Aphorism and its
relation to the marginalised people in Generation X
“USE JETS WHILE YOU STILL CAN”.
This is the
graffiti-style aphorism located on page 4, of the novel Generation X by Douglas
Coupland. This aphorism is an ironic slogan and also alarms that the western
cultures appear to be under the threat of ending because of the clause “while
you still can” implies that accessibility of jet is ephemeral. The basic implication
of a ‘jet’ is the rapid stream and speed which makes this aphorism to associate
directly with the subtitle of the book “Tales for an Accelerated Culture”
and through that to the overall theme of the novel. The very first
sentence of the book in which this aphorism
is also located discloses various
details in relation to the narrator particularly his desire to use the jet
plane “I spent every penny I then had in the bank to fly across the continent
in a 747 jet”[1]. Therefore,
this aphorism is connected to the novel from its very outset. The sentence also
reveals that the narrator is not a rich person and belongs to the “middle class”
as he only affords the flight ticket by all his money. The author coined the
neologism of “poverty jet set”[2]
to reflect upon other distinctiveness of three characters Andy, Dag and
Claire, and correspondingly establishes a relation between the group of
people who accomplish cheap travel
around the world and the mentioned aphorism. However, this graffiti-style aphorism is located
at the lower margin of the page, its highlighted, bold, and capitalised fonts
make it highly visible and eye-catching. This vivid contrast together with the
sarcastic tone of the slogan turn this aphorism as an attractive blurb of the whole
chapter. Although this aphorism along with other marginalia such as images and
definitions throughout the whole book may not replace the main text, one can easily
acquire the main ideas of the novel by skimming them.
This aphorism also relates to the whole book in the
way, it indicates the innovative and contemporary approach to writing the novel.
This innovative approach implies that the conventional style of writing novel does
not locate marginalised generation into their rightful position or may not have
sufficient potential anymore to do so. The novel suggests that the generation who
purposefully resists against the harsh realities of the accelerated age of time
deserves their specific position in the novel. The author of Generation X
places the aphorism at the margin of the book to innovate a new style in writing
the novel, as well as to imply the situation of those marginalised in the
society. Nevertheless, this innovation has also caused some critical objections
to the novel, particularly in relation to its tendency towards ‘Pop Art’[3].
Mentioning the format of the first print of Generation X, Tate criticises
that it “resembles a catalogue for a Pop Art retrospective rather than a work
of literary fiction”[4]. However, this aphorism and other marginalia sharpen
ideas of the novel, make it more innovative, and cause the novel overwhelmingly
well received by the readers. Therefore, this aphorism with its quality of alarming
irony relates to the novel.
Bibliography
Coupland, Douglas. Generation X: Tales for an
Accelerated Culture. London: Abacus, 1996.
Tate, Andrew.
Douglas Coupland. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2007. Accessed May
25, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central.
