Jeffrey Eugenides Research Paper
Jeffrey Eugenides was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1960.After spending his adolescence there, he attended Brown University in 1983 and Stanford University somewhere around 1986. Jeffrey Eugenides wrote novels like, "The Virgin Suicides","Middlesex", and "The Marriage Plot". Jeffrey Eugenides has received many awards for these novels which had brought him success. For example, he won the Pulitzer Prize, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award twice, won the Prix Fitzgerald and The Madame Figaro Literary Prize. However, one of these novels has been considered to be one of the most memorable ones. That is the "The Virgin Suicides", this novel was written in the 1990's and published in 1993 by FSG. The readers are amazed by the
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way Jeffrey Eugenides manages to use literary devices throughout the whole novel in such simple manner. One of the literary devices that are definitely evident as one reads the novel is symbolism. Jeffrey Eugenides uses symbols in many ways, even though some were not as important as others they still matter in the novel. These symbols are used to demonstrate to the reader the overall message of certain factors in the novel.
One way Eugenides uses the symbol of the Virgin Mary in the novel to show Cecilia's characterization. In the beginning of the novel, the narrator mentions that Cecilia has just made her first suicide attempt. Jeffrey Eugenides makes sure the reader knows that it was just an attempt and that they will be another attempt as a form of suspense.
He wants to keep the reader interested on what is going to happen.However, in this part of the novel, the narrator also mentions a crucial symbol. When the narrator is describing the paramedics finding Cecilia after her first attempt, he says, "She didn't say a word, but when they parted her hands they found the laminated picture of the Virgin Mary she held against her budding chest" (Eugenides 2). It is quite odd that they would find such a thing with Cecilia after her first suicide attempt. As a reader, one questions why would she have it? This is exactly what the author wants. Eugenides wants the reader to question and realize that the Virgin Mary is a symbol. As a reader one does not find out why exactly Cecelia had the image of the Virgin Mary on the day of her suicide attempt. Yet, as a reader, it is obvious that Virgin Mary Cecilia has symbolized Cecilia's purity. With the laminated picture, Eugenides is able to show how Cecilia was pure and innocent at the moment. Another way Eugenides uses the symbol of the Virgin Mary in the novel is to kind of show the actions of the Lisbon girls throughout their extreme isolation. This extreme isolation began after the girl's night out at homecoming.The
girls did not really have anybody to contact the "outside world". This changed towards the event of the Lisbon girls finally committing suicide, the boys and other people in the community begin to notice something strange. As the boys were missing the girls, the narrator stated, "Just as we had begun to despair of ever being near them again, more laminated pictures of the Virgin began showing up" (Eugenides 182). Similar to before, it was extremely odd such a thing going around the neighborhood. Also, one once again wonders why there is such thing going around and how does it relate to the Lisbon girls. With the laminated pictures, Eugenides shows that the pictures are some sort of outlet for the girls to reach the outside. They use the picture as a way to send a signal, it could be a signal that they, in fact, will later commit suicide or it could just be a signal for help. Which the community took out of context as they believed that the Virgin Mary symbolized something extremely religious to the girls and that they sacrificed themselves for it as some sort of ritual. Nonetheless, with the pictures, they were able to start contact with the boys during their isolation.
Another important symbol that Jeffrey Eugenides includes in the novel is the bra on the crucifix. Jeffrey Eugenides includes this rather strange symbol in order to show to the readers to show certain aspects of the characterization of Lux Lisbon. Lux is indeed different from the other girls, she is more perverse than the other Lisbon girls. The bra on the crucifix is found when Peter Sissen visits the Lisbon house for dinner and goes upstairs While observing what is around him , he sees, "bedrooms filled with crumpled panties, stuffed animals hugged to death by the passion of the girls, of a crucifix draped with a brassiere" (Eugenides 7). One can not help but assume that the bra on the crucifix is Lux's bra. The bra can possibly symbolize Lux's sexual nature, especially when she uses it as some sort of rebellion against her mother(Mrs.Lisbon). She does by having sexual relations in the rooftop of her house after she did some maximum isolation with the girls after Lux gets home late from homecoming. One can also not help but assume that the crucifix is Cecilia's. Which is clarified when the narrator describe what happen to the Lisbon's belongings, he says "the windows furnished the priest's new rectory bedroom with Mary's canopy bed, Therese's walnut dresser, Lux's Chinese lantern, and Cecilia's crucifix"(Eugenides 225). So, Jeffrey Eugenides also uses the symbol to show the contrast between the sexuality and religion in the household through Cecilia and Lux. With the religion, the girls were pure and innocent at first like Cecilia. However, as they reaching womanhood they are slowly(or fastly like Lux) are beginning to see certain aspects that include sexual things. The Lisbon girls, except for Lux, were not able to discover these before since their mother has kept away from anything like this. With this symbol, the reader is capable of noticing the contrast of the two and notice how they also combine as their place side by side by the Eugenides.
