“ I wonder at how many of us, feeling unsafe and unprotected, either end up running away from everything we know and love, or staying and simply and going mad. I have decided today that neither option is more or less noble than the other. They are merely different ways of coping, and we each must cope as best we can” (90).
In class we discussed the use of the ten on one method. To me, this quotation encompassed a few of the ideas we came up with when we read our quotations out loud. I think this statement embodies the ideas of truth, desire, and social constructs. The truth is evident because the way this statement is said in the novel, the reader can see inside the speaker’s mind, that there is some inner debate about whether to stay or go. We discussed in class how Tyler has not come out and said that he is gay, but is it implied, as he has stated he is girlish, along with other things which would imply his sexual orientation. Perhaps his truth is his inner debate about whether to come out to everyone or not. This feeling goes hand in hand with social constructs, which dictates a person’s actions based on societal norms. Tyler may worry that he wont be fully accepted for who he is, and how he identifies. Desire can be seen in this passage through the speakers inner debate because it seems like he wants to stay, to be helpful to those who need him, but also it seems Tyler desires coming out to the world. Perhaps his way of coping is to remain quiet and just not say anything, that way nothing changes, but he does not rejected by those around him whom he loves.
When doing the method on this statement, the commas become important because it separates what should be done, and what the speaker wants to happen. For example, “feeling unsafe and unprotected, or staying and going mad” provides this internal conflict, and which is better? The narrator is saying that neither is better or worse, but rather they are different ways of simply trying to exist. I think many of us have seen this decision in our own lives, not only the lives of Mala, Tyler, and the other characters in the novel. At times, we all struggle with whatever decision we need to make, and whether or not to change whatever the change is, can lead to this same type of internal debate.
I thought your idea about the commas was very interesting, as sentence structure can add a lot of meaning to a quote, and we tend to overlook that. However, I think that this particular quote has so many clusters and binaries in the language that I wish you would have touched upon in your post (unsafe/unprotected/running away, staying/coping, etc.) What is the significance of the fact that Tyler believes neither choice is more noble than the other? What does this say about Tyler and his choice to hide himself from others? What does this say about Asha and her choice to run? I think you’re on the right track, but you can push this post a little further to come up with some really meaningful claims about the book.