When Does Pride go too Far?

Okay, well instead of trying to find a common theme within all of the stories that we have read, I am going to focus on a theme within one of them. With that said, I have chosen to analyze and come up with a central idea for the story “The Dentist”.

So, as I read this story I came to the conclusion that the author wanted to highlight how pride can be overbearing. There is nothing wrong with having pride in who you are as a person, but when pride begins to be the driving force of a persons’ character it can lead to a callous and shallow person. For example, within “The Dentist” we get a new perspective on how Curt Lemon was as a person. This short story directly contrasted the view of Lemon that we got within “How to Tell a True War Story”. In “The Dentist”, we see Lemon as a more shallow and self-righteous person. Lemon holds so much pride for himself that he cannot show any sign of weakness. Over time, his personality has allowed him to always succumb to pride and never show any sign of fear. This is why when he faints in the dentist’s office he loses control within his own mind. For example the narrator says, “Anyone else would of laughed it off, but for Curt Lemon it was too much. The embarrassment must’ve turned a screw in his head” (pg. 88). I think that the main point with this was to highlight the fact that people should be able to accept that they have weaknesses. Also, I think that the author wanted to highlight the fact that Lemon believes he that any weakness lessens who he is as a man. This is why he goes back to the dentist and makes him pull out a perfectly good tooth. This, in essence, eases Lemon mentally. He cannot stand his mishap at the office. Lemon had his tooth pulled to clear up any illusion that the men have that he is weak. Although the men know he did this on purpose to prove a point, Lemon is content. Because in Lemon’s mind, he cleared up any questions of his masculinity with the stunt.

A Whole lot of Nothing and Everything

With the finality of the semester, the inevitable question is brought up yet again. What exactly is postmodernism? Well, in my opinion, postmodernism is a whole lot of everything. Actually, I amend that, postmodernism is a whole lot of everything and at the same time it’s nothing.

So, I bet your wondering what I meant with my last statement. My theory is that postmodernism is way too abstract to define what it means. In this way, it seems as if postmodernism is nothing. It’s as if it were a void, and this would be due to the fact that not one person can define exactly what it means.

Although we cannot give postmodernism a clean and precise definition, we can decipher some of the notions that fall into this category. I believe that something can be considered “postmodern” if it is different from what the general population considers to be normal. I guess you can consider postmodern thinking as a more creative and liberal outtake. For example, while we studied postmodern architecture, we considered it to be anything that is different from a standard black and white four story high building. Postmodern architecture could be considered anything more abstract and unique. Ironically enough, in order for postmodernism to be existent, society as a whole must accept a universal ideal as to what is “normal”. “Postmodern architecture, art and literature represent the Other, and thus present a heterogeneity…” (pg.160). Postmodernism is just a spinoff of what is considered normal. As Postmodernism for Beginners said, it evolves from the “Other”. The only way the “Other” can exist, is to accept that there is a standard way of thinking.

So what happens when society begins to evolve once again? I mean, the core values and ideals that society currently represents was not always the standard way of thinking. Change is inevitable, and usually with change society becomes more open-minded. Therefore, it is only acceptable to believe that our values will become more liberated. Now remember, postmodernism has liberal foundations. Is it possible that in time, postmodern thinking could be considered “the norm”? Maybe, but then what happens then? Will society develop an even newer post modernistic outlook? Maybe again, but then would it be considered? post-postmodernism? Hmmm….weird indefinable questions, but then again that’s what postmodernism does to you.