post 2

            First off, I hate Veronica. Maybe it’s because I’m only reading this from a biased perspective (Tony), but I can picture a nasty, nagging, brat with serious entitlement issues. For the exception of Veronica’s mother, I pretty much despise her family as much as her; her father, a seemingly sloppy alcoholic, and her brother, and overly judgmental jock, both rubbed me wrong from the start. The most ironic part about Veronica’s situation, and my previous dislike for her is that Tony opens the reader up to the possibility that she may have been abused as a child. Maybe she was cared for too little, or maybe she was cared for too much, implying molestation from her father.

            The more I read this book, the more I see Dostoyevsky bleeding through Barnes’ writing. Dostoyevsky presents us with one idea, like evolution, and forces the reader to believe this is the almighty answer to life, and then he presents us with another idea, practically laughing in our faces and calling us morons for believing his first theory. Well, in that same sense, except without the sarcasm and mockery, Tony presents us with this distasteful illusion of Veronica, and then he opens us up to the idea that she has been victimized at one point in her life.

            Also, similar to Dostoyevsky, Tony brings out the point that man is entirely ungrateful of all the luxurious and gifts it has been given. “I can properly convey the effect that moment had on me. It wasn’t like a tornado or an earthquake –nature being violent and destructive, putting us in our place.” The idea that we need to be put in our “place” or that we are undeserving is parallel to Dost.’s theory on man’s innate carelessness for the world and nature.

            Aside from the many similarities to Dostoyevsky, I must admit that this novel still does not have me completely sold. However, I have grown fonder of Tony and his overly conscious thoughts.