On the book Vox by Nicholson Baker - Thesis Proposal Example

Rodger Love David Weed Sexuality and Literature October 17, This paper will seek to analyze the Vox by NicholsonBaker, a book that has been met with a lot of mixed reactions and still continues trigger a huge debate. In this analysis, the main focus will be to evaluate the quality and general impact of the book. This demonstrates how the book is a reflection of the sexual risks prevalent in contemporary societies.The book revolves around a phone sex conversation between a man and a woman. According to Saltzman (1999: Understanding Nicholson Baker) in the ultimate reality of safe-sex, Vox is particularly relevant to this study that has remarkably combined the print media and telephone technology in its content.

He further presents that the book could not have been published at a better time considering that this is currently an era shadowed with AIDS and other forms of self exploration. When the two main characters in the book get together through technology, they seem to have begun a new kind of hands-on relationship that is less risky and greatly influenced by technology (ODonnell, 2011: The Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Fiction).The book remarkably describes the activities that actually takes place in the real world for instance, it is a common occurrence for most young adults to meet at adult parties and establish a sexual relationship on that instant as it was the case with Abby and Jim, the two main characters in Vox.

Baker employs a rather bold technique in describing the unfolding of events between the two especially in which they open up to each other in what first appears to be some form of striptease that gradually turns out into a passionate revelation of truth and fantasies. A careful analysis of Vox will also bring into the readers realization that youths in the contemporary societies do not have any regard in initial courtship and will only focus their minds on sexual activities. In his book, Baker also tries to reveal that there are a number of media through which sexual activities can be perpetrated within the society such as through the phone as evident through the two main characters in the book (Fuller, 1996: Media-mediated relationships: straight and gay, mainstream and alternative perspectives).

Considering that sex is part and parcel of humanity right from the time of the ancestors up until now, the novel has considerably strived to present just how this natural human need has continued to be a focal point in our contemporary cultures just as it was in the past. As such, the book therefore presents us with an issue that stirs a mixture of emotions, but depending on the context that one perceives it, Baker remains to be regarded as one of the courageous authors.Works CitedBaker, Nicholson. Vox. Vintage Books, 1992.

Conrad, Peter. "Nicholson Baker: Writing this book was the most fun I ever had." 14 August 2011. The Guardian. 12 October 2011 .Fuller, Linda K. Media-mediated relationships: straight and gay, mainstream and alternative perspectives. NewYork: Routledge, 1996.ODonnell, Patrick. The Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Fiction. West Sussex : John Wiley and Sons, 2011.Saltzman, Arthur Michael. Understanding Nicholson Baker. South Carolina : University of South Carolina Press, 1999.The Paris Review. "Staff Picks: Delightful Fuckers, Ephemeral New York.

" 30 September 2011. The Paris Review. 12 October 2011 .