Varieties of The Fantastic in Fiction

“The Semplica Girl Diaries” by George Saunders is a first person narrative by a less-than-affluent father of two daughters and one son. The narrative is written as journal entries that span over a year in time, with fragmented sentences and rambling thoughts. The format of the writing and language used creates convincing journal entries.

Within the story there are many moments of discrepancy between lower class and upper class, highlighted by the differences in Lilly’s versus Leslie’s house, and specifically yard. It is intentional that the yard is emphasized as a key difference between the different classed families, as the yard is an outward representation of what is inside. Semplica girls (SGs) act as an adornment to this outward representation, and stand as a symbol of wealth and status to the characters in the story.

The SGs however are a grotesque actuality of attempting to show off status or indulge in what has been set as the status quo of class. They are exploited. Within the story this exploitation is not limited to the historically wealthy families, as the narrator ends up investing in SGs himself after winning a scratch-off ticket. He defends this investment as being a nice treat, and that the lives of the SGs now is better than their origins. This is a key argument many people use in defending exploitation of immigrant workers, or exploiting people with a grim background. Activists, and Eva, seem to be the only ones to question the morality of the SGs, and Eva questions her father and goes so far as to release the SGs. The sensitivity and innocence that Eva displays cuts through the cognitive dissonance her father has, though not fully, as by the end of the story he still does not fully grasp Eva’s point of view, but he considers it.

The story “Semplica Girl Diaries” was incredibly written to me. The way that the story actually takes shape as a diary was something that I did not expect even though it was in the title. The story, while having a very important message, also takes a comical route with portraying this message. The use of stereotypes is very prevalent, but the way the author introduces them it puts them in a comical light  which can also make it easier to understand.

The stereotype that is touched on right at the beginning. I really like a line that the author wrote that I think touches on a feeling that a lot people have, but don’t admit that they are feeling.

Just reread the last entry and should clarify. Am not tired of work. It is a privilege to work. I do not hate the rich. I aspire to be rich myself. And when we finally do get our own bridge, trout, treehouse, SGs, etc., at least will know we really earned them, unlike, say, the Torrinis, who, I feel, must have family money.

It is a bit ironic that the narrator points out that they do not hate the rich, but also goes on to discredit a rich family that they know. I think that a lot of others can relate to what the author pointed out here. There is also a lot of comparison in the story between the rich and the poor. The want to be accepted by other families of high status, but also the narrator’s own children/family. I think there could also be a hint of self pleasure as well. I found this to be a very interesting contrast.

In “Semplica Girl Daires” a father starts writing in a journal about his day. The family is not rich but also not poor but somewhere in the middle. Their daughter, Lily, has a birthday coming up and she wants things that are out of their budget. But one day the father wins $10,000 in a scratch off ticket and the family decides to throw Lily a surprise birthday party. He goes all out for the party and makes the neighbors jealous with their lawns and the SGs in the front yard. The children start to feel bad about the SGs and decides to set them free without telling their parents.

This leads to a big problem with the parents, cops and the company that they bought the SGs from. The parents accidently talked about losing the house in front of the children. This made the children upset and the parents had to calm them down and tell them that they are not going to lose the house. The parents cannot tell the cops what happen because they do not want the children to have this on their record.

This story is about being happy with what you got. Things might turn around for a little bit but don’t spend all that money on things that are useless. What matters most is being together and happy.

Reading The Semplica Girls Diaries really through me for a loop. At first I thought we would just be getting a story about a Father, his life, and inner thoughts. Saunders did do a great job in creating the MC and letting us into his inner world about the struggles with money, with children, and everything else an adult has to deal with everyday. But as the story goes on we find that this story is actually much darker. At a party for one of his daughter’s rich friends we are introduced to the Semplica Girls who are referred to often as SGs. SGs are girls who have come from other countries looking for shelter and a better life to live. This girls are nothing more than landscape objects and symbols of status. Basically modern day slavery.

