I really enjoyed Susan Orlean's piece, "The American Man at the Age of Ten." It was told so lightly, so entertainingly that I wish it had been longer. There was no definitive plot, just a series of social observations and quotes gleaned from the mouths of 10-year old boys.
I tried to imagine what I was like at that age; whether or not I fit Orlean's description of Colin. I can't remember if I thought about girls or candy or video games. I honestly can't remember much of anything about that age, which is why I found this piece so engaging. I wanted to remember, to compare myself to Colin and his friends/classmates.
Orlean did an excellent job of putting herself into the piece almost imperceptibly. There were brief instances where she reveals her line of questioning, when she directly asks Colin for information and records his response. Otherwise, she kept the piece about her subject, and tried not to interfere - I respect her effort to remain apart, an anthropological author/journalist.
The most interesting excerpt is on page 107, where Orlean records Colin's quotes, one after the other. You get a sense of the hustle and bustle of that age, the ill-informed information gleaned from parents and television and video games. I think this section accurately characterizes the ideals and perceptions of most ten-year-old, American boys.
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Good piece, I don't know that I agreed as much as you did with Orleans but I think it's interesting that you identified with Colin. I didn't see myself in this piece at all but I think the piece misses how different children are from each other.
ReplyDeleteI also liked that series of quotes from Colin. At that point I felt like it was more about being a child than being a boy, and I was able to identify somewhat. I do remember thinking things when I was little because I heard someone say something, and making up my own opinion, no matter how ill-informed it was.
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