HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neil Gaiman is a British writer who was born in Hampshire, England but currently lives near Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the United States of America. He was raised in Sussex and went to Church of England schools. Neil loved books at an early age. He particularly enjoyed reading the works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Edgar Allan Poe, Ursula K. Leguin, and G.K. Chesterton. Gaiman always labeled himself as the "feral child who was raised in libraries," which he was thankful for since that experience made him appreciate reading more. He began his career as a journalist and interviewer for the British Fantasy Society. Later on, he started to publish his own book, which is a biography of the musical group Duran Duran, in 1994. It was followed by Don’t Panic: The Official Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Companion (1988), and he collaborated with Terry Pratchett on Good Omens in 1990. In 1989, he started to write a comic book series entitled "The Sandman," which ended in 1996. Gaiman’s talents for writing are complete in terms of different categories of literature, including his works for adult readers, young adults, and children. Gaiman was one of the first writers to create a blog and a Twitter account whose followers are over one million each. His work has gained multiple awards and recognition internationally. Due to his success as a writer, Gaiman has published 40 books, 39 graphic works, and had 6 television episodes, 5 screenplays, and 2 theater works produced.
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT
The short story was published in 2006 and is a story about a couple of fifteen-year-old British boys named Enn and Vic who went to a night party full of "aliens" who disguised themselves as girls. At the beginning of the party, music plays a major role in the story, whereas the main character talks about his knowledge of music and trends during that time. He also mentioned the early days of punk, Roxy music, and Bowie’s music, which were the most popular music trends during that period. British people from London have a lively and active nightlife, as portrayed in the story in which the two main protagonists’ story evolved at a night party in Croydon, London. It was also emphasized in the story that the party was full of girls, which may represent the girls' domination in 2006. It was a year for strong-minded and independent women who achieved genuine success in their respective careers. Women have always done well in the music industry, but it is rare to find many unique female personalities thriving at the same time. Hence, it was a women's era in 2006.
Parents play a significant factor in the lives of the characters too. The beliefs and culture observed by the parents and guardians during that period plays an important role. In one of the scenes, the girl told Enn that "I told them I did not wish to visit the world." she said. My parent-teacher was unimpressed. "You will have much to learn," it told me. I said, "I could learn more in the sun again." Or in the deep. Jessa spun webs between galaxies. I want to do that. " The parent-teacher represents the leader of their “group” who serves as their parent. In reality, children like the girl who talked to Enn wanted to explore the world and learn a lot of things on their own. But since she is a "young adult" and someone who is afraid to disrespect their parents’ decisions, the cultural and social beliefs that children must obey their parents’ choices are explicitly shown in the story. Most young people are unable to stand up on their own and choose how they want to learn and grow as individuals, which results in internal conflict for the children.
On the other hand, it was also shown in that passage that supernatural beings such as "aliens" and other foreign beings' ideologies existed in the story’s period. Using Homer’s Odyssey, the girls represent sirens who lure Enn and Vic to attend their party using the loud music played at the party. In cultural context, we can say that people during the early 2000s in London had great knowledge and an increasing curiosity about such things.
SUMMARY
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Neil Jaiman’s How to Talk to Girls at Parties is about fifteen-year-old English boys, Vic and Enn, attending a party to meet girls. The narrator, Enn, recounts kissing several of his sisters' friends, while Vic has had girlfriends. Vic encourages his frightened friend to just speak to the girls and pay heed to them. When the boys arrive at the gathering, Vic begins flirting with Stella, a gorgeous girl. Enn goes by himself in an attempt to meet someone.
Enn sits down next to a girl who is seated alone. She introduces herself as Wain's Wain, implying that she is the progeny of someone named Wain and must report back to her. She reveals that she is a "second" since her pinky finger is defective and separates into two smaller fingertips. She informs him that she is not from the area and tells him about her trips. She discusses the amazing sights she saw during Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Enn, who is at a loss for words, invites her to dance. She informs him it's against the rules, so he offers to fetch her a drink. She's gone when he returns.
He goes to check on Vic and Stella, who are dancing. Enn comes upon another girl with black, spikey hair and offers her the water he fetched for Wain's Wain. She tells him she enjoys being a tourist and recalls her most recent trip to the sun. She claims to have swum in sunfire pools with whales. She bemoans the fact that she has to come to "earth" this time rather than return to the sun, and she complains about the difficulty of taking on a fleshly body in order to be here.
