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Inspired by a post by Earlgraytay
Feb. 21st, 2020 02:52 pmThere’s a novel called Hopscotch. I’m going to spoil it, because let’s face it, you’re never gonna read it anyway.
This takes place in a future where body-swapping is easy and common. One of the main characters is constantly getting swept up in new ideas and movements, only to forget about them in favor of something else. She joins up with a religious group that believes in “breaking down walls” between people, and it’s played aggressively straight as a “naive innocent brainwashed by cult” plot. The leader doesn’t want to break down walls; he wants to control others while giving away nothing of himself, and she’s too passive and pliable to understand that.
Eventually, she leaves the religious group, and she befriends an old man who thinks body-swapping is bad. Again, it’s played totally straight as the good-hearted but ignorant young person learning from the wise mentor. Except the other main characters are having positive experiences with body-swapping, so it can’t be that simple. In switching perspectives, the narrative invites you to question how accurate each perspective is.
The mentor dies, as mentors tend to do, and this main character is left on her own. She considers whether to body-swap again, and wonders what he’d say. Then she realizes it doesn’t matter whether he’d approve. Ultimately, she needs to decide for herself, not keep blindly following what someone else told her. Whether or not he was right, just obeying him isn’t any better for her than obeying the cult was.
This takes place in a future where body-swapping is easy and common. One of the main characters is constantly getting swept up in new ideas and movements, only to forget about them in favor of something else. She joins up with a religious group that believes in “breaking down walls” between people, and it’s played aggressively straight as a “naive innocent brainwashed by cult” plot. The leader doesn’t want to break down walls; he wants to control others while giving away nothing of himself, and she’s too passive and pliable to understand that.
Eventually, she leaves the religious group, and she befriends an old man who thinks body-swapping is bad. Again, it’s played totally straight as the good-hearted but ignorant young person learning from the wise mentor. Except the other main characters are having positive experiences with body-swapping, so it can’t be that simple. In switching perspectives, the narrative invites you to question how accurate each perspective is.
The mentor dies, as mentors tend to do, and this main character is left on her own. She considers whether to body-swap again, and wonders what he’d say. Then she realizes it doesn’t matter whether he’d approve. Ultimately, she needs to decide for herself, not keep blindly following what someone else told her. Whether or not he was right, just obeying him isn’t any better for her than obeying the cult was.
