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Underground > Books, Criticism & Writing >

Symbolic Meaning Gone?

inthedarkwemustlie

02:58 / 20.04.03

Looking over some contemporary classics, all written around about the same time, I can\'t help be see the messages and symbolism that characterises this age of books. The ideal that it is better for a man to choose to be bad rather than be good in A Clockwork Orange. This same ideal is also reflected in One flew over the cockoo\'s nest (i know my spelling is out of whack, sorry). And the horror of absolute totalitarism of Brave New World. I realise that I greatly generalising in the content and meanings of these books, as their singular meanings is not my point. My point is, where has the books that were written not only for themselves but for a means of giving out a greater meaning gone? Perhaps they are out there and I have not come across these, but still they are not there is the magnititude that they should be with the way are world is turning.

Foust is SO authentic

03:01 / 20.04.03

I'm wondering, mustlie, what recently published books have you read?

inthedarkwemustlie

03:09 / 20.04.03

a wide range of things, mainly fantasy, but i have read a few on the literature tables, Prozac Nation being one of them. But as I said, I am sure that they are out there, there just doesn't seem to be many and when comparing it to the number of books that came from around the late 1800's to the early 1900's with such underly themes.

Nietzsch E. Coyote

10:22 / 20.04.03

The number of books for 1800/1900s that are STILL AROUND. The plain old good but no meaning aren't read probably. 50 to 100 years someone will be saying the same about our lit i'm sure.

00:01 / 21.04.03

I'd suggest you read novels not written in Britain in the last 30 or so years. With possibly one or two exceptions.

Borges, Marquez, Murakami, Kundera, Hong Kingston, etc., etc. are all hardloaded with symbolism and allegory. Grant Morrison, and quite a lot of early Vertigo comics are also pretty good for these.

at the scarwash

22:23 / 21.04.03

The ideal that it is better for a man to choose to be bad rather than be good in A Clockwork Orange. This same ideal is also reflected in One flew over the cockoo\'s nest...And the horror of absolute totalitarism of Brave New World.

--inthedarkwemustlie At 05:58 20.04.2003:

How are these in any way symbolic meanings? These seem to be instead interpretations of the themes of these novels. I mean, sure, there are instances of symbolism in these works, but most of their messages seem to be overt rather than symbolic. I suppose we can read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as an allegory for our society. It certainly is that, but I think that's not what we should necessarily focus upon in the novel.

The reason I'm asking this is not to fuck with you, but because I don't think that your question is very focused, and I'm curious as to what you really mean by it, so that I can better answer it. Because, as far as I can tell, you're asking "What happened to novels about people rebelling against an oppressive society?" But I'm not sure if that;s what you mean.

inthedarkwemustlie

04:40 / 22.04.03

Yes, I believe that is whow you could sum up what I was trying to say. I was a little fuddled at that point in time. It relly is precisely my point, meaning that I think now more than ever there is reason for people to be rebelling and questioning the way our society is ran, and where it is going.

at the scarwash

12:17 / 22.04.03

Well, in that vein, people would have me believe that Fight Club is quite the cat's lacy sleepware. The Beach is also interesting, more in a Lord of the Flies-y kind of way. If you haven't read it, Borstal Boy by Brendan Behan is both a good "up the system" kind of read (the system being both the English government and the IRA) and a great prison novel at the same time, absolutely sparklingly written. Ditto Duncan's lot. Oh yeah, and Portuguese Nobelist Jose Saramago will rock your shit. Blindness, especially. It's about the way that our society disintegrates when an entire country is stricken with a mysterious "white blindness." Rebels, rebels, rebels. Ummm...