Throughout the novel All the Living by C.E. Morgan,
the main character Aloma often struggles with feelings of despair, wanting
something better than the role she has become stuck with due to her
gender. In order to avoid the reader believing that those feelings that
Aloma has are feelings from the past, Morgan does not explicitly state the time
during which the story unfolds.
Almost all of Aloma’s problems stem from the
farm and from Orren. She longs for a different life, finding her only joy
and “...control of herself at the keyboard” (Morgan 78). Morgan wants the
reader to connect with Aloma, who longs for something new in her life. Every person can somehow relate to wanting
something new or different in their own lives, whether it be a big change such
as the for the one in which Aloma longs, or some small change such as wanting a
different toy when one is little. Even if the connection is small, it is
better for the reader to make a connection than not understand the character
about whom they are reading. The lack of
a date allows the readers to associate their wants with the wants of Aloma
because they do not necessarily consider the time difference because it is not
addressed in the novel.
If Morgan were to include the date in her novel, then the
connection readers can make with Aloma would be limited due to not necessarily
understanding the time in which Aloma lives. It is natural for a reader
to picture the character close to something with which they are familiar if
there are certain details lacking that would therefore indicate otherwise. The lack of a date in the novel allows the
reader to imagine themselves in the shoes of Aloma: cleaning the house, cooking,
wondering why Orren acts the way he does. Whereas the inclusion of a date
to the story could give the reader the thought that they could not possibly
connect with Aloma due to the story taking place so far from the time they
live, rather than imagining the story in a time closer to themselves.
The lack of a date in the novel allows readers to connect on
a deeper level with Aloma because they are more easily able to ignore minor
differences between themselves and Aloma.
Mickey,
ReplyDeleteI have never really thought of this book like this before. I felt like I could relate to the characters but couldn’t really put my finger on why there was such a connection for me. After reading your blog post on how the lack of a time period affects how the reader connects to the writing, I finally got it. This book is in some sort of weird undetermined space in time that allows readers to identify with the main characters. For me, I relate to Aloma’s ability to see the beauty in the broken down. She looks at the old farmhouse and the land and sees how it has beauty, even though it is falling apart and has a lot of sadness associated with it. I also connect with her ability to be hopeful even in her bad situation. If this were set in a specific time with very different political issues, these traits would have a whole other meaning. Her hopefulness could be directly a result of say, a war or economic structure change. These characters would be seen in completely different lights if they were in situations that are distinctly in a specific time.
(The last comment was me I just used the wrong account)
ReplyDeleteMickey,
I have never really thought of this book like this before. I felt like I could relate to the characters but couldn’t really put my finger on why there was such a connection for me. After reading your blog post on how the lack of a time period affects how the reader connects to the writing, I finally got it. This book is in some sort of weird undetermined space in time that allows readers to identify with the main characters. For me, I relate to Aloma’s ability to see the beauty in the broken down. She looks at the old farmhouse and the land and sees how it has beauty, even though it is falling apart and has a lot of sadness associated with it. I also connect with her ability to be hopeful even in her bad situation. If this were set in a specific time with very different political issues, these traits would have a whole other meaning. Her hopefulness could be directly a result of say, a war or economic structure change. These characters would be seen in completely different lights if they were in situations that are distinctly in a specific time.