CLASS: "Blog Post #7 - (too much work to come up with a witty title?)"

“Behind the mask with its plastic shapes a-bob, the man was saying: “It's a decision many men, not to say women, make. ...Indeed, I read a report last week that said almost three times as many women as men on our world make this decision, though it doesn't seem my experience. The men – and women – who've made the decision we're asking of you include some fine folks, too: artists, scientists, politicians, well-respected philosophical thinkers. Some very rich and powerful people have decided to abandon their worldly acquisitions and come to the Institute here. They feel, I suppose, we have something to teach them. And though we certainly would never claim such a thing – our method is much too simple – perhaps we do.” ”

-- Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand

(page 5, 20^th Anniversary Edition, 2004)

First of all, I like how the guy does and says everything, say, a used car salesman would – he's trying to make the sale, and this makes his insistence on the character's saying 'yes' sound a lot like repetition of 'just sign on the dotted line here...'. In this light, he has no reason to be telling the truth about the report – this actually turns out to be likely, or even true, later on – and is covering his ass with “though it doesn't seem my experience”. I also see similarities between the process and a few things, like sterilization (castration/vasectomy – which he's had – or hysterectomy, both of which had supposed health and behavior/social benefits at the turn of the 20^th century or so) and asceticism (it's in there, particularly at the “abandon their worldly acquisitions” point – as opposed to “possessions”, which implies a different culture to me: think Ferengi).

Form-wise, it's a conversation – again, kinda like one between a used car salesman and a patsy: saying “all these famous people have bought this car” while pointing to a Dodge Aries. As such, the sentences are short and within standard breath-length, unlike some of the later, more descriptive sentences, and the paragraph itself is also on the short side – compare it with the one describing the effects and aftereffects of the procedure, just before this one, on page 4. Legality – concern for liability – plays some role here, I suppose, particularly in his last line, and it's clear that he can't force him to submit to the procedure. I suppose there's something to be said about the gender bit here, but due to the... peculiar emphasis placed on gender in the story, it's probably best to ignore it here.