Throughout the novel Rumble, by Ellen Hopkins, we get to glimpse into the mind of the main character, Matthew Turner, because the narrator (himself) is omniscient. So it doesn't come as a surprise when we learn the most about Matthew's feelings towards his father without them having to interact. He thinks about his dad's relationship with the love of his life, Lorelei, and how he got married to the woman that he got pregnant instead of her, his mother. He refers to his mother as an escape for his father, a good time. But when he gets his mother pregnant, his father ends up staying with her. Now here's Matthew, with his adoring girlfriend, Hayden--with whom he's never had any sexual interactions out of respect for her deep Christian roots and beliefs-- and, despite everything he believes about his father's adultery, he ends up getting into a sticky affair out of spite that Hayden accuses him of being homosexual due to the fact that he never made a move on her. What I don't understand is how Matt can spend pages upon pages scolding his father's actions just to do it himself about ten pages later! He has some weird sort of idea that he can judge other people's action and then do it himself. I believe hypocritical is what they call that. He does sort of make up for it, though, when he has a revelation--after waking up next to her the next morning--that he is doing EXACTLY what his father did, though I still don't believe that it's justified. But, honestly, if I were in that position I would have a serious talk to Hayden because when you start doubting what your love means to you is when you should take action to remedy the situation; and if that means break-up then so be it. There shouldn't be a point when you allow yourself to be taken over by grief to the extent that you cheat on your partner. Bare in mind that this is a situation where he DID, in fact, allow it to happen, as proven when he says, "I know she won't take no for an answer, and the truth is I don't want to say no" (Hopkins 223). Being taken over by temptation is still bad, but a different story altogether; the problem, though, is that what he did is much worse. Of course, the plan he comes up with to try and fix it is still a mystery, so that about ends my rant ;-). Stay tuned for more!
Want to keep up with my reading to better understand my thoughts on the book? Be sure to read Rumble by Ellen Hopkins. Current page: beginning of page 234.
So, the narrator -- Matthew Turner knows the thoughts of other characters too? I am not sure I have ever read a narrator like that. Is it strange?
ReplyDeleteThat was very interesting to read. Why can Mathew read other peoples thoughts? Is there any explanation for that at all or is the reader just intended to accept that? Additionally, was that the entire plot-line of the book, or just a rant on a subplot? I think that hypocrisy is very interesting, as well as Matt's violent reaction to being accused of being a homosexual. Why is that? Where is this set? What is the meaning of the title? Sorry, lots of questions :) Were there any connections you had to other stories? This was very hard to follow due to slightly incoherent phrasing, but the story itself seems to be the sort that sucks you in. I would love to hear for details about not only Matthew Turner's life, but what is going on in the minds of those around him, as this unusual form of narration fascinates me. Overall, it sounds like a very good book, and you did a good job communicating that to the reader of your blog. What was the writing of the book like? Did the author have a particularly interesting voice or anything of the sort? What stood out to you most about the style? The theme of hypocrisy reminds me quite strongly about Caesar’s De Bello Gallico. It is very interesting to me how this appears to be a universal theme in writing from around the world from every time period. Furthermore, in the Aeneid as well Aeneas is quite the hypocrite, but it is portrayed in a way that shows a slight hypocrisy to be a quality of a good leader, as it is sometimes necessary.
ReplyDeleteHey, Coby!
ReplyDeleteFirst, I would like to point out that if this book is written in the first person in the perspective of Matthew Turner, you do not need to include that the narrator is omniscient. You only describe writing in this way if there is an unnamed narrator with no relation to the story itself but still has a glimpse in the minds of one or more characters.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I know, Ellen Hopkins writes most of her novels in poetry form which catches a unique perspective of what the character is thinking and feeling. Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall by Wendy Mass was written in a similar way. She too uses poetry to convey her character's struggles with self-acceptance. Poetry allows the author to take a certain amount of control with the reader; as the story progresses, the author may choose for the reader to slow down by using specific word choices, and vice-versa. How has the author's use of poetry shaped the way you see the character?
Have you ever heard the saying desperate times call for desperate measures? Perhaps Matthew was feeling desperate--between his father committing adultery and his girlfriend accusing him of being something he isn’t. Although his actions may not seem justifiable, take a moment to put yourself in his situation. If he took his girlfriend’s words into offense, he may have cheated on her as an act of aggression. There are many perspectives you can take.
Good job!
I agree that Matt's action's toward Hayden does seem rash. Mat is on his soapbox scolding to his father how he's a bastard then ends up committing the same actions. The irony of the like farther like son just oozes from this But it's all about pride and having someone you love tell you how your less than a man by calling you ga y does give a reason to his actions. On valid these actions are I'm not sure but makes sense with how many of us act. The father seems to be painted as the bad guy in this, but credit should be given that Matt's father did stay with his mom to take care of him. That seems like a somewhat noble thing to do, but does that justify his actions toward Lorelei? Maybe not, but things would've been worse, his mom couldn't been on his own pregnant instead of having his father for some type of support. This leads me to ask what's the mother's feelings in the whole scenario. Does she feel that she was just the mistress in the situation, or does she feel there is love between her and Matt's dad? The whole problem seems to stem from that and i'm just curious to know since she seems to play a large role in this. Well it looks like your having a great time with this book and it seems like an interesting read. Well my opinion isn't at the 250 word minimum, so i'm just gonna write this sentence to get to it.
ReplyDeleteHey all,
ReplyDeleteI noticed a lot of you kept saying things like Matthew can read people's minds, Matthew is omniscient... I reread my blog and noticed that I did say that he is omniscient. That was a typo due to what I can only believe was a Freudian slip. Sorry for the mixup!