Week of Tuesday May 25

Since our first class, I have been thinking about the word "freak" and how we should think of it as a state of mind. Specifically, I've been thinking of the freak's mindset in our current novel. Olympia is the character whose mind is most easily accessed because of the first person perspective of the story.

I think the most "freakish" aspect of Olympia's personality is her self-hatred (though, I also found this was her most relatable trait). Olympia frequently reveals her lack of self esteem through her often repeated desire to change herself and (according to her) improve her physical appearance. She tells Miranda, "'I've wished I had two heads. Or that I was invisible. I've wished for a fish's tail instead of legs. I've wished to be more special" (Dunn 34). Furthermore, Olympia's state of mind serves to segregate her from both the "norms" and her fellow carnival workers. When discussing Arturo her fears and truama resulting from the earlier murder attempt with Arturo, she relates, "Arty narrowed his long eyelids and said I was flattering myself ad there was nothing about me special enough to make anybody want to kill me" (Dunn 85). The produce managers attempted assasination serves to seperate her from the "norms," while Arturo's insists that Olympia is not special enough seperates her from the other "freaks."

While this was by no means was a thorough or complete analysis, I really enjoyed how the novel highlights the human elements of the freak's state of mind. I hope to see more of this (or maybe the complete opposite) motif in the next books.