E.L. Doctorow
Doctorow's Social Commentary in Book of Daniel E. L. Doctorow makes a very frank comment on the culture of our society in The Book of Daniel. At first glance the reader might not understand how to take the critique of the impurity and the supposed nefarious nature of Disneyland. After reflection on this piece it becomes apparent there are a number of things that Doctorow is trying to accomplish through the character Daniel. What is certain is that Doctorow is making a forward statement about our culture and society.Just before Doctorow delves into the intensely sophisticated section on Disneyland he comments that "they drove me to Anaheim, a town somewhere between Buchenwald and Belsen, where Dr. and Mrs. Selig Mindish were spending the day at Disneyland" (285). In saying Buchenwald, a well-known concentration camp, and Belsen, a transit-center which was later turned into a concentration camp, Doctorow is already putting a negative connotation on Disneyland. The comparison to a Nazi concentration camps may be a little over the top but nonetheless the reader realizes that Doctorow does not like Disneyland. Within the first paragraph Doctorow refers to those visiting Disneyland as customers. I believe that Doctorow is
Our culture deserves to be preserved and not just in simple concepts. Some of this can be attributed to Disneyland in a roundabout way. The second problem is that because Disneyland is immensely busy at all times, visitors on different rides who are supposed to be having their own unique experience on their ride sometimes witness patrons on other rides which is of course not supposed to happen in this fairytale world. Looking at the reason for Daniel's visit to Disneyland, an attempt to resolve issues about losing both his parents, these two references can be seen as somehow implying that it is ironic how Daniel is going to Disneyland to try to reconcile his family issues while at the same time Disneyland is a big producer of perfect and wholesome families to American pop culture. This remark is an incredibly powerful statement about the American population. Right after the comment on the naivete of Americans Doctorow makes a hilarious observation about what a study of cartoons from the twenties, thirties, and forties would reveal about American's thought process. Simply knowing the plot of a great novel does nothing to educate one on the issues in conflict in the book, where one learns about pillars of culture. Of course not everyone needs to be ultra sophisticated and high-brow in an obnoxious way but it wouldn't hurt us if more people retained the cultural ideas of our past. Doctorow's comment on American culture is that it is on a decline currently. The first major problem is that the simulated plant, animal, and geologic surroundings fail in their attempt to look genuine. These observations range from believing that people are animals, the flesh can be sawed, crushed, frozen, stretched, burned, bombed, and plucked for music, or even that we are able to walk on air, but only as long as our illusion supports us. It certainly seems like the author is trying to make a point of something in this passage. Mark Twain wrote the book on the subject of the conflict between childhood and American social reality. It's a shame if some people don't already see this.
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Acceptance Essays
