Wednesday, March 14, 2007

"The Man" in "ATP"

I left a point slightly unfinished in lecture. The character referred to as "the man" -- the assassin -- in All Tomorrow's Parties is presented namelessly as a fictional device to, in part, leave his moral status uncertain for the reader and thus increase tension in the plot. In other words, not knowing his name, we wonder about his character (in more than one sense) and thus how he will influence the outcome of the story.

The man is eventually named -- in the late "The Birds are on Fire" chapter -- but only at a significant moment in the story development. Explanation to come in lecture at the appropriate moment.....

4 comments:

Adam Nowek said...

"I'm waitin' for my man..."

I think my neighbours are getting relatively sick of Velvet Underground's debut album. Thanks!

Dr. Stephen Ogden said...

I love to hear that passion for music is still alive! Warms to the bottom of my heart ;--)

Anonymous said...

Sorry if this sounds mediocre, but I can't help but think that the assassin is Gibson's "doppelganger" in the book :S

It might sound crazy, but the way Gibson described the assassin--- the age and facial features--- it's similar/accurate to his picture at the back of the book.

I don't know. Hopefully, when I finish the book (1/4 more to go) I can relate Gibson to this assassin (e.g. based on what he will do).

Dr. Stephen Ogden said...

Dear "Anonymous:"
I'll wait for that with anticipation.