While I read this I can’t help but read this with mindset that I am reading through the point of view of a slaveowner basically. Everyone in this society does not look at the girls as people but merely objects. Even when the girls run away the MC asks “why would they run away when they were being treated well?” they ran away because they are people and they are allowed to want better for themselves than just being someone’s land ornament. Eva who is often described as “sensitive” is the only one with some humanity outside of her own status and saw the SGs as actual human girls so she let them go.When the family the poor the MC had a resented the rich for making poorer people feel less than. But the moment they get money the first thing they do is buy SGs. It is hypocritical but real that when people are in lower positions they think they are more humane and “realer” than the rich but often when people get any large sum of money their morals change. So I think the main lesson I learned from this story is the money is truly the root of evil in all societies past, present, and future.

“The Semplica Girl Diaries” by George Saunders is one of the most interesting stories we’ve read this semester, as well as one of the most boring. Its omission of many words like “I” and “are” gave it a new level. In the beginning, the narrator writes that he is keeping this diary for future generations. Perhaps this story is meant to be read as a future generation’s imperfect translation of the original diary, and that is why there are grammatical errors. If so, I think it could also be a commentary on how we look at historical wrongdoings. We look back to slavery and discrimination and wonder how it was ever a social normality to behave that way towards other human beings. With this story, I imagine the future generations wondering how it was ever considered even slightly okay, much less fashionable and cool, to string up women in your yard as decoration.

I realized how boring this story is when I noticed just how similar it is to real life. It isn’t new news that we do plenty of unacceptable things without thinking about whether or not we should be doing them. Additionally, none of the characters had unexpected personalities. Saunders seems to have based his characters on popular stereotypes. There is the typical father of a struggling-but-still-swimming family who loves his wife and kids and worries about others’ perceptions of him and the size of his wallet. There is the kind-hearted little girl who is too naive to know that these horrors aren’t actually horrors but good, acceptable parts of society. There is also the rich family, the bastard father-in-law, the racist guy named Jerry. They added to the political commentary of the story, but also made it into the type of story everyone already knows.

I did find the idea of Semplica Girls to be very new and unique. It’s an odd enough concept to be unrealistic but it is presented in a way that makes it seem as if, one day, with the right technology, upper class individuals might really start hanging girls up in their yards. If we could convince ourselves that we’re doing the Semplica Girls a favor, as the characters in the story do, then just how unlikely would it be? It lets wealthy individuals play into their white savior roles so they can commit human rights violations under the guise of helping those in need.

It’s fascinating that the rights of these women aren’t really brought up. The narrator doesn’t stop to consider that to hang in a yard for months and years on end would be detrimental to one’s mental abilities. Those girls are missing out on their educations, social lives, personal connections, physical exercise, and so much more. I can’t imagine they could ever function properly, physically or mentally, after spending so much of their formative years just hanging like Christmas ornaments. Where do they go when it’s storming, when it’s snowing, when the sun is blazing? All of this is just glossed over, clearly unimportant to the narrator, who is more concerned with appearing to have more money than he does. What injustices do we contribute to that we gloss over because they are normalized? Will future generations look upon us with the same disgust we look upon our ancestors with? More importantly, what can we do to right our wrongs?

“The Semplica Girls Diaries” by George Saunders has a very interesting tone. It is established that the narrator grew up very poor, and therefore does not have the best education or the best job. This is reflected in the writing style, which uses incomplete sentences and simple terms; the tone feels matter-of-fact and naïve.

This story starts out with the narrator relaying a very relatable situation. He very clearly cares about his family, and wants them to have a better life. That being said, the way he goes about doing it is not the best. It is sadly a situation that is very easy to get into, and the temptation to use newly found wealth on something frivolous and meager (especially in regards to long term effects) is a strong one. The narrator decides after winning the scratch off (and discussing with his wife, who first suggests to do something smart with the money) that they should spend it on surprising their daughter for her birthday. This decision causes the issue of SGs to be brought up and explained to the reader, and we understand just how horrible SGs are. The morality of this situation is not an issue for the narrator, who again, seems to have a very limited idea of life due to a lack of education and experience (or learning from experience). In fact, he considers SGs purpose to be beneficial to their personal lives, essentially downplaying the situation. The only one that is greatly affected by this is Eva, who is described to be an empathetic person by the narrator. I found it interesting that she is younger and has a better idea of the world than the narrator (at least morally.)

