...but - a freak

The line that stood out most to me as I read this novel was the one found on page 188, "She would no longer be an extraordinary women, no more the Greatest aerialiste in the world but - a freak."

This line stood out as a very interesting line in the novel because it implies a different version of what we may consider a freak but leaves the word open for interpretation. Personally, Fevvers, would be labelled as a freak whether she was a fraud with fake wings or not. Either she was actually born with them and they do work and she is actually a freak like something we saw crafted in "Geek Love" or they are fake and she is a freak because, well she has fake wings.

It seems as if we can label these two cases physical and mental freakishness. Physical would apply to the case where her wings are real and Fevvers herself has been physically been born a freak. The mental style would be the situation in which they were not real and had been created in order to add to her performance. This to me would be labeled as mental because the person or character has crafted this idea, costume or persona in their mind expressing what they picture when they think of freak.

These styles do not just apply to Fevvers however and I think it applies to the people we see everyday in our lives. The term freak can mean so apply to many different things with varying degrees depending on how a person interprets the meaning. Some people see freaks as those people born with monstrous characteristics or deformities that would be under the physical side. Other people would disagree and just see this as unique and not really freakish. A freak could even be that guy who wears pink. A freak is the other category that you put people in when you are unsure what group they would belong too. Then again, I suppose it may be different for everyone.

Geek Pride

The Oxford dictionary defines pride as "a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from achievements, qualities, or possessions." The feeling of pride appears in all the characters throughout the book but does so in very different manners.

For example, Arty would be the best example because throughout the entire book he is striving to achieve and become the number one act. He wants to bring in the most money through his ticket sales and cannot stand when his sisters are able to out due him. To achieve this he has to use the qualities which become very valuable possessions as the story progresses. When people infringe on his success he really takes it to heart and is almost jealous of others abilities and successes.

His father, Al, takes pride in knowing that the reason his carnival was saved was because of the family he carefully crafted. Using his wife Lilly and some ethically borderline concoctions of drugs and household cleaners he was able to create children with deformities providing him with new acts to bring in money. Lil also takes pride in knowing that these children, as messed up as they may appear on the surface, will always have jobs because of the unique qualities that she has given her children.

The siamese twins, Elly and Iphy, play the piano exceptionally well due to the training that they have received. They, like Arty, take pride in the success of their show and do wish to improve it at times by adding their personally written songs but do not show the same sort of obsessive characteristic.

Chick simply takes pride in using his telekinetic ability to prevent people from feeling pain. He is able to stimulate areas of the brain to eliminate feelings of pain. Beyond that he almost does not have much of a personality because he is put to work from such a young age.

Olympia does not have the gifts that her siblings have. She is a little person and has a hunchback sort of hump. These qualities are not enough to provide her with her own show so she is put to work to help the others. She takes pride in feeling needed by her brother, Arty, but is always looking to be needed by others. She even gets offended when individuals do not require her help or punish her by not allowing her to help. Since that is really all she can give, it is all she is really able to take pride in. Later in the book when she becomes pregnant she does seem to be very satisfied with the whole situation and is very fond of her daughter even though she is not involved in a motherly way with Miranda. She interacts with her from the sidelines as a friend instead of a mother.

The Binewski family all take pride in their achievements throughout the book and all do so in their own individual ways. Each character has a different form of pride since their qualities or reasons for their successes vary greatly.