Friday, November 9, 2007

The Seventies...

My book named Bad Haircut by Tom Perrotta portrays life of the seventies in an ideal way. In a way in which is too "perfect" to fit the seventies genre which causes one to think, "Oh, Is he making fun of this era and American's reactions to what occurred in the seventies?" I will venture a guess and say, "Yes!" Perrotta uses his stylistic writing and witty humor to more or less mock the era of the seventies and put them in a perspective not many people have seen it from. For example Perrotta writes, "...a few nights ago, he said, when his Dad was out, he had seen his brother's girlfriend with her shirt off. Allen's brother was a hippie. He looked like Jesus and wore an army coat with a peace sign on the back."(Perrotta 3). This situation that is described fits like a perfect puzzle piece in the seventies, everyone looked like Jesus back then and were walking peace signs. Also the two younger boys being fascinated with the idea of seeing a girl without her shirt is just perfect for the time period. Tom Perrotta is satirizing the seventies period by making it so perfect fit that it is just humorous. Another example is when Perrotta writes, "..a bunch of tough-looking teenagers were slouched against a black GTO, smoking cigarettes and scowling at the Wiener Man..."(Perrotta 5). Doesn't this passage just scream, "SEVENTIES!"? This image is just like it was taken straight from the seventies era and placed perfectly right into the book. Perrotta humors me and I look forward to more picturesque scenes of the seventies.

1 comment:

Nam P 3 said...

I like how you start off big with a major idea and support it with a quote. However, going down the entry, you lose support. Your idea delves into separate "branches of ideas" whereas you should really stick with one for the time being, but keep those other ideas in mind as you go along. Your lines of "Also the two younger boys being fascinated with the idea of seeing a girl without her shirt is just perfect for the time period" confuses me. Why would two boys, fascinated with a shirtless female, be perfect for the seventies? Though, you make the book sound interesting enough to make me want to read it. Keep it up and I hope to find more humor and "picturesque scenes of the seventies."