Presentation of home in AHWOSG

There are many different ideas about home presented in the novel 'A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius', both before and after the death of Dave's parents. Each present different deeper meanings about the characters as well.

On the first page, Eggers uses a metaphor to describe their family home as being 'a factory'. The connotations of a factory are monotony, routine, and an unclean environment. A factory is usually used to describe a place that is built to produce things as quickly as possible without thinking much of the consequences to the employees. This is not something homes are typically associated with as they are meant to be places of warmth and relaxation. The idea of monotony and routine is strange when juxtaposed with the idea of uncleanliness, and the actual reality of their furniture being thrifty and of 'inconsistent... taste'. The idea of uncleanliness also portrays home as a dirty place to be. In this context, it may refer to the death and disease of his parents and hence why Dave feels the place is like a factory. His mother cannot 'get up to check' their house is clean due to her illness. Dave's negative associations of home is also suggested by Dave later moving out with Toph instead of staying put in a place of memories. The extended metaphor of uncleanliness is continued when they move into their new home as well but it is more of a metaphor for the illness of Dave's mind rather than a physical illness, which Dave also worries about developing.

When Dave and Toph move into a new home, Dave describes the neighbourhood in asyndetic listing, naming significant attributes such as 'an elderly Chinese couple'. He uses the adjective 'ho-hum' to mention that they 'seem' boring in this neighbourhood compared to their last because of the variety of people and families there are. He says this almost in relief as previously, he would repeat the phrase 'people know', suggesting he felt uncomfortable with their family being the centre of everyone's attention because of the tragedy that faced them. He also states that 'only here would we blend'. The adjective 'blend' means that something is mixed into something else smoothly, suggesting an assimilation into their new neighbourhood. Despite this, there still seems to be some anxiety about their new place as Eggers mentions that Dave does 'little in the way of mingling with the community', suggesting that home is not a place where he feels completely comfortable. In some ways, he is saying that is because the people are far stranger than he is, as social blending can also suggest being only in the background of something, and that they went from 'sticking out like a sore thumb' to being completely irrelevant quickly; suggesting that they have gone from one extreme to another.

The sublet Dave's family has 'for the Summer' is hyperbolised in a statement where Dave says it 'overlooks the world'. The verb 'overlooks' suggests they watch the world below them, suggesting an asymmetrical power dynamic when they are away from home on holiday as it creates the image that they are god-like. The fact that they are away from home suggests a desire of escapism for Dave, implying he dreams of feeling more powerful as he feels weak when he is at home. This is not an idea that is typically associated with a home as they are meant to provide physical and emotional security. He also states that he and Toph 'are owed' the world yet not mentioning why. It is suggested that they are owed because they are young, which is often a cliché in modern literature, and because they are looking to compensate for the tragedies in their lives. This is an arrogant way of looking at life but it is how Dave takes a breather from the emotions he feels.

Dave's fantasies continue throughout the book. He often pretends to be Toph's dad in roleplays, using the informal lexis of 'daaad' to show that he is young and until this point, he had had a friendly relationship with his brother in their previous family home. He also does this playfully in some scenes where he gives Toph 'a condition of his allowance', as a parent would do but he makes it into a joke by violently describing what would happen to his brother if he does not complete 'all expressed duties' in their home. The formal language suggests that he is mockingly taking on the parental role and he does not fully see himself as a responsible adult even though in their new home, he is. The new home is a representation of a new part of their relationship. As well as that, Dave is legally in loco parentis over his brother so there is an assymetrical power dynamic in the relationship. This means that he is obligated to take on more responsibility. His anxiety over not being a good enough 'parental figure' is shown in the themes of home. Their new home is a metaphor for Dave's state of mind, disorganised and with 'much work to do', as his parents have just died and he is faced with a lot of responsibility at a young age. He states that he 'worries any minute someone' will take Toph away, in the form of  complex sentence and asyndetic listing, because of his failures in making the house 'clean and doing the laundry 'properly and frequently'. The complexity of the sentence shows that his mind is disorganised and full of thought, almost messy like the house.

In conclusion, home is not represented as being positive in the novel. Home is not presented as a place of emotional security.It is not a place for Dave to retreat as he often associates it with feeling out of place and being unclean. It is presented as a place where the worries are manifested or increase.

How does Eggers present women in 'A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius'?

Note: Do I need to rearrange this essay?

Women seem to have a significant effect on Eggers in the novel. He seems to be preoccupied with the physicality of women as a young heterosexual man, and he views them as rather two dimensional characters in most cases.

