Thematic Analysis (Garp, Ch. 7-9)

John Irving's peculiar and often controversial themes make quite the appearance in his novel, The World According to Garp. His main themes in this novel include feminism, lust, and disgust, an odd combination if there ever was one. These themes give the book a certain, distorted light to be viewed in, as each is closely associated with assertion and stereotyping. Irving's talent for juxtaposing rationality with bold, plain ignorance allows the reader to read the novel from each character's point of view more easily, hence it's fascination with the concept of the world always being according to somebody. What makes the thematic nature of the novel work is that every theme plays into or builds upon one another (lust encourages feminism, which generates disgust, which only provides more fuel to the feminist fire, etc.).

T.S. Garp's mother, Jenny Fields, represents the feminist angle of the novel, along with her accomplices (or "goons" as Garp titled them) such as the Ellen Jamesians. Her acceptance of her averse nature toward sex, her asexuality, if you will, makes her the perfect candidate for the novel's feminist movement, as well as for the feminist theme. The overwhelming sense of feminism secretly gives the reader an early feeling of dislike towards any male character, including the protaganist, Garp. Even one of the first scenes, in which Jenny technically rapes Garp's vegetable-like father shortly before his death in order to conceive with no strings attached, portrays women in not truly a positive, but a powerful light, as if the men were the weaker sex, and the women the dominant, controlling one. Though Garp's father cannot and does not resist, he does not necessarily decline, making men in the novel appear as primitive, retrogressive beasts who cannot control their lust and thirst for satisfaction (though in Jenny's world "need" for satisfaction would be more fitting). Jenny's feeling of control obviously provides her with the sense of security she desires, though her reserved, conservative nature would not even appear to require such things. Oddly enough, this reluctance to be a person of power, of control, of a status of leadership, projects her into the spotlight as the feminist movement's head, especially with the publishing of her book, A Sexual Suspect. Despite such an action being very risky, Irving often plays with Jenny's reluctance towards being a leader and Garp's disgust at the behavior of some of Jenny's loyal followers. Garp hates the behavior of the Ellen Jamesians, believing them to be mindless women who stupidly subject themselves to the real Ellen James' torture, and that by cutting their own tongues off, they are eliminating the only effective method of conveying their feminist feelings.

--Matt Ozoria