SSRJ#2: Three Girls by Joyce Carol Oates

Although I felt as though I was shooting my grammar in the foot by reading this at first, I grew to really like the story as it progressed. Its nature of rambling when the author made the narrator go off on tangents was very interesting. It gave the whole story a very realistic feel, as though the speaker in the story was writing very quickly and excitedly. There were so many details shoved into her long sentences that it felt as though my head were going to explode from the commotion. When Marilyn Monroe showed up, however, the writing took a completely different turn. Though many of the sentences were still packed full of description and excitement, their nature had become more organized. The focus truly settled upon the actress cloaked in man’s clothing and why this must be the case.

I have heard a friend of mine speak about Monroe in a similar manner as the author many a time. It has been explained to me that she was not at all the symbolism of womanhood that she embodied and what she set out to be was not what she became in the eyes of so many adoring fans. There are many actors in today’s society that must feel like the author described Monroe as. In some ways, today’s society is much worse in the manner in which they treat the ‘stars’. Tabloids in newspapers and daily radio-shows are dedicated to fishing out the dirt and grunge in the lives of the rich and famous. The majority of these shows even find little ways to insult or twist an actual truth. Many a time I have heard these ‘reporters’ (for lack of a better name) offer their own rumors as an explanation. And, of course, the constant joking and belittling that comes with news about these peoples’ lives is all to prevalent.

It reminded me of a particularly immature individual that happened to let his ignorance slip during one of these ‘dirt revealing’ episodes. A star well-known in the media for having engaged in unhealthy drug habits had been quoted telling a fellow star to talk to her children about drugs very early. Her explanation for this was that getting involved in such an influence was detrimental to health and life and you never quite recover from it. The ‘reporter’, finding himself witty, decided to say something along the lines of, ‘Should she really be giving advice? I mean, with all the coke she’s been snorting, who would take her advice for raising kids?’ But would she not be an excellent one to speak in this case? Here her own life has obviously been made difficult by the action of getting involved in parties and overuse and she has the sense to advise someone to keep their own children from the same, ill fate. I should think that despite a lowered view of her character, that the reporter should have known she would have the most experience in how unhealthy activities ruin one’s life.

It ties in with the lines of what the author seemed to be trying to push across. The Marilyn Monroe that is seen in the book store is one far different from the TV screen or the likely biased newspapers that track her life’s progress. Becoming a famous actor signs one up for a lifetime of stalkers and public attention. As much as these famed individuals would like to escape, it is very hard for them to do so. The narrator mentioned being very proud of the fact they had not given Marilyn Monroe away and being amazed that their iconic star was really a much different person underneath. Indeed, she seemed quiet and had a wish to be undiscovered during the whole of their interactions. A strange bond seemed to form between the three girls over the mere matter of literature.

In fact, the entirety of a story focused very distinctly on this matter. The narrator goes into great detail over the sections that they wandered through and even the books which Marilyn picked up. Perhaps the author was trying to tell us that beneath every assumed exterior there is something someone loves that we might also relate to? There is a, I assume, fairly well known phrase “Do not judge a book by its cover”. Although this is never actually stated directly, there is a lot of hinting at such a concept everywhere in the story. The speaker spends much of her time contrasting “Marylin Monroe” to the woman in man’s clothing that shows such an interest in poetry and other literary works. It almost seems to me as though she viewed the famous actress as a book in herself. By protecting her from being discovered, the narrator was protecting these hidden pages of Monroe’s life from being torn and forgotten.

Do you think that had they discovered Monroe in a different location, which did not involve a shared interest of theirs, that they would be as inclined to help her and keep her appearance a secret?