When he sees women in public, he focus firstly on their appearance, using an adjective to describe a woman on the bus as being 'young'. The connotations of youth are often associated with fertility and sexual prime. He is speaking about her as if he wants to start a family with her as he speaks of 'her daughter'. The view that a woman's worth is decided by her having children is now considered offensive and an almost pre-historic view as women are nowadays considered more than just baby carriers. The usage of the lexis 'Latina' to describe the woman also shows that Dave does not see the woman beyond her ethnicity. To some nowadays, this would be considered offensive as there is a debate in popular culture as to whether this is still acceptable so it shows the ignorance of young Dave. As well as that, in American culture Latina women are over-sexualised and rarely seen beyond the stereotype of being sexually promiscuous so this further reflects Dave's views: that he only sees her in a sexual way. He also describes her as being 'a little older than him', suggesting maturity and experience but also focusing solely on her age, which is an issue that women have in being taken seriously. Older women are considered 'past their sell-by date' and younger women are considered only sexually appealing yet this woman is just old enough to have some of the knowledge he needs, suggesting that he feels alone in raising his brother. With his mother recently dying, there is an underlying implication here that what he wants is comfort and security. Family units are often seen as being secure. He also mentions the daughter is 'younger than Toph', further implying he wants the two families to assimilate and for Toph to have a friend. It can be inferred that Dave thinks his brother is also lonely after the death of their parents.

He describes women who are not young and feminine as being 'haggy creature[s]'. The adjective 'haggy' negatively suggests a woman who is aged and has evil intentions. Again, Dave's narrow-minded views are being displayed in the text as he does not describe young women as that, instead focusing on their age and the sole fact they are women. He rarely goes into too much detail about the women or focuses on their personality, saying in other parts of the novel that these women are uninteresting simply because he considers them old and unattractive, when he meets them as he sees them only as being women. With the sole purpose as being plot devices in his own story. He also uses the noun 'creature' as a suggestion that the woman he is describing is not human, she is something else. This is dehumanising and shows that he does not see women as being people, suggesting rather strange and detached views about them. It also suggests they lack personalities or interests of their own. Eggers is eager in highlighting this as he does plainly so, warping the character of Dave in ours eyes in order to show how prejudiced he was as a young man.

Subconsciously, Dave also focuses on the physicality of his sister but not in a sexualised way. He describes Beth as 'wearing a sweatshirt and spandex leggings'. This description is used by Dave to heavily emphasise  that she enjoys working out. Eggers suggests, in that part of the story, that his sister enjoys working out and often cannot wait to do so when Dave gets home to resume responsibility. It suggests that the women in his life are superficial and cannot be responsible for things. Despite this, she has hobbies and interests that are talked about in more detail even if it is just a repetition of her working. Although Beth is his sister, he does not speak of her much like she is part of their family unit. He refers to his family as being Toph and him, suggesting he doesn't see much of a need to have Beth as part of their family life yet he still actively seeks out other women. Despite this he still uses the collective pronouns 'all of us' to refer to what is suggested to be Beth too, portraying that there is some kind of group.

The only woman's interests he particularly goes into detail about is his mother, mainly speaking of her illness and how it has affected everyone in his family. The death of his mother clearly has an impact on him as he continues to chase motherly figures throughout the novel. He also mention that his mother likes television, 'mom prefers the show where...', and goes into more detail about it, which suggests that he views her more as a person rather than an object. He uses the collective pronoun 'all' to suggest the women are together and that they are a hive mind, lacking any personality.

Eggers uses asyndetic listing in the form of a complex sentence to talk about his negative relationships with women. The complexity of the sentence suggests he is naming off different people in a hurry, implying there is a rush of emotion and thought process. He mentions that 'Beth and I... would be bloody and dismembered' if they attempted to live together, suggesting tension between the two. Because he is the protagonist of the story, this statement paints Beth to be the more unlikeable character in an attempt to paint him in a better light. He also states that he and 'Kirsten... need time apart', suggesting separation and a lack of a strong relationship with his girlfriend. This suggests she is simply there as a plot device character, with little real role or presence in his life.

Eggers portrays Dave as being romantically, and sexually, starved. He does this by emphasizing the fact that Dave has almost an obsession with women on their own. They do not exist if they have partners of their own and if they do, as he imagines the woman on the bus has, this is not important to Dave because he imagines that they will not mind him creating a union with them. He emphasises this when he states there are 'single women living with single men' in his neighbourhood, suggesting that there is no romantic relationship between these people. He uses asyndetic listing to list off the people who live in his area, repeating the adjective 'single' in one part of the novel and then using other words to suggest their relationship status, such as 'divorcees, widows, widowers'. All of which are statuses that mean someone is not in a committed relationship. 'Single mothers' highlights the preoccupation he has with mothers, again suggesting he is not over his and he aims to find someone to give him guidance in raising Toph. It is also as if he is looking specifically for women that are available to date. The view that women's marital status is important is again a considerably old fashioned view and it is one that would be considered inappropriate today, which suggests Eggers is deliberately calling his younger self out. He also emphasises 'single men' and 'widowers', suggesting there is no relationship in an attempt to justify the loneliness he feels. It is like he is recreating himself in these situations with women.

In conclusion, Eggers portrays women as being two dimensional and uninteresting, especially if they are unattractive. With young women, he uses them as a way to make himself feel less lonely as he imagines himself having a relationship with them. They have no real personalities of their own and lack anything of value apart from their youth or children.