The book FREEDOM by Johnatan Franzen. Journalist critics of the book - Assignment Example

Journalistic Critics of the Book Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Freedom: A Passage through American Dream and Society 3 Conclusion 4Work Cited 5Introduction On the 31st day of the August month in the year 2010, holding the hands of publishing house named, Farrar, Straus and Giroux there appeared a novel entitled “Freedom” written by Jonathan Franzen. Jonathan Franzen being an American writer tried to portray the microcosm of American middle class society, their dreams, desires, threats and shortcomings through one family of Berglunds and few other families depicted as their close friend around whom the plot of the novel revolves.

Franzen’s first novel being an epic concerning myriad aspects of love and arranges marriages of contemporary time, it can be said that as an author he has developed his skills and deviated his way of writing technically and topically. This owing to the reason that he is able to captivate in comic and tragic hue at the same plane the provocations and the pressures the concept of liberty brings forth, the thrilling days of teenage immersed in sexual interests culminating almost into lust, the most provoking social issue of American society pertaining to mid-life crisis, collapsing of the wages in the suburb areas and the pang of staying under the reign of a heavy weight empire all come under one umbrella within the plot of the novel “Freedom”.

Freedom: A Passage through American Dream and SocietyLike most of the common topics of American literature, American dream does not find a very potent place within the plot of the novel, but the tinge of the issue can be traced within a microcosm of middle class American society. A deep delineation to the plot of the novel and close introspection to the motif launches the readers into a plethora of thought process where it is very clear that the novel captures a span of time frame as its background with some deliberate intentions.

The time frame against which the plot of the novel, “Freedom” is set initiates during the last decades of the twentieth century and ends at the beginning of Obama administration. The novel captivates a wide time frame; therefore the socio-political and socio-economic ups and downs are tracked in the novel from a very close counter. The contour of American society is very evident through the book as it displays a volley of characters almost in a Dickensian way, “In the earliest years, when you could still drive a Volvo 240 without feeling self-conscious, the collective task in Ramsey Hills was to relearn certain life skills that your own parents had fled to the suburbs specifically to unlearn” (Franzen 4).

The language is lucid and the syntax is clear. As regards to the anatomy of the book, then there are small fragments with interesting titles hinting at the content of the chapters in the book. This provides an extra interest for the readers to navigate forward through the chapters of the book, “Freedom”.There are many facets of the book which are very attractive. The most attractive part of the book is its complete absence of any rambling thoughts. The book is coherent and although it captivates so many characters and a considerable time span, yet it appears logically and presented in a cohesive way.

The language of the novel is American with its presentation completely coherent and compatible with the period and background which gives a genuine feeling to the reader transporting him to the age and society. The book however lacks originality and the concept of the generational conflict or the sins of the father leading to a catastrophe in their lives of sons seems repetitive and quite out of the trend in terms of a contemporary novel. Anyone across the border and from any age group can pick up the book, “Freedom” and go through it.

However, when it comes to comprehending the subject matter intended within the novel then a Yankee belonging to the age group varying from early twenties to a gentleman in his post forties can get drawn with the book mostly. Women also can find the novel interesting as it captivates many socio-cultural issues related to single and married woman in American society along with confronting trouble in parenting. Conclusion The novel, “Freedom” by Jonathan Franzen may have certain shortcomings and in-cohesive thoughts, but for the political and socio-cultural content of the book, it will be cherished and can be recommended to people across the globe as these issues are universal and relative at every level.

Work CitedFranzen, Jonathan. Freedom. United Kingdom: HarperCollins UK, 2010. Print.