Social aspects of society have deemed material things to be a sign of quality life, though this is not the case. This story demonstrates the consequences of putting material things over necessities, or over the lives of other people. Sometimes we may feel like we are doing the right thing, though it may be to benefit only ourselves, only for a short period of time. In the long run, what is the right thing to do? Most of the time it is not the easy thing to do.

Steven Millhauser’s “A Change in Fashion” and “A Precursor of The Cinema” are two stories about art; they explore notions of art and literature and the relationship between artist and creation, creation and viewer, artist and viewer. 

In “A Change in Fashion” a shift in designer trends contributes to the ever concealing and expanding creation of extravagant dresses. These dresses evolve and come to be stand-alone forms with no wearers, then the status-quo shifts back to a simplistic style, and the public is left with only nostalgic remnants of the fabric that once were sewn larger than rooms. The dresses, as pieces of art and literature, become “[liberated] from the tyranny of the body,” and “sheltered [artists] from sight…[and] allowed them to bring forth forbidden longings.” However, the relationship between dress and wearer, artist and creation, is complicated. While art and literature are a shedding of bodily form, a shield from physicality, the paradox lies in that “[artists are] never more naked than when concealed from view,” the expression of oneself, one’s emotions in a piece of art can be more vulnerable, a greater invasion of privacy, than standing physically naked. 

“A Precursor of The Cinema” is a story in the nineteenth century of an artist and innovator named Harlan Crane. Throughout his artistic journey Millhauser gives fantastical detail of Crane’s art, and the animated motion of his paintings. Crane’s art is extremely evocative, and acts as a theatrical exploration of how viewers interact with art. This can be applied to all art, including literature. A resonating piece of art can “enact for mass audiences, through modern technology, an ancient mystery” and can draw people to “unfamiliar and alluring dreams.” The story explores the darker side of art, in Crane’s last exhibition, there is chaos and upset from the viewers interacting with the art. Pieces of literature can consequently erupt mass upset, and sometimes insight violence. This is often followed by condemnation of the art and artist, misplaced blame for mishandling of emotion of the masses.

This week I decided to read “A Change In Fashion” by Steven Millhauser. The story seems to discuss the trends in fashion that are taking place in this world, but it also goes much more deeper than that. There is a new trend of clothing that is gaining a lot of attention when it comes to women and men alike for different reasons, which is very realistic in today’s world. Women are drawn to these designs because of the secrecy they allow them to have. They cover their bodies which covers what makes them insecure. Men on the other hand are intrigued. Even though women’s bodies are completely covered they are still seen as sexual objects. This goes to show that no matter what a woman wears her body will still be sexualized. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Towards the end of the story the trend changes  more to something else more “normal” which again is very realistic. It seems to try and explain the way certain pieces of clothing are looked at and how women’s bodies are looked at which is something that needs to be discussed more and acknowledged.

In “A Change in Fashion” dresses kept being design not for wear but for art. Women used to wear long dresses that fitted their body but that all changed when a designer made hoop dresses. He made dresses that were bold in design and covered the women’s body from head to toe. The only part that was not hidden was their eyes, nose, and mouth. Soon more people began to follow his footsteps and make these kinds of dresses. The dresses became big and wide as houses with doors that can lead someone into the dresses. Some even had a whole suite and gardens underneath their dresses.  women could not move in the dresses, but they were able to escape from the dresses without no one noticing them to hang out together wearing their robes.

What the story is about was hard to point out. I believe the story is about how fashion hides what is underneath to protect women’s weakness. Clothes and makeup are like armor and war paint for women to hide their weakness and vulnerability.

In “A Precursor of the Cinema” art is beginning to have movement right in front of the audiences. A man called Harlan Crane, created oil painting that were still but some paintings looked like they moved. This was a bibliography of his life from around 30 years old until he disappeared. He created painting with people moving in the painting and leaving the painting. The information that was given was by his friend, W.C. Curtis.

