Thursday, May 29, 2008

Question of the Day

Did certain parts of the books make you uncomfortable? If so, why did you feel that way? Did this lead to a new understanding or awareness of some aspect of your life you might not have thought about before?

To answer my own question, I have thought a lot about my reluctance to like Jacob. It took me reading NM three times before I actually felt any sort of sympathy for him. I am still hesitant to feel sorry for him in Eclipse. I like to say it's because I'm fiercely loyal to Edward, but mostly it's because I'm a cold-hearted bitch.

Honestly, some of Bella's behavior in NM reflects some of my college behavior: getting my heart broken and using a nice guy (who obviously liked me) to fill the void. When I was finally over it, I didn't want to have anything to do with Mr. Nice Guy. Mr. Nice Guy became Mr. Super Annoying Guy (to no fault of his own).

So I can totally relate to Bella on this level. And Jacob is the nice guy.

6 enjoyed the bouquet.:

Erin said...

Interesting question. I never really saw Bella as using Jacob (not sure if you're implying that or not), because she cares about him so much as a friend. But I do think it's her fault for not realizing earlier that he was in love with her (and she was with him).

To answer the uncomfortable part...I don't know, really. I'm not nearly as passive as Bella appears to be in a lot of situations, so that bugs me (that Edward kind of bosses her around and Jake can trick her into kissing him, etc.), but yet I can learn something from her quietness and patience since I can probably be abrasive.

I'll keep thinking about that...

alison said...

YES. Bella's supreme inability to do anything for herself, do what she wants, make her own decisions, etc. really bothered me. She really lets herself be at the whim of others. Bella allows herself to be controlled by Edward (and Jacob to some extent) and hardly ever stands up for herself. It also made me very uncomfortable how Edward (and I guess the other characters) were always treating her like she is breakable and can't take care of herself or do anything for herself. She is so small and powerless in the books. And I think this contributes in a large part to why I don't like Edward all that much. I see him as controlling and manipulating; he never allows Bella to see how strong she is because he is always making her decisions and doing everything for her. He makes her think that she can't live without him, which is totally wrong.

I can come up with examples later, if you want--I know that this wasn't exactly supported by documentation as any other super long essay would be.

Jes said...

I think Jacob is the manipulator in these books, but I think that is mostly due to his age and inexpirience. i also have to say I do think Bella uses Jacob, which leads him on and affects the way he treats her. Like I said as part of the last question, I am starting to wonder if I even like Bella.
I don't think Edward is a munipulator. I think he has finally found his mate and he wants to protect her fiercly. This is different from Jacob, because Bella is Edwards mate in return. I've never felt Edward has munipulated Bella for his own sake- but I do feel as if Jacob munipulates Bella for his sake rather than for her own good.

Jes said...

oops- I am not sure I answered the real question- i will soon

Corinne said...

Uncomfortable? I'm not sure. I kept getting irritated that it felt like bella kept having the same fights/arguments over and over again about what she could and could not do and who she could and could not see and why. Some of that felt redundant. Though I'm not sure anything made me feel uncomfortable. I know I had lots of emotions, but don't think that uncomfortable was one of them.

Ryah said...

I agree with Corinne, among all the emotions I felt while reading, uncomfortable was not one of them.
Anger, sadness, lust, depression, happiness, irritation, to name a few.

Oh, and to put my two cents in about Bella using Jacob, I think she did at first. She knew that being around him made her feel better, she new she could never love him the way she loved Edward, she knew that Jacob loved her and would wait for her to "come around" and that she was, in a way, using him. But I know she did eventually fall in love with him for real. The way Jacob never gave up, and continued to love her though she did hurt him, made Jacob really endearing to me :)