Lou In A Visit From The Goon Squad
In literature, the protagonist is usually either exalted or cast as an anti-hero. It is unusual for an author to use the paradox of good and evil within a single character. This paradox can be difficult to work with because it can dominate a book and define the character that it is being used on. While the paradox itself can be quite meaningful in and of itself, the obfuscating lens that it creates can destroy the true nature of a character.With Lou in A Visit from the Goon Squad, Egan manages to capture this contradiction of being both embraced and speared, while still maintaining Lou's true nature. Even though Lou's true nature is protected, his mix of good and evil manages to affect the entire book.
Within the novel, we see two real …show more content…
When we watch Lou through the eyes of Rhea, we are constantly reminded of her relationship with Jocelyn. “Look who’s the hostess now?” (53) Is one of the first time’s we see Rhea notice a true difference between herself and Jocelyn, even while Jocelyn is doing things that Rhea realizes she is viewing from the outside, she cannot separate herself from the idea that she is doing those acts as well, but the act of taking up the role of matriarch, becoming a “woman” in a way resonates with Rhea. On Lou’s deathbed, we see that Rhea has actually matured into a true woman, she has a family and Jocelyn has nothing. Rhea has regressed into a state where her mother helps her with everything. It’s a strange reverse maturation. Lou indoctrinated her into a seemingly adult world, but that was a sham. The lies and deceit of Lou’s world prevented her from reaching adult her by herself, and because of this, Rhea was able to escape. It is the harsh reality that Rhea was trapped with Jocelyn, the girl who fell for the tricks of an older man and succumbed to a paltry existence of drug abuse and sadness. “What do I have?” (87) is the question of Jocelyn’s life. What has she ever truly had? She most certainly never had Lou, and she lost Rolph as well. In the same way that Lou could only have real relationships with men, Jocelyn’s only real connection, the only thing she really had, was Rhea. Sadly though, however seemingly benevolent their friendship was, Jocelyn prevented Rhea from maturing on her own. Lou creates the separation that allowed Rhea to
Within the novel, we see two real …show more content…
When we watch Lou through the eyes of Rhea, we are constantly reminded of her relationship with Jocelyn. “Look who’s the hostess now?” (53) Is one of the first time’s we see Rhea notice a true difference between herself and Jocelyn, even while Jocelyn is doing things that Rhea realizes she is viewing from the outside, she cannot separate herself from the idea that she is doing those acts as well, but the act of taking up the role of matriarch, becoming a “woman” in a way resonates with Rhea. On Lou’s deathbed, we see that Rhea has actually matured into a true woman, she has a family and Jocelyn has nothing. Rhea has regressed into a state where her mother helps her with everything. It’s a strange reverse maturation. Lou indoctrinated her into a seemingly adult world, but that was a sham. The lies and deceit of Lou’s world prevented her from reaching adult her by herself, and because of this, Rhea was able to escape. It is the harsh reality that Rhea was trapped with Jocelyn, the girl who fell for the tricks of an older man and succumbed to a paltry existence of drug abuse and sadness. “What do I have?” (87) is the question of Jocelyn’s life. What has she ever truly had? She most certainly never had Lou, and she lost Rolph as well. In the same way that Lou could only have real relationships with men, Jocelyn’s only real connection, the only thing she really had, was Rhea. Sadly though, however seemingly benevolent their friendship was, Jocelyn prevented Rhea from maturing on her own. Lou creates the separation that allowed Rhea to