Enn ignores his utter inability to comprehend her and focuses on wrapping his arm around her once again. Just then, Vic interrupts and summons him. Vic informs them that they have arrived at the incorrect party, but that they are welcome to remain. Vic and Stella make their way upstairs together. When Vic returns to the black, spikey-haired girl, he finds that numerous other individuals have taken his place.
Enn goes to the kitchen and drinks some Pernod before seeing a girl named Triolet. She compares herself to a poem. She adds that her ancestors realized their world was coming to an end, so they encased all of their hopes and desires in a pattern or poetry that would allow the words to survive forever. They beamed forth the message in light pulses as they sent the poetry across the universe. She claims that other entities inhabited the poem and it occupied them, and that the poem assumed a body and wandered around.
Conversely, Enn is intent on pushing his leg closer to hers and pressing it against hers. She keeps chatting about the poetry, and Enn is thrilled that she's warmly caressing his arm. She makes a kissing motion with her lips to his, then offers to share the poetry with him. She starts whispering something in his ear. He doesn't comprehend what's being said, but the beat washes over him.
Suddenly, Vic rushes up and informs them that they must go. Triolet is upset that she will not be able to finish her poetry, but Vic is certain. Enn looks up the steps and sees Stella, whose unkempt eyes he will never forget. Thirty years later, when he relates the event, he recalls how it appeared to be an angry world.
The lads run for a long time until Vic comes to a halt and barfs in the street. As he attempts to describe what he's been through, he begins to sob. Enn claims he still has no idea what Vic saw that night that scared him so much. Enn admits at the end of the story that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't adequately recall the poem whispered to him and would never be able to replicate it.
LITERARY CONVENTIONS/ELEMENTS
Plot
LITERARY CRITIQUE
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A woman expressing her sexuality is akin to a woman expressing her womanhood – the peak of her existence. Such an act is a liberation from the world and a fulfillment of the intricate task set upon by nature. However, these expressions were frowned upon by the establishment of the patriarchal society. The patriarchy dictates that women should follow the definition of being a woman that they set out in the first place. In the story, we see Vic and Enn, two boys who symbolize the patriarchal male gender, go to a party where they meet “alien” girls. Further into the story, we see Vic and Enn remark that these girls behave peculiarly. However, the story limits us to the point of view of Enn which only gives us his takes about the “alien” nature of the girls. We are not given the perspective of the girls which limits our understanding of their behavior and subjects us to infer about their actions. When we look at this through the feminist lens, we could infer that the girls weren’t exactly alien, rather their expressions of themselves and their sexuality were alien to the eyes of the boys, the symbol of the patriarchy. This theory is backed up by Triolet's remark: "There are areas where we are welcomed and places where we are seen as a noxious weed, or as a disease, something urgently to be quarantined and exterminated,". This gives us a glimpse of the alienation that the patriarchy does to women who express their sexuality; in the sense of the story, the party is the girls’ expression of sexuality. We also see Vic remark that Stella, one of the girls at the party, wasn’t exactly the woman he thought of. This concept of alienation doesn’t necessarily mean that such creatures are out of this world but would rather mean that their actions don’t conform to the patriarchy’s definition.
The story questions and challenges the gender roles and stereotypes established by the patriarchy.
The establishment of the patriarchy paved the way for the creation of specific definitions such as gender roles which also lead to the inception of stereotypes. In such a society, women are seen to be housekeepers and babysitters. They are seen to be generally weaker than men and their personalities should not be intrusive to the activities of men. Gaiman challenged these gender roles and stereotypes in this story through the presentation of the characters. The story showed the traditional male archetype through Vic, a domineering male who always gets the ladies. And through his remarks, we gain the perspective that men are judged based on their capacity to engage in physical relations with women implying that women are only objects in the patriarchal lens. However, the story challenged this stereotype through Enn whose personality contradicts the traditional male archetype set by the patriarchal society. He is presented as rather meek and awkward with girls although he experienced intimate acts with a small number of women before. Furthermore, these stereotypes were largely challenged through the presentation of the girls in the story. The gap-toothed girl challenged the physical appearance stereotype of what a girl should be. The girl had gap-toothed and spiky hair which seemed contradictory to the patriarchal stereotype of beauty. Triolet also challenged these gender roles and stereotypes by making the first move on a man which defies courtship rules established by the patriarchy. In this sense, Gaiman develops characters that a conventional audience can identify with and relate to, such as Vic and Enn, while also bringing more liberal notions to these traditional audiences such as forceful female characters, who would otherwise be overlooked.
The story shows that the patriarchy oppresses women by being ignorant of the concept of being a woman.
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