TWILIGHT SERIES! DOES IT PRICK SOMEWHERE?
Many kids of my age have started reading and now re-reading this series of books written by “Stephanie Meyer” namely Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn which have touched the platform of “National bestsellers” and have been pretty hyped as the heirs to Anne Rice and Harry Potter.
Ok! First things first! I was too one of ‘these admirers’ of the “Twilight series”. But it’s now that I realize that it was really not worth it. Alright, alright before people just accuse me of being a bit jealous or whatever, I might just as well scuttle through some fine things about these books. They are rich in details of the emotions of each and every character. They are pretty well-written with some creative yet unique aspects and characteristics of the supernatural elements. Also, the back-stories of various characters are quite fascinating. There are spot-on allusions to other works as well. It is romantic indeed. One automatically feels a draw towards the vampires, a similar one of that of Bella’s. The books are long but quite engaging.
So, Ok…
Let’s go towards the bad part now.
After analyzing the series for quite some time, I think the annoying, awful, nincompoop and frustrating characters shall take the blame. It appears that the roles have been grossly mismatched. Plus, I think beneath the fluffy-fluffy romance, the claims which the author makes, and in the fairytale aspects of the books, one finds that Bella is a sort of a colorless, helpless, aimless, weak, insecure and dependent wimp and on the other hand Edward is pretty controlling, manipulative, dominating, neurotic, self-righteous, inconsiderate and oblivious.
Trust me, I am not just instantaneously coming to this conclusion rather I am trying to reflect what I have read thoroughly recently. It’s not hypocrite to switch views, rather it’s better to stay in the light rather than staying in dark. The thing is, that despite the books being “total page-turners”, there is something which truly pricked me about these books now. And I am trying to figure out what exactly it is.
Then, my fingers went on the keyboard and I tried to figure out, what makes people dislike the “Twilight Series” and here are some of my observations :
“ I'm just getting sick of seeing "Twilight" everywhere I go on the internet and I'm sure it bothers other people as well.”
“While the books are written in an engaging manner Stephanie Meyer isn't a literary genius. She's a good writer, but when I see people lauding her as "THE BEST WRITER EVER" it makes me mad because there are some WAY better authors who have amazing ways of working with words but who aren't getting the same amount of recognition as Meyers. “
“Twilight appeals to a lot of people because it's almost like a Mary Sue. It's written in the first person, and from the perspective of a teen girl. This makes it easier for young female readers to identify with the story and almost pretend it's about them. Also, the story is the fantasy of many girls - a very sexy, strong, supernaturally gifted boyfriend who is obsessed with you and will never grow old. As such, the books feed girl's already existing fantasies, heightening the appeal. (For the guys who like it, perhaps it's because they'd like to be hot and supernatural like Edward?)”
“Bella does get to be a little annoying, she's quite selfish and I like her less and less as the books progress.”
“Though you may find it hard to believe, not everyone is into vampires and werewolves. It's very possible that these books just aren't doing it for some people and so they read the books and are disappointed to find it's a high school love story.”
“ I think a lot of people "hate" the books simply as a reaction to all the hype they have generated. There are many who are much less inclined to like something if they know everyone else is crazy about it - they want to make sure they stay separate from the crazies, it makes them feel somehow superior. (I'm NOT saying that everyone who dislikes Twilight is just in denial, I'm simply offering this as the reason SOME people are so adamant about disliking it)”
After going through all of this, I re-typed the word “VAMPIRE” in Google and got the following definition :
"Vampires are mythological or folkloric revenants who subsist by feeding on the blood of the living. In folkloric tales, the undead vampires often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the neighborhoods they inhabited when they were alive. ...Vampires were usually reported as bloated in appearance, and ruddy, purplish, or dark in colour; these characteristics were often attributed to the recent drinking of blood. Indeed, blood was often seen seeping from the mouth and nose when one was seen in its shroud or coffin and its left eye was often open. It would be clad in the linen shroud it was buried in, and its teeth, hair, and nails may have grown somewhat, though in general fangs were not a feature."
It’s now that I feel that the vampires shown in the movie were everything else except what they are meant to be!
I did realize my mistake, rather than going for the looks, the scenes, the so called content; I should have gone for the reality instead! Never the less, it is still not late J
Pankhuri Aggarwal
Melodiouscreativity.blogspot.com
