Turning Pages

  Why is Peter Walsh so critical of Clarissa Dalloway? Throughout Mrs. Dalloway we hear from multiple characters like Peter, Sally, and even Clarissa that they don't think Clarissa should’ve married Richard. Sally and Peter express that they feel as if Richard was bad for Clarissa. But what exactly was wrong with him? Nothing. Many of the characters in Mrs. Dalloway seemed to actually like Richard as an individual character, they seemed to even have fond memories of him. He was described as an all around nice, clean cut, and decent dude.  It seems like the main reason the characters were so dissatisfied with Clarissa's marriage to Richard was not because Richard was a bad guy but because he was a boring guy. Peter described Clarissa as radical, thought provoking, and inspiring in her youth. Peter makes Clarissa sound like a woman who looked to solve the deeper problems in life and dive into issues that plagued more than the upper crusts of society. Now that she's married to...

  Throughout The Mezzanine Nicholson Baker makes amazing discoveries about everyday life in modern society through the lens of Howie( our main character). Baker does a great job of taking a fictional character and presenting the reader with realistic everyday situations that offer fascinating insights about the unspoken ‘rules’ of modern society. A couple of these ‘rules’ so to speak are, always wait to be excused and always introduce yourself. On page 33. Howie is getting ready to leave the office to go on his lunch break when Tina(a secretary) stops him. Tina and Howie begin to engage in lighthearted small talk when they are interrupted by a phone call. While Tina is on the phone Howie waits for Tina to finish so they can continue their conversation; but as the phone call prolongs the likelihood of their conversation picking up where it left off gets smaller and smaller. So Howie is now stuck in the odd predicament of either leaving and being perceived as rude or staying and bei...