Wonder Boys 131 - 245

The second part of this novel seemed pretty uneventful, and very plot driven. However, one thing theme that seems to connect the first assignment's reading and the second is the idea of ephemeral emotions. I just found it very unsettling how Grady says "I'm a man who falls in love so easily, and with such a reckless lack of consideration for the consequences of my actions...I become, almost by definition, an adulterer" (33). This shows how Grady doesn't view love to be something that is permanent, but rather views love to be an emotion that is and always will be ephemeral. Beyond the idea of love, he further demonstrates how insincere feelings can be. When Sara tell him she doesn't want to keep the baby, Grady was "waiting to feel the sense of relief I [he] knew I [he] ought to be feeling" (82). This demonstrates how planned and inorganic Grady's emotions are. Through these two instances, Grady shows how his emotions (at least) are ephemeral. He doesn't plan to love unconditionally. He views his emotions to be, almost, mechanical. This idea is further developed in the second assignment's reading.

In the second assignment's reading, Grady does not only show how he views love and emotions to be ephemeral, but he also shows this through his words and lack of action. He doesn't place a gravity towards love. Similarly, he doesn't understand the severity or the weight of his words. This is shown when Sara and Grady both say "I hate you," but they are holding each other while saying this (154). When stating this, they both are expressing that they don't truly put worth or meaning behind their words. Grady tells Sara that he is going back to Kinship to meet Emily, and assures Sara that he will them Emily about them (157). However, his words are simply empty when he doesn't tell Emily about Sara. By doing so, it shows how Grady is simply about the words, and simply about satisfying problems instead of actually mending them. Grady just tells Sara he will tell Emily about them, yet doesn't. He just says this to provide comfort to Sara, almost a sense of security. However, he manages to even find ephemeral solutions...solutions that won't last forever.

Grady is someone I would not want to marry. He is a man who not of his word. He says one thing, and doesn't even intend to do it. He simply says what he needs to say to only satisfy a problem. He doesn't do much other than provide words. He even says to Sara, " 'I want to be with you' ... I was not in the least certain whether I meant what I said, nor just what the implication of this statement might be..." (156). When he says this, Grady just proves my point. He doesn't take anything seriously: love, marriage, words. He only says words he believes are words that person might want to here at the moment. He views love to be ephemeral, feelings as well...and because of this he only provides ephemeral solutions. (I know I have been using this word a lot, maybe it's because I strongly believe it's a motif of some sort).