A Depiction Of Gender Identity In Eleanor And Park By Rainbow Rowell
In Eleanor and Park, the two main protagonists are Eleanor and Park. Throughout this novel, Eleanor can be considered to be a mostly static character, while Park evolved through the book, a dynamic character. At the beginning of the book, Eleanor was characterized as stubborn, different, and willing to be different. As many things changed over the time span of the book, these things remained constant. At some times, she may have wanted to disappear, but she didn’t try to change herself to do that. But through her relationship with Park, she learned that she could be loved just the way she is, and learned to be comfortable in her own skin. Learning to drive the “stick shaft” was an idea repeated throughout the book. Park and his father have many conflicts on the basis of Park not acting like a man, like he apparently should. I believe that learning how to drive the stick shaft is a symbol of the transformation between a boy and a man. Park was not able to drive the stick shaft through most of the book. But at the end of the book, when Park drives Eleanor to her uncle’s house, this changes. Park’s father gives him the keys as a sign of respect and understanding that Park has finally turned into a man, and now he can finally drive it.
The young adult fiction, “Eleanor & Park” by Rainbow Rowell is about Gender Identity, which reveals each of the character’s gender identity and how it opposes from their traditional genders and how they feel about it themselves. Park describes, “Today the girl was wearing a giant man's shirt with seashells all over it. The collar must have been really big, like disco-big, because she'd cut it, and it was fraying. She had a man's necktie wrapped around her ponytail like a big polyester ribbon. She looked ridiculous. ” This reveals that Eleanor dresses in men’s clothes every day and how Park thinks it’s ridiculous at first, unlike later when he starts to not care and like her for who she is. The quote reveals, “The next morning, Park took the Onyx eyeliner into the bathroom and put it on…” and “. . . I like it. I like the way it feels…Like myself” which shows us that Park isn’t a stereotypical guy and he doesn’t act like it either. He also feels like himself when he wears eyeliner or helps his mom with her salon.
Lastly, Eleanor suggests that she, “. . hated it, she hated all of it. ” when Park’s mom di Rainbow Rowell uses a variety of devices, such as repetition, syntax and figurative language to portray the tone and theme. When introducing the main characters in Chapter 1, she uses a list to convey the thoughts going through Eleanor’s head. “1. She could walk home from school. Pros: exercise… 2. Pros: lots. Cons: Her mom didn’t have a phone. Or a car. ” The tone straightforward and realness is shown through the use of a list instead of a paragraph. It shows the author’s style of realistic, informal, and straightforward. She uses this tone to portray the thoughts in the way teenagers would think. The syntax of short, choppy, cut-off sentences are used to convey the stressed and rushed thoughts of Eleanor.
The informal and humorous tone is also illustrated by the use of sarcasm as irony, which characterizes Eleanor to be sarcastic and witty, “Yeah, ” she said, looking around the bus. “I’m Shah Gautam 3 trying to impress the locals. ” As well as showing her sarcastic personality, it also reveals that trying to fit in is “out of the question” for her, as if it’s obvious she wouldn’t try to fit in.
Music, reading, and poetry are symbols of Eleanor and Park’s relationship and connection. This symbol is repeated as a reminder of their love. For example, she compares Eleanor’s relationship with Park to her relationships at home. The repetition of this creates a theme of connections and love. Rainbow Rowell also uses figurative language to send across the theme of love. Park is in love with Eleanor. She elaborates, “Holding Eleanor’s hand was like holding a butterfly. Or a heartbeat. Like holding something complete, and completely alive. ” Comparing Eleanor’s hand to something delicate indicates that their love is precious and something valuable to both of them.
