Reading List

I would make the argument that House of Danger should remain on the reading list for future classes. Although it is definitely not as sophisticated a book as the others we have read in this course, that does not mean it is without merit. House of Danger is a book about the illusion of choice and manipulation in its most blatant form. It fits into the progression from insidious, almost unnoticeable manipulation, like in Cat’s Cradle and Man in the High Castle, to highly obvious manipulation. This also mirrors the progression of our awareness of manipulation. Whereas at the start of the course, we were not as aware of the influence of the forces of literature on our understanding, we gradually grew more and more aware. Then, to end the year with House of Danger is the logical conclusion of this progression. The manipulation is so obvious that it leaves very little to discuss within the realm of the book itself and so we must extrapolate from there about the role of manipulation in real life. I noticed in class today that very little of the discussion actually focused on the content of the book. After all, it’s a kid’s book and the manipulative forces are so blatant that there is little reason to delve into the text in search of them, the way we have done for the other texts. Therefore, the discussion naturally moved to how the lessons we’ve learned about manipulation can be seen in real life and how that awareness can affect our actions. House of Danger is not an impressive piece writing; it lacks depth, subtlety, character development, and all the other elements that make up literature. But its place in the course is invaluable precisely because it is so lacking in subtlety that it leads perfectly into a discussion of our awareness of manipulation.