Examine the presentation of
the theme of ‘home’ in the first 104 pages of ‘A Heartbreaking Work Of
Staggering Genius’
Throughout the memoir ‘A Heart-breaking Work of
Staggering Genius’ Dave explores the appearance and emotion of where he lives
at different stages in the memoir and describes each very differently using a
range of linguistic features reflecting his experiences. The theme home is
clear at every stage of the memoir however changes very often reflecting his
situation and where he currently is living.
In the first
couple of pages in the memoir of ‘A Heart breaking Work of Staggering Genius’,
Dave explores and captures the audience straight away by the way he sets the
scene and describes his house. ‘The house is a factory’ straight away we
understand his family set up Is unnatural and not how a home should be
portrayed. The fact that this is a metaphor very certain of what the house
appears to be, it’s clear that there is something wrong in the family and a
significant sign that something bad is going to happen. The noun ‘factory’ emphasises
a range of ideas that come under its lexical field. It explores the idea of
animalistic and processed daily life that isn’t warm or homely, except tense,
unwelcoming and a horrible environment. Egger describes the homes appearance
through explored linguistic features. He describes the house as ‘dark’,
‘inconsistent’, ‘ugly’, ‘jumbled’, all descriptive adjectives which emphasise
the look and feel of a room. The fact he describes the interior and décor in
this manor shows that the inside of the homes appearance reflects the family’s
situation and circumstances being wrecked and broken.
Again, in the very first few pages of the memoir, we
are introduced to some of the characters including Dave’s mother (Heidi
McSweeney Eggers) who’s name is never mentioned in the book except only
referred to as ‘mother’. We don’t know yet that she is ill but Dave drops small
hints that give us clues in the early stages of the book. ‘I had not cleaned
up… she could not get up to check’ the fact that the mother is seriously ill,
has a very powerful effect on the home environment in this section and we learn
how the family cope in the house. The small, declarative sentences used by
Eggers emphasise there’s not much to explain even though there is, leaving out
emotion and potential descriptive language he could have used reflecting how he
feels and his current emotions towards his mother which he seems to hide. ‘She
does not move from the couch’ the small actions and placement of characters
that Eggers explains, shows off what the life inside the home is like. There
clearly is no major movement or exciting events and everything seems dull and
dismal, again, adding to the unappealing life of the home.
There is a contrast to how the theme of home is
portrayed later on in the memoir when Dave and Toph have to find a place and
live on their own without their parents. ‘ re-create domestic life from
scratch’ The fact that in this particular stage in the memoir Dave Is looking
forward to living on his own suggests he has longed for the freedom for a long
time, something he couldn’t do when he was restricted to looking after his
parents. It’s clear throughout the long description of what Dave thinks life
will be like, he fantasises through the use of extreme adjectives and
descriptive vocabulary to emphasise his vivid dreams. Egger uses a diagram of
the new house to show the layout. There’s a strong comparison of the feeling
and emotion towards the house as Dave describes how the house’s layout is
perfect for ‘sock sliding’. This is a strong link to the theme of home as
Eggers uses multiple linguistic features including expressive punctuation to
get across happy emotions and excitement compared to the dull and restricted
family home he once lived in previously. For a while the novelty continues to
remain strong however soon, there is a breakdown in order.
The novelty of no parents, freedom and reckless
attitude eventually wears off the rebellious attitudes die out and this is
clear through the way Dave describes a breakdown of order and the maintenance
of the house. ‘We lost our inspiration’ typically is expected from two brothers;
however the fact they let standards slip shows abuse of the home they longed
for. However, the fact that they are lazy in keeping their home nice suggests
the idea of comfort and safety, something which to them makes a home. ‘We
scrape through everyday blindly’ Because they have no parents to tell them off,
or guide them with keeping typical cleanliness to a good standard suggests that
they start to feel lonely and abandoned, and possibly miss how their old house
was kept. This is a major contrast to the family home at the beginning of the
memoir as before, the house was immaculate and always kept tidy compared to
Dave’s and Toph’s house now where they face reality of living on their own
which is an adult and mature thing to do, however because they cannot maintain
their home suggests their still both childish and still rely on others.
The entropy when there is a lack of boundaries within
the home and between the two brothers. ‘Don’t …not funny’ Toph in this section
clearly feels unsafe around his brother’s boisterous actions in the kitchen.
The fact that now, after living in the house for a while, it seems that for
Toph, sometimes he doesn’t like living with his brother. This makes the house
seem unsafe for a relatively small child compared to before when they both
thought it was fun and great living on their own. This relates back to the theme
of home as it is worrying and unnatural for a child to feel unsafe in his home.
Dave throughout the memoir is conscious of how Toph feels when Dave goes out in
the evening and getting to places on time however seemingly doesn’t consider
the effect of his own actions. The fact there are caesuras in Tophs speech
reflects hesitation showing Toph is scared of how to approach his brother.
Together, the theme of home is reflected in many ways
throughout the first hundred pages of the memoir. It is expressed through
multiple linguistic features and terminology by the author. There is a clear
swap and change in how home is presented through situations that occur and events
such as moving house and their parents dying that force them to change their
lifestyles. There are oppositional views on home later in the book compared to
really early on when they discover freedom and responsibility, however this
novelty wears off as they realise how much they relied on their parents to look
after the home. Emotion changes also as the book moves on which to the reader
is clear reflecting the characters own emotions and unreliable author.
