Morning in East Germany
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Gfow5J6Y6D_ZQOG9Xvu3b7rcpSfI53zmWilwV9St3as/edit?usp=sharing
Franz von Papen in New Jersey
The Mention of Franz von Papen's military attache, while Tateh and the family are in New Jersey, seemed very strange to me. He shows up for just about a page, and is not seen again, but he is much more mixed up in both the history of the time and the narrative of the family than you might expect. This strange "cameo" somewhat reminds me of Freud's trip through New York. A seemingly random historical figure wanders through our narrative, taking a brief look around, and leaving, without any significant effect on the plot. Both serve to remind us of the historical setting of the novel as well as providing an ironic twist, due to our hindsight. In Freud's case, we are reminded that Freud was writing his works at the same time that this novel is taking place. Then we see him return to Vienna, saying that all of America is a mistake, and complaining about the way they appropriate and ruin European culture, hinting at the figure of JP Morgan, who will only appear later i...
A very 1984-esque portrayal of life in East Germany. I think it works very well. EF's thoughts clearly aren't exactly those of a real East German border guard, yet they get at interesting facets of life in the Eastern Bloc—he stands guard at the border, yet mocks those he does not like as "Honeckers," a political statement at once unexpressable and yet ubiquitous.
ReplyDeleteI really can sense the propaganda that runs through your story about the Great Wall of Berlin. It's interesting to see how East German guard see themselves shooting their own people. I love how you said "wasted enough slo-mo time." because that's exactly how I was visualizing it. It was almost movie-like. I also love the abrupt ending of concluding that Honecker is an asshole.
ReplyDeleteThis was really interesting to read. It sounded somewhat like a propaganda campaign for East Germany, and it was a little disorienting to try to relate this portrayal with how East Germany is portrayed nowadays. I especially found interesting the part about how nobody ever tried to leave East Germany, and how the guards were always preventing other people from entering. It completely subverted my expectations, and i think its very intriguing to look at the Eastern Bloc from the point of view of a border guard.
ReplyDeleteI liked the internal debate you had going where this clearly quite educated guard is really thinking about his decisions before he makes then. You have to imagine that someone in his position would be really skeptical about this idea that he is there to shoot people who are leaving. He talks about East Germany as it is as if they are the free nation, yet he has to think, isn't the West Germany over the wall a freer, richer, version of us?
ReplyDeleteThat was a cool story. I liked the way it was narrated it sounds like the propaganda touting the rising housing, the army, the wall, and the great E F, a patriot guarding the wall. The last paragraph was interesting as EF finds his individuality and realize he isn't like anyone else, and only he can make his decisions.
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