This probably has no significance at all, but I
noticed that just within the first two pages of the book, Chabon mentions anomalies
twice. So, I looked up the definition of an anomaly. An anomaly, according to
Dictionary.com, is “a deviation from the common rule, type, arrangement, or
form” or “an incongruity or inconsistency”.
The first instance is when Chabon says that the sight
of Linus walking along the railway tracks “charmed [the old man], or aroused
his sense…of promising anomaly” (Chabon, 1). The second instance is when the
old man realizes the oddness of the silence between the young boy and his
parrot. “This the old man—though he had once made his fortune and his
reputation through a long and brilliant series of extrapolations from unlikely
groupings of facts—could not, could never, have begun to foretell” (Chabon, 2).
The second quote made me think that if the old man is really this so called
great detective, why was that particular instance something he felt he could
not have begun to foretell?
When I read this, it made me think that there will
probably be many more anomalies in this book. I mean, after all it is a mystery book. However, at this
point, having only read half the book, there is not much more I feel like I can
say about this. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I noticed the anomalies,
and I wonder if there is a significance to it and what that may be. I guess I’ll
just have to read the rest and find out!
It is kind of interesting how the same term was used in almost two different ways to describe two different situations within the first couple pages of the book, and it makes sense that the concept of an anomaly is highlighted because that is basically the entire point of a mystery, like you said. I think that your second example maybe isn't the best way to try and define the old man's talent as a detective because it is just a extraordinary situation that he is surprised to see, not exactly something that questioning using detective methods (not at this point in the story, anyway).
ReplyDeleteI think the concept of using a specific repeated term to characterize an entire work is actually a very interesting and effective one. So often readers get lost in the flowery prose and intricate plot twists of a story but if you simply pay attention to the way that this one term continues to manifest itself, you can more to the essence of the tale.
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