Normal
I wouldn't know normal if it came up and slapped me across the face. I just wouldn't. For a variety of reasons.
And I like it that way.
But . . . I had a mini-revelation while driving yesterday. I realized that the theme of "being normal" runs through not only my books, but many others. Because for characters who don't fit "the norm," there is a longing to be like everyone else. Whereas I embrace my eccentricities, many characters do not. In High School Bites, which I wrote under my YA pen name, Lucy just wants to be like everyone else, instead of destined to be a vampire hunter from a long line of women who hunted Dracula himself. Adolescence, where most teens struggle with learning their place in the world, is ripe for insecurities about what is "normal." So YA literature often explores that. But even look at Jason Bourne. His character wants out of the spy game. He wants to know who he is. To get back from normalcy.
On the flip side, there are many people who are "normal" who long to be more than normal. People who desire extreme fame and fortune, or who are stuck in a small town, longing for the lights of the big city.
I never wished for normal. But now I see the theme everywhere.
Thoughts?
16 comments:
What's "normal"? ;-)
As a former entertainer on the fringe of the country music biz, puppet maker, ventriloquist, etc., the theme of seeking acceptance and the need to belong runs through my writing a great deal.
YET, I enjoy and relish being the eccentric aunt or being considered odd or different.
I suspect someday I'll be the lady who writes those "strange" books, and I look forward to standing out in that realm.
Us "unlike" folks add spice and flavor to life, don't you think?
Kathy
Hmm, this is a toughie. I agree with you and Kathy, finding 'normal' is a theme through pretty much everything I write and most of what I read, but what's 'normal'?
I'd say its relative to where you're looking for acceptance. I mean, a guy in a pink satin thong would feel pretty damn abnormal in a football locker room, but he might feel the epitome of 'normal' at a cocktail party with Rue Paul???
I think overall, I'm fairly 'normal', but I know a lot of people who would argue that. ;-)
"Normal" is such an unattractive state that I would change my favorite color* if doing so would separate me from the masses.
*Yellow. Not normal. I'm safe.
Hi kathy:
I like the idea of being the eccentric aunt, too.
:-)
E
Lainey, Kathy . . .
I have no idea what "normal" is, but I tend to know it when I see it. :-) And I am NOT "it."
But . . . I definitely didn't even TRY to define it in the blog post. I wouldn't touch that with a ten-foot pole. But it doesn't mean people don't strive for it.
E
stephen:
Mine is green. :-)
E
Are there normal colors? Beige, perhaps?
I've never striven to be normal and it's not something my characters strive for either. They strive to be strong and wise and to feel good about themselves - to be better people - but normal isn't one of their goals.
I've never been much for wanting to be normal - I know I'm not and thankfully I embrace my "weirdness" and I'm only 19. Plus being "normal" - which a total relative term by the way. I mean WHAT is normal? According to whom? Because what may seemed normal to someone may seemed completely weird to others- seems so boring to me.
edie,wendy:
I think, though, that's what makes it a great theme, in a way. Espcially in YA. Because usually the resolution is a character accepting his or her uniqueness. Which is really the journey of most of us.
E
In Private Benjamin, at one point during her Army basic training, Goldie Hawn says, "I want to be normal again. I want to go out to lunch."
Love that line.
And isn't that what all fiction is about? Our characters start out in their ordinary "normal" worlds, and then are given passionate needs or wants or goals that fling them screaming into extraordinary circumstances with multiple obstacles to prevent them from reaching said needs or wants or goals. All the while, the stakes are increasingly raised and those needs or wants or goals increasingly important to achieve.
They usually return to their normal worlds at the end, but with a certain amount of growth and change, perhaps some wisdom and understanding.
And isn't that what life is about? We all want to be normal again (i.e., whatever's normal for us); we all want to go out to lunch.
Sorry if I got off topic. :)
I know what you mean, Erica. Most people seek a niche, a place to fit in. Especially teens, but everyone really.
As always, a thought-provoking post.
Normal is tan, beige, ecru = zzzzz.
My color is parma violet.
Actually, everybody's abnormal but me.
Simplifies things.
I'm suprisingly normal-ish on the surface. It's what's on the inside (and everything that makes it to the page) that would potentially disturb the other soccer moms. :)
Mark:
I like your philosophy!
E
Heather:
I've been distrubing them for years.
;-)
E
tena:
Parma violet--I like it!
E
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