Something that I found very interesting about Edison, New Jersey was how open the narrator was about what he was doing... That made me wonder, what did the narrator think of the listener?
Edison, New Jersey was a story basically all about conning rich people. The narrator was talking in a style as if he was letting the reader in on a joke. He tells us about how he steals money from his work, little bits at a time. He tells us about how, if he has a bad customer, he will clog their toilet and steal their toiletries. It seems like he is the one in control in these situations, even though you would expect the rich people to be the ones in control.
This is super different than what you would expect as well. Normally, someone of lower middle class would be jealous of the upper class. But in Edison, New Jersey it is completely opposite. The narrator is very content with where he is and actually prefers what he is doing rather than having a job that might make him richer, which he is offered at one point in the book.
Anyways, my hypothesis is that the narrator is talking to us, assuming that we are also lower to middle class as well. If we were rich why would he be letting us in on these secrets? Let me know in the comments if you think this hypothesis is accurate or not. Can't wait to read!
I definitely think the narrator *projects* a reader who will be a confidant, who won't be shocked or offended by his depictions of the rich people he serves. He imagines us as people who also might not be able to afford a first-class pool table, but would appreciate the finer points of how one is assembled.
ReplyDeleteThink of Holden Caulfield as an analogy, how he presumes his reader is not a "phony" but is someone who will relate to and appreciate his tirades against phoniness. You have little choice but to go along with him.
A reader who happens not to fall into that category might experience the story in an interesting way, as a kind of insight into how the "other half" experiences life--how their homes look to the people they let in and put down newspapers for.