Author: oatmeal

I think that Boy Meets Boy and Luna are obviously different because of the narrator. The narrator of Boy Meets Boy, Paul, is a gay boy, whereas, the narrator in Luna, Regan, is a straight girl. Also in the case of Boy Meets Boy, there seems to be more acceptance of LGBT individuals, even though their is the narrative of Tony. Even within Tony’s narrative, we see a positive ending. Boy Meets Boy normalizes LGBT narratives and there isn’t a struggle with the narrator’s identity. In Luna, however, there isn’t much acceptance of LGBT people, and for this reason, she keeps Luna’s life a secret from her parents.

What is similar in both of these texts, is that the narrator deals with the struggles and drama of people close to them. With Paul, he deals with Tony’s struggle with his parents and Kyle’s questioning bisexuality. In Luna, she deals with her sibling, Liam/Luna, as they decide to transition to a woman. In both cases, regardless of the protagonist’s, sexuality or gender, they are affected by the people closest to them.

Angels in America engages in the idea of camp, specifically, the scene in which Harper and Prior are in the Diorama Room. Camp has a certain level of exaggeration and is aesthetically pleasing. The idea of camp reflects a level of seriousness as well as comedy because of how outlandish a situation may be portrayed. Many situations and scenes are outlandish including the hallucinations. The various hallucinations that Harper and Prior have, alone and together, are very over the top and good examples of camp, but I focus on the Diorama Room scene in particular. In the Diorama Room, Harper and Prior are under the impression that Hannah has started the show for them and what they are seeing in the diorama is real. They watch a scene which features Joe and Louis and Harper informs Prior that Louis comes into the show often. The show makes Prior emotional and Hannah returns to see this,

(Hannah has gone to the diorama. She yanks the curtain open.)

HARPER: NO WAIT. Don’t…

(The father dummy is back-a real dummy this time.)

HARPER: Oh. (To Prior) Look, we…imagined it.

The Diorama Room is serious in that it serves as a medium for Prior’s revelation about Louis’s relationship with Joe. During the Diorama show, however, the audience also isn’t aware that it is a hallucination and are under the impression that it is a show along with Prior and Harper.

Angels in America uses the idea of camp to show the irony and humor of a rather, dark story. There are very serious themes and topics within the play, specifically the topics of AIDS within the LGBT community during this time. Having a lighthearted, comical element allows the audience to take in the heavier issues that the play addresses. The idea of camp shows the ridiculousness of societal norms and expectations

“She stroked my head for a long time, and then we hugged and it felt like drowning. Then I was frightened but couldn’t stop” (pg 88-89)

This passage talks about the feelings/actions that Jeanette has with Melanie. Her feelings are overwhelming and take over her suddenly. This is revealed by her use of the words “drowning”, “frightened but couldn’t stop”, and “crawling in my belly”. Jeanette definitely feels something and even questions Melanie later on if it is an “Unnatural Passion”. The feeling and language imply an attraction between Jeanette and Melanie. The passage helps to tell the coming out story because it shows the early/young feeling of attraction Jeanette had to girls. Often in coming out stories people talk about how “they always were different” or “always knew”. This language implies that she has always been a lesbian. This is a common counter-argument that LGBT tends to use when people claim that being queer is a “decision”. Even her mother and pastor believe that she may be a “wicked person” and decided to be attracted to women, “It was my own fault. My own perversity. They started arguing between themselves about whether I was an unfortunate victim or a wicked person” (pg 131). The idea that people decide to “sin” is difficult to argue because it is ridiculous to believe that someone would choose to have a life that entails so much discrimination and prejudice. What I’m really trying to say is that no one made or enticed Jeanette to be a lesbian. She always has been and we can see that from her towards men and her attraction to Melanie.

 

“You send me back to share my own

scars first of all with myself”

 

I don’t see any clusters of words. I see possessiveness. The poem had words like “you”, “my”, “own” and “myself”. It felt personal but the writer is focused on how the person, “you”, effected them.  The use of “First”, “Back”, “Share” is interesting. To share with one’s self is an intimate and vulnerable act. I assume she has had pain brought upon her by someone and she is dealing with herself and how she feels. I think the hardest thing to do is to look within yourself. A certain “you”, whether it is a person or not, has created a pain for someone that they have to reconcile with themselves.