Key Passage Response: "The Obscure Object"
Quote:
I'd never seen a creature with so many freckles before. A Big Bang had
occurred, originating at the bridge of her nose, and the force of this explosion
had sent galaxies of freckles hurtling and drifting to every end of her curved,
warm-blooded universe. There were clusters of freckles on her forearms
and wrists, an entire Milky Way spreading across her forehead, even a few
sputtering quasars flung into the wormholes of her ears. (323)
Explanation: In this part of Middlesex, Callie, an eighth grader, is in her academic environment surrounded by the plants of the greenhouse. Here, she takes English with her Brazilian teacher, Mr. da Silva, and four other students. After a semester, a redheaded girl, whom Cal refers to as the Obscure Object, enters their classroom, telling the class about her transfer from a different class. The quote above is Callie's description of the girl's physical appearance, specifically her freckles.
Analysis: In this excerpt, and in many other excerpts from the novel, Eugenides uses strong diction. For this specific passage, the diction Eugenides uses is from space jargon. The first phrase Callie uses is "A Big Bang", which is known as the beginning of the universe and everything within that universe. The "Big Bang" used in Callie's description is used to explain where the Obscure Object's "galaxies of freckles" began. The metaphor here compares the girl's freckles to stars. Eugenidies then continues with the space jargon by adding in words and phrases such as "universe", "clusters of freckles", Milky Way", "sputtering quasars" and "wormholes". These words and phrases give off a sense of something not of our world. In other words, Callie description of the Obscure Object makes the girl seem as if she is "a creature" and not human.
In addition, there are other words and phrases in the passage that uses imagery. Some of these words and phrases include "bridge of her nose", "explosion", "hurtling and drifting to every end", "curved, warm-blood", "spreading across her forehead", and "flung". Many of these visuals add to the shape and direction of the Obscure Object's physical appearance. For instance, "bridge of her nose" can be related to a curved shaped nose. Also, the verbs, "hurtling and drifting", "spreading", and "flung" shows a noun being thrown or pushed away. Readers may get a feeling of distance and space since her freckles are described as moving outwards from her nose.
In terms of themes, being different or doing something out of the norm compared to others seems to be common. Throughout the novel, incest was mentioned and since incest is a societal taboo, committing incest was seen as wrong and different than what majority people do. Callie is different in terms of her growth and who she is. Her late puberty, her love interests, and her biological body makes her different according to societal norms.
In this passage, Callie is the one who describes the girl as different. The first way Callie does this is by calling the girl "a creature". The word, "creature", reminds us of something not humanly and not of our world, which makes her seem as if she is a different species. Second, Callie calls her the Obscure Object. The word obscure, which means unknown, vague, and unclear, already separates what is known from what is unknown. For Callie, the girl is unknown because Callie does not know much about her besides her appearances. Lastly, by using space jargon, the description of the girl makes her seem as she is far away from Earth. In other words, she is not of Earth, and therefore, is different compared to humanity.
Works Cited
Eugenides, Jeffrey. "Book Three: The Obscure Object" Middlesex. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2002. 323. Print.
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