While preparing for this response, I asked
myself why the author, Rainbow Rowell, had chosen the mid-80s as the setting
for Eleanor & Park. I checked her
on-line bio and found that Rowell was born in 1973; she would have been about
13 years old for the majority of the story. My first impression, after
completing the book, was overall a positive one, but I was left thinking: this backdrop is 30 years old! I understood the movie, music, literary, and
even the bus-riding references without having to look up the explanations or definitions
or context. The book was very well-received, as I found it had won as least
seven (7) literary awards (the cover of the copy I purchased listed it as a #1 New York Times bestseller and a 2014
Michael L. Printz Honor Book for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, to name
just two). So, what, given today’s tech-saturated life, made this book a
success, given its almost “historical novel” perspective.
Then, it hit me. Music was such an integral
part of the story that I would argue that it was another character. From the
first time we meet Park on the bus to the last page where Rowell writes, “It
filled his head with song lyrics,” I was struck by how Eleanor and Park’s shared
love of music helped meld their solos to a duet. (Rowell 5; 325) The variety of
music that was their soundtrack was impressive; it covered the 60s (Joni
Mitchell and The Beatles), the 70s (Bread), and the 80s (from Danzig to Henry
Rollins/Black Flag to Foreigner to The Smiths). Music literally moved Eleanor
and Park closer – the book jacket shows the two of them sharing headphones.
For context, let’s remember that MTV had
launched almost exactly five years prior (August 1981). MTV afforded a
generation access and exposure to artists that weren’t readily available via
AM/FM radio, something that Eleanor acknowledged during their first real
discourse (Rowell 45). And I believe Rowell purposely chose music that wasn’t
mainstream to accompany and frame Eleanor and Park’s budding relationship – a
sort of misfit music for misfits. So when Park shared his Walkman and The
Smiths (Rowell 52) with Eleanor that first time, he opened up a world for her,
in both music and emotion. This newly-discovered shared love of music drew them
closer to each other, while helping insulate them from the rowdy kids in the
back of the bus.
The mix tapes that Park made for Eleanor also
became a sort of lifeline for those days they were separated. Her home life was
filled with ugliness, abuse and neglect; those mix tapes provided Eleanor with
a means of escape, if only while the AA batteries that Park gave her lasted. (Rowell
56-7) There’s a sort of irony here, too, because even as Eleanor listens to
some contemporary track by The Smiths, she is completed cut off from other types
of communication. Her house has no phone or cable and likens her environment to
living underground. (Rowell 81) Here, again, I believe Rowell showcased
Eleanor’s loneliness and detachment. I could not help but feel the poignancy of
Eleanor’s plight. She had to feel torn between the safety of her loneliness
(this almost equated to invisibility for Eleanor – it was safer for her if she
could erase herself from her environs) and the warmth of Park’s friendship. Rowell
wrote, “She practiced being in a room without leaving any clues that she’d been
there.” (36) I think Rowell wanted
readers to grasp Eleanor’s turmoil - how do you reconcile the need to hide with
the need to be loved? Of course,
readers, as well as Park and his family, are led to the conclusion that
Eleanor’s physical, emotional and mental well-being rely on that need to be
invisible, especially to her step-father Ritchie.
Rowell didn’t include lyrics with most of the
songs she referenced, but I found myself calling them to mind on several
occasions as I read: when Eleanor first
visited Park and his family, she noted that Wang Chung was on MTV – I wondered
if it was “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” (Rowell 124); as Eleanor and her mother
walked home on their “field trip” – her mom was humming “Both Sides Now”
(Rowell 182); and, when Eleanor heard something like “Mother” – she hated it
because she felt Danzig was yelling at her (Rowell 230).
As the book continues, song titles become a
running summation of their relationship, from “Breakin’ Us in Two” to “I Want
to Know What Love Is” to a Bon Jovi song that I imagined was “Livin’ On a
Prayer.” In the final analysis, I can
see why Park’s head was filled with song. Music truly connected Eleanor and
Park, and it continues to connect all those willing to lend an ear (or AA
batteries).
Works Cited
Rowell,
Rainbow. Eleanor & Park. New
York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2013. Print.
Your closing is adorable! ^___^
ReplyDeleteOkay, but to a more thoughtful response to your response paper. I really loved how you argued slightly for music being its own entity within the novel. It does make sense, because many times it was the driving force that allowed them to be together and share thoughts without having to speak a word to each other. This intangible element Rowell places in the novel is ultra romantic, yet mysterious at the same time. Could this be what point she is trying to make by placing the setting in the mid-80s? The book remains so popular to children who's parents were only a little peanut, yet young adults eat up the romance and tragedy that surround Eleanor and Park.
While I do think Rowell chooses carefully what references she places in the novel, I believe in the same flip of the coin that the 100% understanding of these references are not important to the younger generations that will read. I only say this because I think knowing ~some~ about the artists and titles of these songs gives enough information away. Maybe teachers could allow students to do an analysis on the lyrics of the songs, but the titles are enough to showcase the emotion that is taking place.
I really like how you tie this all together. I think it would be interesting to have a class be able to pick out the different references and do a deep analysis on that song, the time period, or the artists and what they were experiencing. It might shed even more light about Eleanor and Park than what we can even imagine!
Kelly,
ReplyDeleteI once took a history class at shepherd where we discussed history from the late 1940s to the present day through the lens of music and pop culture. The book for this class was actually called "All Shook Up," which is, obviously, a reference to Elvis. We were able to structure a class this way because music has always been a very import of American history, especially when so many artists would use historical or political references in their music as a way to preserve moments within two minutes and forty-five second track. Sometimes, I feel like we forget how closely the music of our generation is tied to who we ARE as a generation. If you pick any decade randomly from history, most likely you will immediately recall a musician, song, or genre that is significant to that generation.
It is really great that you are thinking about these details as an entity that is so important. Because it is important. What music Eleanor and Park like is just as important to their character description as their hair color and their choice of clothing.
I believe that this is also something that every student can still relate to. Sure, the music is different, but their generation will be defined by their music just like the 80s and 90s and 10s.
Now that you have brought up this point of music as a character, I wonder if we couldn't think of music as a character in every novel. Using recalled audio cues in a written work are never there without a purpose. They are meant to add something to the experience. I have a lot of thinking to do now about music in books! Great observation!