Jay Mcinerneys Bright Lights, Big City: You Are The Coma Baby :: essays research papers

Jay McInerneys Bright Lights, Big City You are the syncope screw upThe refreshed Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney relates the tale of a puppy identical man working for a prominent newspaper in Manhattan by day, while visitingmany bars and nightclubs during the night. He manages to accomplish this with the help of his usance of cocaine, to which he is powerfully addicted.Throughout the novel McInerney employs the use of the Coma bumble, a current storyin the New York Post, a local tabloid, as a typic representation of the briny theatrical role. The Coma Baby has been residing in its mothers womb after themother suffered a gondola car accident and entered a coma. The debate is to whether theComa Baby will assure the "light of the delivery room". In this passage the maincharacter is experiencing a dream where he interacts with the Coma Baby in hisworkplace. This passage, done the words and phrases employed by McInerney asboth dialogue and narration, is industr ial-strength support for the concept that like theComa Baby, the main character wants to subdue facing the harsh realities of lifeand continue living isolated in his world of narcotic-induced pleasure. Theauthor uses the interaction of the main character and the Coma Baby as proofthat the main character will not lay down the fallacies of his ways until he hashit rock-bottom.The Coma Baby is shown to be the symbolic representation of the maincharacter through his actions and school of thought toward life, a philosophy whollyirresponsible and unmotivated. As the main character approaches he asks theBaby if hes going to come out. The Baby responds with "No way Jos. I like itin here. Everything I need is pumped in."(line 11) This remark illustrates themain characters post toward life. With the condition that the Baby getswhat he needs, he has no motivation to improve his situation. This parallelswith the main character, who , provided he has his cocaine, does little toimpro ve his situation. For example, he continually shows up late to work, andthen after completely botching a project is shoot from his job. The drugs havecompletely stolen his motivation towards life. After this, when the maincharacter tries to discernment with the Coma Baby about improving his situation, theComa Baby plays a deaf-and -dumb routine(line14), highly symbolic of the maincharacters actions toward those that have been trying to help him. For example,the main character continues to avoid Clara Tillinghast, his boss, in herattempts to bring him to work on time.