Essay Questions

What do these stories have to say about masochism in America?

These stories are specifically set in Bloomington, Indiana according to the title, but in reality that city is just a metaphor for America. The author is Indonesian who wrote the stories while spending time in that city and so this collection is, in one sense, a tale of observation of America by a foreign perspective looking inward. What this observation analysis has to say about the country is not exactly uplifting. The first-person narrators relating these stories persistently present a portrait of an American population dominated by masochistic impulses. This self-destructiveness is formulated in a number of different ways. Throughout the collection is a persistence of series of actions which almost seem designed for the purpose of creating isolation and enhancing alienation from others. In addition, many of the characters take the step of actually pursuing actions seemingly aimed at self-interest but without putting enough thought into the long-term consequences which inevitably work against those very same interests.

What is one to make of the persistence of voyeurism in the stories?

If the defining position of analysis of this volume is that it is to be taken commentary on American culture from the perspective of an foreign sensibility, then the most logical conclusion would be that it exists as a critique of a culture content to observe rather than engage. In truth, the critique seems to penetrate much more deeply and say something about those who do engage as well. Most the narrators in the story are actively engaged in the process of peeking into the lives of others. The overwhelming portrayal of secret observation are narrators spying on neighbors, but it is also manifested in other ways, most notably the plagiarist who acts voyeuristically by literally stealing his dead friend’s thoughts written down in verse. The critique of America as a bunch of isolated and alienated people content to sit back and spy on the lives of others would be blistering enough, but then there is the fact that the lives these voyeurs are watching are, consistently, not exactly the most interesting attractions in the world. This critique of American culture by an outsider ultimately seems to suggest that not only is America a distinctly voyeuristic country, but that they have remarkably low standards regarding the quality of what they like to watch.

What does the time period in which these stories were writing seem to suggest about the twin themes of masochism and voyeurism?

This collection was published in 1980 and they were written during the brief period the author actually spent time in Bloomington. This timeline situates the actual composition of the stories during the period when the time Americans spent watching television made its most dramatic spike ever. In the early 1960’s, the average American spent less than five hours a day watching television. After a nearly unbroken streak of increased viewing every year, by the early 1980’s average hourly viewing had risen to more than seven hours a day. In other words, these stories of isolated and alienated people choosing to voyeuristically watch other people doing things of highly questionable actual interest coincide with a nationwide spike in the time Americans spent watching hours and hours of programming often featuring highly questionable entertainment value. Not only had the country reached a peak of inactive interaction with television, but this decision to increase time spent mindlessly watching TV also often resulted in a masochistic decision to not than pursue other activities which might improve their lives or, at the very least, increase their own contentment with their lives