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David Parker
April 26, 2000
Brooks-English 1302.13
Critical Essay 3
Who’s Using Who ?
In T.C. Boyle’s story “Carnal Knowledge” the two main characters seem to be
having a contest to see who can use the other to a self-serving end in the most efficient
way. We get an idea of the direction that the theme is headed in with the first line of the
story, when we read about how little previous consideration Jim has given to the different
types of meat he eats. The overall tone of this story is one of slight nostalgia mixed with a
shallow sense of regret. With the number two character, Alena Jorgensen’s perverted
sense of compassion for animals that are born to be food sources, a series of misguided
misadventures, and starved libido and opportunistic nature of the main character Jim, the
story seems to show the more superficial side of human relationships with a sort of
twisted sense of humor hanging in the background. It didn’t surprise me to learn that his
collection of short stories entitled “T.C. Boyle Stories” is divided into three sections:
“Love,” “Death,” and “Everything in Between.” In an Internet article entitled “Three
Decades of T.C. Boyle,” Phil Nel says of this collection, “ In his world, a Hollywood
public relations expert tries to modernize the Ayatollah’s image, Lassie finds herself
attracted to a coyote, and Boyle himself goes on a date with Jane Austin” (Nel 1). Did I
say something earlier about a twisted sense of humor?
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This story begins with an introduction of the main character’s attitude toward
meat, or lack thereof when he says, “I’d never thought much about meat” ( 276).
He then goes on to romantically describe some of the ways he likes his meat prepared. He
then offhandedly mentions that he was not totally unaware that this meat came from
animals that were raised to be killed and eaten. On the contrary, he was fully aware that
infant calves are raised in crowded pens, and butchered to provide veal. He knows. He
just doesn’t care (why should he??). This lack of concern is illustrated when he mentions
that he has an affinity for veal. After this monologue about his attitude, it is apparent that
this attitude is about to change.
Food. All this talk about food seems to be another one of Mr. Boyle’s favorite
things to do. On his website, listed under frequently asked questions is the question,
“Why do you write about food so much?” To which he says, “My Mother didn’t feed
me… That’s why I’m 30 pounds underweight. I’ve never met a food I didn’t like and
have eaten just about everything” (Boyle 20)
In this story all doubt of a change (however superficial) is erased with the next
line: “And then I met Alena Jorgensen” (276). He then describes in detail the events and
timing leading up to his chance meeting with Alena. He then describes how he played
hooky from work on his birthday to engage in a day of self-pity and self-indulgence.
Here, Jim’s status as an “emotionally challenged” individual is defined. The final
imagery of exactly how he meets Alena after being “pissed’ on by her dog, Alf is colored
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with a touch of derision as he says, “I don’t want to make too much of the moment, …to
mythologize it or scene with allusions of Aphrodite” (277). His attraction to her was
purely physical: “I could smell her, the mousse she used in her hair…the salt-sweet odor
of her sweat…I murmured something” (277). He was struck by her beauty, but not
particularly interested in her personality. Alena praises him for being, “…so nice about
the whole thing.” (277). She then offers to wash his urine-stained clothes for him at her
house, and Jim follows her off down the beach like a sheep after the Judas goat.
.
Perhaps Alena made certain assumptions about Jims personal character on the
basis of his supposed kindness about being used as a fir-plug by her dog, and the
presence of the apocalyptic “Earth is dying and it’s our fault” novel that he was reading.
As a result of her assumption, she sets off on a two hour about the cruelties
That mankind inflicts on the poor creatures of the earth, thinking that he actually cares.
Jim seems to realize this, and in true hoping-to-get-laid male fashion, doesn’t see fit to
tell her otherwise when she mentions to him, “…it’s rare to find someone on your own
wavelength.” (280). Alena seems to see Jim as someone that can be recruited when we
reflect on this initial exchange later in the story. Jim furthers Alena’s misconceptions by
lying to her about being a vegetarian. So Jim gets a companion for the night, but he
seems to have his own misconceptions about Alena’s plans for him.
Jim awakens the next morning expecting to lay in bed all day playing fun games,
but finds that Alena has other plans for him. The following pages describe in painful
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detail, the events of the protest and ultimate violence that brought it to an end with Jim
suffering a knockout blow. This is his indoctrination into a select group of what I call the
wacko animal army as Alena whispers into his ear, “You’re one of us now” ( 282) and
gives him his “reward.” He gets what he wants, and she gets what she wants.
It would seem that Jim has what he wants, except maybe a cheeseburger, but
Alena wants more. She wants to use his car to drive out to the country and liberate some
turkeys from an evil poultry farmer. The remaining pages take us on a trip across the state
to a rural community. Here we meet Rolfe, an older, rougher man than Jim. Alena has a
definite history with Rolfe, a history that Jim doesn’t take very kindly to when he sees
them kiss. The plan to free the turkeys from the murderous poultry farmer is hatched,
and we see things go awry with Jim getting the short end of the stick so to speak. He is
run over and crapped on by countless turkeys, and ultimately left behind by his cohorts to
wander aimlessly through the countryside until daybreak, when they finally return for
him. This timely desertion causes me to wonder what Alena and Rolfe were really doing
for those few hours. Were they looking to ditch him for a little while? The answer to this
question is hinted at when they return to the shack in the woods, and Alena gives Jim the
news that she is leaving with Rolfe to rescue bears from evil humans. Jim and Alena part
ways with Jim feeling used, and a bit paranoid about getting caught and arrested for being
an ecoterrorist. Here we are treated to a wonderful dose of irony as we discover that the
liberated turkeys have not only met their demise, but have caused major wreck and traffic
jam. Jim seems to wake up from a dazed dreamlike state craving a cheeseburger, fried
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chicken, any kind of meat. “It’s only meat,” he says to himself. ( 289). Maybe he was
thinking of Alena as well when he said that to himself.
Jim and Alena use each other. Alena gets a footsoldier to carry out her orders, a
companion to pass the long lonely nights at the beach house, and a mode of transportation
to reunite her with Rolfe. Jim fulfills his own shallow desires by lying to Alena, telling
her that he holds the same interests that she does. In the end, their relationship, like their
efforts to liberate the turkeys turns out to be fruitless. This should teach us that
relationships and philosophies built on flawed foundations are destined to crumble under
their own weight like a house on sand. Just because a philosophy has “good intentions”
doesn’t mean that it’s going to produce a good result. Not only do the characters
victimize each other, the also victimize a large number of honest, hardworking people. I
myself am a vegetable rights activist, and refuse to eat vegetables with exceptions made
for carrots, potatoes, beans, bread (yes I know), and rice. That is, as long as they’re
cooked--it’s cruel to eat something that’s still alive, you should at least have the decency
to scald it to death first. Fruits and nuts are a different matter. I smash the heck out of
them whenever I can.
This illustration of how shallow and self-centered people can be is not at all
exaggerated in my opinion. I have seen people do some pretty extreme things in my life;
many of them are funny if you look at them in a certain light (with a slightly twisted
sense of humor). A very good friend of mine was murdered in a drunken brawl over a
piece of bologna—it’s funny in a way. If he had known what was going to happen, would
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he have acted differently? In an online interview published on About.com Mr. Boyle says
that his satire is meant to: “…[Make] fun of certain behaviors in order to change them”
(Rettberg 2). Maybe, just maybe we should all try to fight the urge to be vogue on the
outside and vague on the inside.