This story is about keep trying on your inventions and your life. Don’t stick to any rules that society has passed down to you. Even if you fail, don’t give up, try again and again.

“The vast, enclosing composition seemed at first to be painted entirely black, but slowly other colors became visible, deep browns and blackish reds, while vague shapes began to emerge.”

Steven Millhauser’s ability to craft the wonderment of the impossible through possible ways produces a narrative that reflects feasible realities, fabricating a sense of uneasiness and disturbance in worlds not that far off from our own. This can be displayed in his story “A Precursor of the Cinema” which depicts a frighteningly interactive form of painting; a cinematic masterpiece of perturbed art brought to life. You surrender to his words, lulled into a false sense of safety, and before you know it, something absolutely crazy has just taken place.

“A Precursor of the Cinema” visualizes the concept of motion pictures in an entirely new way, although not new? Rather, Millhauser depicts what moving images had the possibility of being, taking an idea once familiar and turning it into something not recognized by today’s standards. This almost feels like a “what could have been” or even “what might be” situation. This reality is not unfathomable, although harboring fantastical qualities.

“He teases us, this man who is neither one thing nor another, who swerves away from the history of painting in the direction of the cinema, while creating a lost medium that has no name.”

The story takes place in a time prior to our own and gives off the impression of a past age. We follow the narrative of an artist by the name of Harlan Crane, a painter who has uncovered the ability to move his work. He has essentially created a way to make interactive art through means not properly defined and concrete, but it’s best to assume that fantastical technology plays some formative part.

His works, while beginning as docile and harmless, began to transition into properties much more ominous, giving the impression that something baleful and menacing is unfolding. Which is an interesting concept, given the history that art has had in terms of societal censorship. Plato once famously stated that because art is an imitation of life and events, it creates an illusion of ordinary experiences, and therefore, it is a copy of a copy of a form. An untrue imitation, a falsification of natural life. So in theory, works of art at best are entertainment, and at worst a dangerous delusion.

“The time may be near when the image will be released from its ancient bondage to cave wall and frame and screen, and a new race of beings will walk the earth. On that day the history of the cinema will have to be rewritten, and Harlan Crane will take his place as a prophet.”

Source.

“A Change in Fashion” by Steven Millhauser features, as usual for Millhauser, a wild concept that is obsessed over. In this case, it is a new form of women’s fashion that creates the Age of Concealment. Women start to wear large clothes that erase their forms underneath, making it impossible to determine what they look like. Their heads are slowly covered more and more until they are truly just walking, shapeless blobs of fabric. The narrator discusses its sharp contrast to the more revealing and provocative clothing worn by teenage girls in the past. He also comments on the seductiveness of these women being covered up, a sort of forbidden fruit that contain knowledge you crave. I think this part of the story could be a commentary on a common occurrence in human history and human behavior. We want that which we can’t have or don’t know about. Women are already often treated as objects to be desired, and using their clothing to hide them was an interesting idea of Millhauser’s. 

It was also interesting to consider how much control women really had in this situation. Yes, they are using their right to cover up to empower themselves, but it is still at a man– Hyperion’s– suggestion. I did enjoy that they were being so bold as to wear clothing the size of rooms and even buildings, but I wonder why Millhauser added in Hyperion’s character, and why Hyperion is a man. I feel that, for me, it detracted from what could have been a story purely about women being in control of how they are perceived by men. It is a fascinating idea, one that I’d love to see in real life, just to experience men’s reactions to it. 

I think that was something the author captured accurately, by suggesting that men still saw women as sexualized beings even when they could only see their clothes. Just the idea of a woman is treated as inherently sexual in this story, and I don’t think it’s too far off from reality. I’m curious if this was Millhauser’s intention, or if his own worldviews are bleeding into his story.

I think the ending was an accurate depiction of what would really happen. Women’s dresses grow to enormous sizes and they use this to their advantage, to go hang out in their bathrobes at the neighbor’s house. And, of course, they are only discovered when men break boundaries and take a forceful bite of the fruit they have been forbidden from touching.

