Characters in Young Adult Novels

¶ … Indian and Feed

One way Arnold tries to change his perspective of race and poverty is through drawing. Drawing allows him a momentary, albeit fantasy, escape from his reality: "I draw because I want to talk to the world. And I want the world to pay attention to me" (Alexie, p. 5). Arnold goes on to state that his drawing pen is like his tool of choice, that he feels special when he wields it, and that he hopes to "be somebody important. An artist" (Alexie, p. 5). Illustrating offers him a way out of his reservation and his "identity" as an Indian. It offers him a window into a new world where he gets to set the perspective rather than have everyone else set it for him.

Throughout the narrative, Arnold also uses an extreme form of irony to convey the overall ridiculousness of "typing" people by race and/or monetary value or economic status. He calls out the doctor for thinking Indians are only half human and therefore only need half the pain medicine. He calls out his friend's racist father for warning Arnold that he better not get his daughter pregnant so that she has to carry a half-breed, despite the fact that Arnold is simply her friend and has no such intentions.

At every turn, Arnold calls out the hypocrisy of others (if only in his journal), pointing out the cruelty of the silly world which stubbornly insists on asserting a ridiculous perspective that views others as though they were worms, all based on a sense of "types" and where every "type" belongs and how every "type" deserves to be treated.

2.

My initial impression of the "feed" was that it was intrusive; however, I was not surprised by how such a large percentage of the population used it. Sometimes people don't mind being intruded upon (as for instance when they travel through an airport and wait in line to be "searched"). Anderson's book reflects this intrusiveness in a way, using environmental and technological themes. For example, the fact that Titus and Violet are on the moon when their feeds crash just shows how the feed has them so locked into a prison, which extends outside their minds to their own reality (the fake clouds, the deadly water), that they have to physically leave the planet before the author can even begin to take them out of their artificial world implanted in their minds. Otherwise, if their feeds were to crash while at home, the experience would not be as impactful. He has to put them on the moon first, so that they at least have a chance at coming to themselves in a way that their ordinary environment would not permit.

There is also the problem of the feed distracting its users from real-world issues. Titus and his friends are so caught up m-chatting and communicating "telepathically" that they fail to understand the world in which they live and consequently themselves. They are detached from their environment and consider technology to be their environment, but it is actually like a prison. Their native country is polluting the earth and other world powers are considering going to war with them over the problem.

Anderson does not give much hope for the characters, except for the knowledge that "everything must go," (Anderson, p. 299) which is sort of like "this too shall pass." In the end the feed entirely consumes the characters, it takes away memory and the ability to function. Titus can only tell Violet the story of their meeting as though it were a movie trailer. Their functions are so limited that it is impossible to connect for any longer than a snippet or two.

Anderson appears to be cautioning us against the abuses of technology, which can seriously dehumanize us to such an extent that we fail to appreciate what it means to be alive. The book is sad because the characters are so trapped and helpless in a world they did not create.

3.

The lack of connection in Feed is one of the themes: everyone is so connected to the feed that they cannot possibly connect with each other. Titus and Violet are only able to become really close because their feeds are hacked and crash while they are on the Moon. But once they are plugged back into the feed, their connection with each other suffers. Indeed, it gets worse as Violet's feed goes haywire and completely shuts down her body.