Verified Document

Corrections Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections What Made Term Paper

Corrections Jonathan Franzen's the Corrections

What made correction possible also doomed it." (Franzen, 2002, 278)

In Jonathan Frazen's novel The Corrections, the reader is taken into the heart of a dysfunctional American family. Although the novel transpires in real time as well as in flashback, it is fundamentally a novel of memory. The memory of the past reaffirms the inability of the use of an idealized past to correct the future, or to give children and parents a new memory of an idealized family past. One cannot remember something truly and perfectly and recreate a memory, without either erasing some painful truths, or accepting that the past was not as perfect as one might hope.

The idea of 'correction' is usually applied in the singular rather than in the plural. Correction inspires the idea of erasing what was wrong and easily replacing what was right -- even though this might leave a smudge, or tear a page through. Correction also implies engaging in acts of moral rectitude, of obeying a singular moral code. However, the notion of correction exists in this novel on multiple levels, as many individuals from the same family attempt to readdress the mistakes of their pasts, while...

But how does one edit a living past and a living memory, particularly when that memory is carried by multiple individuals in the same family, all different individuals, all with different memories. The notion of correction also implies the notion of return with some sense of making what was left better than it was, like editing a manuscript before publication. To return to the bosom of one's family during a reunion is to readdress and reassess the past. But to ruminate over that past might often produce an obsessive, one might say fixated manner or focus on that past. Thus, by attempting to return anew to the past with the aim of correcting what was wrong, or recreating what was right (but may not have been) is to do anything put the notion of family return to that past in a positive and regenerative light.
This is why Enid Lambert's quest to see her family return to the small, American Midwestern town St. Jude once again, is like the nature of the saint itself -- a patron saint of lost causes. Enid believes that family togetherness will correct all the ills and all the wrongs…

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Correction Trends American Corrections History the Prisons
Words: 1611 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Correction Trends American corrections history The prisons or the correction units have been for long a part and parcel of the American history. These institutions have existed as far back as the slave trade era. Later on, under the watch of the colonialists, jails became the first public institutions that were built to act as holding places fro the wayward emigrants and later or bondage system. Each state was required to have

Corrections Continuum of Behavior and
Words: 1668 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

If a client is determined to be unfit to plead, and mental health issues result in the special category specification, involvement from various mental health professionals is required to determine if and when that inmate may be fit. Works Cited Prison Legal Service (2012). Classification: special category and major offenders, Retrieved 17 February 2012 from http://prisonerlaw.org/prisoner/index.php?option+com_countent&view=article&id Career in Corrections Today As with many other careers, there are a host of factors to consider when

Corrections Facility What Contemporary Problems Exist Within
Words: 870 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Corrections Facility What contemporary problems exist within the U.S. corrections system? Explain. The first issue that exits with the U.S. corrections system is that of priorities. The system is inherently reactive as oppose to proactive in regards to preventing future offenses. I believe the U.S. corrections system can do much more in regards to education, follow up, and subsequent matriculation into general society. More emphasis should first be placed on properly educating

Corrections Accreditation and Privatization in Recent Times,
Words: 730 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Corrections Accreditation and Privatization In recent times, the field of corrections has been seeking to address quite a number of emerging issues as a result of a wide range of catalysts including but of course not limited to privatization and accreditation. In this text, I explore a number of issues to do with corrections accreditation and privatization. Corrections Accreditation According to Stinchcomb (2011), corrections accreditation can be taken to be "an official recognition

Corrections Current Trends, Innovations and
Words: 3072 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

356). To date, there has been a great deal of reluctance to adopt a harm reduction approach in the United States for two fundamental reasons: The first reason stems from the argument that if harm were reduced for users the result would be an increase in the prevalence of drug use and, therefore, increased harm to society in terms of health care costs and violent crime. Those taking this position present

Corrections Describe the Social, Political, and Economic
Words: 1395 Length: 4 Document Type: Discussion Chapter

Corrections Describe the social, political, and economic factors which are expected to impact correctional hiring in the next few years. There has been an explosion of hiring in corrections. "In addition to exploding inmate and offender populations, the number of employees in corrections, albeit often undereducated, undertrained, and underpaid for their work, has grown astronomically in the last 30 years. From 1982 to 2006, there was almost a 600% increase in direct

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now