‘A Change in Fashion’ by Steven Millhauser takes the reader to the common issue of fashion. There are always times in which fashion seems to cross the line between fashion and nonsensical clash of fabrics, and Steven Millhauser seems to emphasize that concept. Fashion is a continuously changing concept that can change from generation to generation, and in this story we are taken to a world in which fashion is determined by how much can be hidden.

One of the themes which struck out to me was the idea that women felt comfortable in the idea that hiding oneself from the gaze of men was, and at the same time it is a form of revealing oneself without seeing skin. This was interesting since it seemed to imply that hiding in cloths could also be sexualized in the way that revealing cloths is sexualized. Additionally, his descriptions of the cloths often seemed to be satirical and overly exaggerated to make fun of the way in which this happens in real life. How women buy pieces of cloths in order to feel more beautiful or more in touch with time regardless of how inconvenient the garment actually is.

There was also a theme of change. The women who had been in the time of revelation, have become weary of the time and desire for something different. Hence, the sense of fashion changes to overly modest, in which everything is hidden from view. Which is also illustrated by the cloths and how they are a form of change from styles which were once popular. Some of the ways in which cloths come to life is to bring back styles which used to be in style, but adding new things to these garments. Which was done in the story, and shows the desire to bring back things from the past, while still maintaining a form of change from the original.

“A Change In Fashion” by Steven Millhauser once again made use of a collective third person narrator that describes things much like a documentary. The focus of this story was on fashion, and how it seems to change drastically over time. Fashion trends come and go throughout the decades, and often times certain trends come back in a slightly different way. Millhauser addresses this in the beginning of the story:

It was as if, after half a century of reckless exposure, a weariness had overcome women, a yearning for withdrawal, a disenchantment with the obligation to invite a bold male gaze.”

That being said, I found it interesting that it focused on women’s fashion in particular. Women’s fashion in more recent years has been  somewhat revealing, not leaving much to the imagination, whereas the fashion change that takes place in this story suggests something else entirely. The fact that more of the body is covered makes it more interesting; it’s the not knowing that makes it more enticing. This idea becomes more vivid and tangible as more advancements are made to women’s dresses. Some are suspected to have miniature rooms underneath the skirts, and some dresses become so large that they cover whole houses and lawns, making the women seem to disappear altogether. The thrill of the dresses makes them a work of wearable art, and this fashion influences society for quite a while.

However, this too eventually fades, and the large, and overbearing dresses fade into barely a memory. Only a few seem to recall that the change had ever even happened. This is very similar to historical events. The people that lived during that time carried the memory, but over time the recounting of events warped and changed, or completely faded altogether.

“A Change in Fashion” by Steven Millhauser was a humorous composition that dramatized the ever-changing style of clothing. This was not an easy piece to read at first, and I became confused on several occasions. Due to my lack of knowledge about Elizabethan fashion, it was hard for me to picture the dresses he described. The author also discusses the Elizabethan period, when certain aspects of a woman’s body were enlarged, and compares those clothes to some of the Contemporary fashion, which included large material folding. Clothes equivalent to those of the past. Teenagers assist in the reprocessing of fashion concepts since they are frequently dissatisfied with current fashion patterns and hues. They’re a good demographic to introduce risky “modern” trends to. Millhauser comments on the fashion trends that many people buy into by overemphasizing various fashion trends. For instance, the author mentioned a clothing that was said to contain a side door that led to a sitting area with a lamp. This is a very absurd dress concept. Millhauser suggested completely covering the recipient’s face with cloth folds that could be folded back over your house. Some of the outfits mentioned were too enormous to wear indoors which had to be worn elsewhere. Men who thought they were talking to ladies were sometimes talking to a dress that was standing up on its own. Dresses that are too tight or high heels that are too high are worn by women to look stylish. Millhauser is correct when he accidentally states that we are obsessed with our bodies. It isn’t necessarily a terrible thing. As absurd as it may sound, fashion designers persuaded women to buy these outfits in order to stop worrying about their figures. Fashion designers persuaded ladies to buy these outfits so they wouldn’t have to worry about their figures. It may sound ridiculous, yet stylists, publication, and other organizations strive to persuade us that history’s fashions are essential.