One of the particular symbols in the novel is Cecilia's wedding dress. As a reader, one may wonder why Jeffrey Eugenides would make such a simple dress a symbol. The dress is first brought up by the narrator watching Cecilia come back from the hospital, the narrator says, "She came back still wearing the wedding dress. Mrs. Patz, whose sister was a nurse at Bon Secours, said that Cecilia had refused to put on a hospital gown, demanding that her wedding dress be brought to her" (Eugenides 13). As described in the story, the wedding dress is vintage along with Cecilia's record. Jeffrey Eugenides wants to make the reader want to know why the dress is a big deal as he mentions it a lot. During the Lisbon girl's homecoming experience, Therese states, "'Cecilia was weird, but we're not'". This shows that even Cecilia's sisters think she is weird. This is similar to the opinion of others in the neighborhood. They thought Cecilia was a strange child and that her committing suicide was only because of her weirdness. They also believed that she "spread" this to her sisters and that is the reason why they also did it. The vintage dress symbolizes Cecilia in a way, they both do not exactly fit in and are out of place. Usually, a white wedding dress like Cecilia's symbolizes purity. This means that this could be the goal Cecilia is trying to achieve by wearing the wedding dress.A reader can notice this especially after her first attempt at suicide because right after that Cecilia constantly bathes. Thus, this could be her way of "washing" away the sins she committed and she can now be or feel pure again.
Another major symbol that has many appearances throughout the novel is light. Since the group of boys spend most of their time watching every move of the Lisbon girls, it seems like the light is what allows them to do so. Whenever the light is on the boys are able to see into the life of the Lisbon girls. They are able to see in and wonder about the way of living of the girls and watch their behavior. one of the first occurrences of the symbol light happens when the boys arrive at Cecilia's first and only party, the narrator states, "We were directed downstairs to the rec room. The steps were metal-tipped and steep, and as we descended the light at the bottom grew brighter and brighter, as though we were approaching the molten core of the earth".(Eugenides 23). The lights serve as the guide for the boys towards the girls. Also, during the boys way to the party, the narrator says, "The, however, our eyes got used to the light and informed us of something we had never realized: the Lisbon girls were all different people"(Eugenides 23). With the light, the boys were finally able to see the girls as individual human beings, not some mystical presence. The light allowed the boys to see the Lisbon girls as who they really are. Jeffrey Eugenides uses the light as a symbol of the boys understanding the Lisbon girls.
Jeffrey Eugenides manages to include a variety of literary devices throughout his first novel published in 1993, “The Virgin Suicides”. In this, he used a variety of symbols to convey his message to readers about certain characters or factors in the book. These symbols wrapped up the book to show great characterization and allow the reader to be more in depth with the novel.
way Jeffrey Eugenides manages to use literary devices throughout the whole novel in such simple manner. One of the literary devices that are definitely evident as one reads the novel is symbolism. Jeffrey Eugenides uses symbols in many ways, even though some were not as important as others they still matter in the novel. These symbols are used to demonstrate to the reader the overall message of certain factors in the novel.
One way Eugenides uses the symbol of the Virgin Mary in the novel to show Cecilia's characterization. In the beginning of the novel, the narrator mentions that Cecilia has just made her first suicide attempt. Jeffrey Eugenides makes sure the reader knows that it was just an attempt and that they will be another attempt as a form of suspense.
He wants to keep the reader interested on what is going to happen.However, in this part of the novel, the narrator also mentions a crucial symbol. When the narrator is describing the paramedics finding Cecilia after her first attempt, he says, "She didn't say a word, but when they parted her hands they found the laminated picture of the Virgin Mary she held against her budding chest" (Eugenides 2). It is quite odd that they would find such a thing with Cecilia after her first suicide attempt. As a reader, one questions why would she have it? This is exactly what the author wants. Eugenides wants the reader to question and realize that the Virgin Mary is a symbol. As a reader one does not find out why exactly Cecelia had the image of the Virgin Mary on the day of her suicide attempt. Yet, as a reader, it is obvious that Virgin Mary Cecilia has symbolized Cecilia's purity. With the laminated picture, Eugenides is able to show how Cecilia was pure and innocent at the moment. Another way Eugenides uses the symbol of the Virgin Mary in the novel is to kind of show the actions of the Lisbon girls throughout their extreme isolation. This extreme isolation began after the girl's night out at homecoming.The
girls did not really have anybody to contact the "outside world". This changed towards the event of the Lisbon girls finally committing suicide, the boys and other people in the community begin to notice something strange. As the boys were missing the girls, the narrator stated, "Just as we had begun to despair of ever being near them again, more laminated pictures of the Virgin began showing up" (Eugenides 182). Similar to before, it was extremely odd such a thing going around the neighborhood. Also, one once again wonders why there is such thing going around and how does it relate to the Lisbon girls. With the laminated pictures, Eugenides shows that the pictures are some sort of outlet for the girls to reach the outside. They use the picture as a way to send a signal, it could be a signal that they, in fact, will later commit suicide or it could just be a signal for help. Which the community took out of context as they believed that the Virgin Mary symbolized something extremely religious to the girls and that they sacrificed themselves for it as some sort of ritual. Nonetheless, with the pictures, they were able to start contact with the boys during their isolation.
