Lost in the Mail - Essay Example

 In 2001, the novelist Jonathan Franzen won the National Book Award for fiction for his book “The Corrections” and is also the author of two other novels that were critically acclaimed. These novels were – “The Twenty-Seventh City” and “Strong Motion.” Franzen does not possess any particular expertise in the fields of criminology, science or neurology, but nevertheless shows particular concern “with the messy architecture of the self." --The New York Times Book Review. Franzen, is a very realistic novelist, who always attempts to give his audience a glimpse of his personal demons, in such a way, that it not only fires their imaginations but makes them sit back and reflect on the truth that hits you in the pit of your stomach. He is one of those writers who are capable of inducing a sort of guilty collusion in the minds of his readers. "Lost in the Mail" is an essay that belongs to a collection of fourteen essays from his book titled “How to Be alone.” In this essay he takes a critical look at the working system of the Chicago post office, providing us with a fascinating overview as he details the aspects of the many problems encountered and explores how these problems should be overcome with the right solutions. The old Chicago post office was designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White in 1921. The nine story tall building was always bustling with activity but there were many problems that surrounded it. Franzen begins the story of “Lost in the Mall” with a hypothesis which is a good direction for any novelist to conduct his inquiry. The main goal he had in mind was to crack open the scandal of the Chicago Post Office. The hypothesis, on which Franzen bases his story, is the notoriety of the goings on in the post office. He decries the way it worked because it had earned the name of being the largest postal system in the world, but yet the post office was considered the worst in postal deliveries and services and at one time, it almost came to a virtual halt, as the system got clogged with about 10 million mails when they experienced a logjam. The sorting method had failed miserably and was not capable of keeping up with the demand. It was this notorious incident that triggered a full scale investigation which in turn called for a total reorganization of the Postal system in Chicago. The old building had to be vacated when a new and modern building took its place and culminated into what is called the U.S Postal service in the year 1971. In “Lost in the Mall” the simplest of activities are portrayed with all their complexities, thereby highlighting the pitfalls within the system. The writer gradually proceeds towards bringing out all the ethical issues involved with exemplary seriousness. He makes use of this talent of silken wit and grouchiness to temper these complexities, even while segregating them into their moral, historical and psychological components. He brings out the love - hate relationship that we share with consumerism and the many false claims of technology that we gradually come to lose our trust in. The story of “Lost in the Mall” was written during a very chaotic and turbulent period, as its author showcases the bureaucratic kind of working and the downright corruption that takes place in the Chicago post office. While giving us an insider’s view, he weighs the pros and cons of its inefficiency to cater to the consumer, in an appropriate and truthful manner, but yet argues that there is an “Andersonian national imaginary” that lies behind the working of the post office. According to Anderson, in the journal of ‘Rhetoric and Public Affairs’ he states that “Nations are imagined political communities….inherently limited and sovereign.” He explains that these “imagined communities” rose historically after a series of events and incidents. In the case of the Chicago Post Office, that was found to be of very poor service and was replaced with the modern one. All these ideas are brought out with such clarity and realism really makes it very interesting. The central theme that Franzen tries to bring into the foreground is the breakdown that takes place in the Chicago postal service. Franzen gives his readers an eye opening account of the shabby way the post office operated by displaying a number of excuses put forward by the postal workers who make the public as scapegoats by trying to pin the blame on to them. Franzen also deftly portrays the huge list of mistakes created by the public and thereby nails down the message he wishes to get across to his audiences. Franzen uses his simple narrative style to bring home many important points in a forthright manner thus shocking the reader from their estrangement with the reality of things that they so easily accept as part and parcel of their lives without raising any questions or finding relevant solutions to the problems they come across in life. In his communication of facts he gets his message across by pointing out and assessing the gray areas that exist. By exposing the mishandling of things in the U.S. postal office in Chicago, Franzen exhibits a great deal of his wisdom through the frustration and anger he displays, while laying out the facts of the sorry state of affairs that prevailed. “Lost in the Mall” is a real eye opener which makes his audience really think and try to find solutions by answering the many questions put forward by the author. Though Franzen over exaggerates some of his criticism, yet he has a very clear and pointed perspective of American society and the way things are dealt with. Reading Franzen’s “Lost in the Mall” made me realize how we as consumers, consume everything that is served to us, without asking questions or even raising an eyebrow about it. We are content to live in an illusionary world without trying to come to grips with reality. We as consumers take everything in our stride and don’t have the gumption to put a stop to it. We take everything for granted and do not like to bother with the nitty- gritty of things. In other words, we are all the time taken for a ride and don’t even know it and even if we know, we don a don’t care attitude about us, thus encouraging the system to remain where it started. References How to Be Alone: Essays: Jonathan Franzen www.amazon.ca/How-Be-Alone-Jonathan-Franzen/dp/0312422164 Mercieca,JenniferRose. Choice, Loyalty, and Safety and the Construction of a Distinctly American Imagined Nationalism Rhetoric & Public Affairs - Volume 9, Number 2, Summer 2006, pp. 279-302. Michigan State University Press. Read More