, Potato.

Jon

Competitive Subtext and Zombies

Now, Twin Brother, I realize that you and I have always been somewhat competitive. Friendly competition has been a hallmark of our twinship since birth. From our race from the womb (which you may remember, I won) to our present day fierce battles over  Trivial Pursuit, competition has been a part of who we are.

Honestly, I thought we had hit a new low a few weeks ago when quality time with the nieces and nephew devolved into a competitive bubble-blowing contest.

(In case you’re a bit cloudy on the details, I was blowing these elegant, bigger than life, translucent works of art while you were producing spittle-like soapsuds as you continually blamed the direction of the wind and claimed you were “just warming up.” Although points to you for winning out on trash talk. My favorite  comment of the day was when you turned to me and told me, “I will never be impressed by anything that comes out of your wand.” That one still stings.)

Like I said, I thought that was as low as our competitive natures could go. But then you had to take it one step lower and get all competitive by way of subtext. 

Petty, Twin, petty. 

Let’s look at two examples from our current blog posts.

First mine:

I have to be honest with you, I really hadn’t noticed the plot (or plot-less) pattern you described in your last post. (I have never been much one for patterns, which could explain the failure of my short-lived visual art efforts that I lovingly referred to as “Justessellations.” Althougth one critic did describe them as “expectation-defying*” and another described them as ” really special.**”)

Subtext:

Wow, Jon you are really good at noticing patterns. Art is neat.

Now your post:

Now if Steven Urkel has a precursor in the Russian Novel (and I believe he does) I think a better fit would be Dostoevsky’s titular idiot Prince Myshkin.  Here’s why:

• Both are social misfits (Myshkin is, um The Idiot and Urkel, I believe,because he wears suspenders and oversized glasses).
• Both hold unrequited loves (Myshkin his Nastasya Filippovna, Urkel his Laura Winslow)
• Both have high-pitched nasally voices (Myshkin in my head, Urkel as played by Jaleel White)

Subtext:

• Jon is well read in a variety the Russian greats and can easily bandy about with references to Prince Myshkin.
•  His thoughts are well organized and expressed clearly. (He uses bullet points!)
• Justin is an idiot.
• It’s fun to say Myshkin.

See, that’s just sad.

On a somewhat related note, I haven’t had a chance to read in a few days. But the good news is I finally received my long-awaited copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. It has instantly catapulted up to the top of my reading list.

Here’s just a taste of what’s in store:

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.”

Is it possible to love a book without even having read beyond the first sentence?

Justin

Corrections

First, dear twin, there would not be 96 yous and 96 mes there would be 96 people (total) with our exact DNA…and as we prove only too well identical DNA does not make for the same person…so the Trivial Pursuit game would be anyone’s guess…I’m sure there would be some of us that are going to rock the orange wedge, while others of us may struggle answering such questions as “Who has the record for the most stolen bases in the American Division of the National Baseball League?”  (My guess: Ricky Henderson. Or Nolan Ryan).

Second…I’m not completely hopeless at Sports and Leisure (I have too many Trivial Pursuit victories for that to be the case)…I just have to wait around for the “leisure” portion to pop up…or questions about Major League Golf (Lee Trevino for the wedge!).

And…you may have thought Chapter One was a little…sterile.  But just wait until Chapter 2–things start to get a little freaky!  There’s some baby torture and children are being taught fornication games.  Aldous Huxley is proving to be one wild son of a gun!

And…we finally get some characters.  I’m most happy that Lenina (she of the coral smile and metaphor-heavy name) makes a return appearance and it looks like she may be one of our main characters!

I think after another chapter or two I’ll some thought provoking questions to ask, but currently I’m still trying to wrap my head around this world and hypnopaedia and their multi-level social hierarchy.

Still trying to keep the Deltas and Gammas straight,

Jon

What, in the “World”

Wow. Baby-making in chapter one. For most books that would be a prime indication that we were in for a steamy, PG-13+ read.

Not so here.

That’s got to be one of the least sexy procreation scenes ever written. White coveralls? The “Fertilization Room”? Eighty-eight cubic metres of card-index? Nothing says “sexy” like cubic meter after cubic meter of card-index.

It’s like sex meets the assembly line…and the assembly line wins.

You’re right. Identical twins = conformity?!?! I don’t like that. Not one bit. Apparently Aldous Huxley must never have met an identical twin (or rather identical twins) in his life.

The hypothetical Trivial Pursuit match you mention is an intriguing idea. Although then one of the 96 copies of me would quickly realize that not one of the 96 copies of you could answer a Sports and Leisure question to save your life, and would then proceed to trounce you.

Not unlike in real life.

Game on,
Justin