Another important symbol that Jeffrey Eugenides includes in the novel is the bra on the crucifix. Jeffrey Eugenides includes this rather strange symbol in order to show to the readers to show certain aspects of the characterization of Lux Lisbon. Lux is indeed different from the other girls, she is more perverse than the other Lisbon girls. The bra on the crucifix is found when Peter Sissen visits the Lisbon house for dinner and goes upstairs While observing what is around him , he sees, "bedrooms filled with crumpled panties, stuffed animals hugged to death by the passion of the girls, of a crucifix draped with a brassiere" (Eugenides 7). One can not help but assume that the bra on the crucifix is Lux's bra. The bra can possibly symbolize Lux's sexual nature, especially when she uses it as some sort of rebellion against her mother(Mrs.Lisbon). She does by having sexual relations in the rooftop of her house after she did some maximum isolation with the girls after Lux gets home late from homecoming. One can also not help but assume that the crucifix is Cecilia's. Which is clarified when the narrator describe what happen to the Lisbon's belongings, he says "the windows furnished the priest's new rectory bedroom with Mary's canopy bed, Therese's walnut dresser, Lux's Chinese lantern, and Cecilia's crucifix"(Eugenides 225). So, Jeffrey Eugenides also uses the symbol to show the contrast between the sexuality and religion in the household through Cecilia and Lux. With the religion, the girls were pure and innocent at first like Cecilia. However, as they reaching womanhood they are slowly(or fastly like Lux) are beginning to see certain aspects that include sexual things. The Lisbon girls, except for Lux, were not able to discover these before since their mother has kept away from anything like this. With this symbol, the reader is capable of noticing the contrast of the two and notice how they also combine as their place side by side by the Eugenides.
One of the particular symbols in the novel is Cecilia's wedding dress. As a reader, one may wonder why Jeffrey Eugenides would make such a simple dress a symbol. The dress is first brought up by the narrator watching Cecilia come back from the hospital, the narrator says, "She came back still wearing the wedding dress. Mrs. Patz, whose sister was a nurse at Bon Secours, said that Cecilia had refused to put on a hospital gown, demanding that her wedding dress be brought to her" (Eugenides 13). As described in the story, the wedding dress is vintage along with Cecilia's record. Jeffrey Eugenides wants to make the reader want to know why the dress is a big deal as he mentions it a lot. During the Lisbon girl's homecoming experience, Therese states, "'Cecilia was weird, but we're not'". This shows that even Cecilia's sisters think she is weird. This is similar to the opinion of others in the neighborhood. They thought Cecilia was a strange child and that her committing suicide was only because of her weirdness. They also believed that she "spread" this to her sisters and that is the reason why they also did it. The vintage dress symbolizes Cecilia in a way, they both do not exactly fit in and are out of place. Usually, a white wedding dress like Cecilia's symbolizes purity. This means that this could be the goal Cecilia is trying to achieve by wearing the wedding dress.A reader can notice this especially after her first attempt at suicide because right after that Cecilia constantly bathes. Thus, this could be her way of "washing" away the sins she committed and she can now be or feel pure again.
Another major symbol that has many appearances throughout the novel is light. Since the group of boys spend most of their time watching every move of the Lisbon girls, it seems like the light is what allows them to do so. Whenever the light is on the boys are able to see into the life of the Lisbon girls. They are able to see in and wonder about the way of living of the girls and watch their behavior. one of the first occurrences of the symbol light happens when the boys arrive at Cecilia's first and only party, the narrator states, "We were directed downstairs to the rec room. The steps were metal-tipped and steep, and as we descended the light at the bottom grew brighter and brighter, as though we were approaching the molten core of the earth".(Eugenides 23). The lights serve as the guide for the boys towards the girls. Also, during the boys way to the party, the narrator says, "The, however, our eyes got used to the light and informed us of something we had never realized: the Lisbon girls were all different people"(Eugenides 23). With the light, the boys were finally able to see the girls as individual human beings, not some mystical presence. The light allowed the boys to see the Lisbon girls as who they really are. Jeffrey Eugenides uses the light as a symbol of the boys understanding the Lisbon girls.
Jeffrey Eugenides manages to include a variety of literary devices throughout his first novel published in 1993, “The Virgin Suicides”. In this, he used a variety of symbols to convey his message to readers about certain characters or factors in the book. These symbols wrapped up the book to show great characterization and allow the reader to be more in depth with the novel.