Quinn Dobrish ’28, Langston Muller ’28, Teagan Schier ’28
Literary Analyses of Alexander Weinstein’s Children of the New World
By Quinn Dobrish ’28, Langston Muller ’28, and Teagan Schier ’28
“This assignment is what I call a ‘passage selection.’ Students pick any length excerpt from the assigned reading and react in a page or two. They transcribe their chosen excerpt at the top of the page, and then they get into their reaction. Some students pick a sentence or two, and some choose a longer excerpt; it’s up to them. They are encouraged to engage deeply with the excerpt, and to try to tie it to any themes that they notice in the text. These assignments take place before we’ve had any discussion of the reading in class, so the students are reacting honestly and personally, and without the benefit of any explication from me or impressions from their classmates.”
“Openness:” A Close Reading by Quinn Dobrish
“Letting someone into every secret gave access to our dark corners, and rather than feeling sympathy for each other’s failings, we blamed each other for nearsightedness, and soon layers of resentment were dredged up” (Weinstein 195-196).
“Openness,” a short story by Alexander Weinstein, takes place in the near-future, where people have the ability to share their thoughts, emotions, and memories using technology that gives them access to each other’s minds. The information is categorized into outer and inner layers. The protagonist, Andy, is a math substitute living in a city overcome by this new technology. One day, he meets Katie on the subway, and they take a trip to Maine together. Andy navigates a relationship with Katie, struggling to be vulnerable and deciding which of his layers to unlock and which to keep hidden. Later on, they decide to give complete access to one another’s layers, or total openness. When their relationship ends, he questions whether total openness was to blame (Weinstein 195). This short story explores how technology affects privacy, personal relationships, and the consequences of living in an over-connected society.
In the selected passage, the phrase “our dark corners” evokes imagery of mysterious and concealed places and is a metaphor for the parts within ourselves we hide from others. In this context, it would be the deepest, most private layers where those secrets lie (Weinstein 196). The adjective “dark” implies these hidden parts are negative or shameful. They could also represent the insecurities and failures of an individual (Weinstein 196). The word “access” highlights how the use of technology to achieve total openness is transactional (Weinstein 195). The protagonist and his girlfriend believe that by giving each other access to the deepest parts of themselves, they will achieve a deep, mutual understanding. Instead, they end up subjecting their partners to every part of their mind, including their traumas and faults, which causes both parties to be overly vulnerable to judgment.
The next part of the sentence, “rather than feeling sympathy for each other’s failings, we blamed each other for nearsightedness,” shows the failure of their attempted transparency (Weinstein 196). The expectation might be that knowing someone’s most private thoughts would create compassion, as both parties could recognize their shared humanity and flaws, but it does the opposite. The word “sympathy” indicates a deep sense of understanding for emotions, however, sympathy is notably absent in the world Weinstein portrays (Weinstein 196). “We were the first generation to grow up with layers, a group of kids who’d produced thousands of tutorials on blocking unwanted users but not a single one on empathy” (Weinstein 195). The masses within this futuristic world are constantly connected and exposed to layers of all kinds. People can easily check how a person feels through their layers, without having to ask. This reduces the opportunity to acknowledge the feelings from the perspective of the individual, making it harder to sympathize with their emotions. Instead of feeling sympathy, Andy and Katie blame one another for their inability to make the connections between their partner’s daily life and their traumas.
“Nearsightedness” is another striking word in this passage, because it implies a narrow perspective, suggesting that instead of recognizing and sympathizing with their partner’s vulnerability, each character focuses on their partner’s imperfections (Weinstein 196). “There was a night at the bar when I watched Katie struggling to speak loudly enough for the bartender to hear, and I suddenly realized his face resembled the schoolyard bully of her childhood. ‘You have to get over that already,’ I blinked angrily” (Weinstein 196). Andy has access to Katie’s layers and memories of her schoolyard bully, but instead of using this realization to sympathize with her past, he expects her to get over it. When accessing others’ emotions and traumas, they’re read more as statements or facts instead of personal experiences. Nearsightedness is the opposite of understanding. It’s the inability to see from a different perspective or consider the consequences before acting. In this case, Andy can’t relate or sympathize with Katie’s history, and he doesn’t realize how his dismissiveness impacts their relationship.
The final part of the quote, “and soon layers of resentment were dredged up,” has a double meaning (Weinstein 196). The word “layers” suggests that resentment is not something newly formed but rather it is something buried, hidden beneath the surface, or in the deepest layers of the technology (Weinstein 196). These layers of resentment are “dredged up,” a phrase that evokes an image of something buried being forcefully brought to light (Weinstein 196). This suggests that forced transparency doesn’t just expose individual flaws but also magnifies pre-existing tensions within the relationship. Not only that, but the imagery of “dredging up” adds a sense of exhaustion and discomfort, as if the act of revealing these layers is unwanted or disruptive (Weinstein 196). This points to the central irony of the story: the more transparent people become, the more fractured their relationships. Instead of building deeper connections, forced openness pulls up old wounds, leading to judgment, blame and misunderstanding.
In this quote, Weinstein critiques technology and the effect it has on relationships. It focuses on the societal shift toward digital transparency and the loss of personal boundaries. By revealing too much of ourselves, we lose the ability to appreciate the complexity of human imperfection. The act of knowing every single secret doesn’t bring people closer, but instead it amplifies their capacity to judge and resent.
Works Cited
Weinstein, Alexander. “Openness.” Children of the New World, Picador, 2016, pp. 183-199.
Reading Too Deep Into “Saying Goodbye To Yang”
By Langston Muller
“Russ Goodman’s Tech Repair Shop is located two miles off the highway amid a row of industrial warehouses. The place is wedged between Mike’s Muffler Repair and a storefront called Stacey’s Second Times - a cluttered thrift store displaying old rifles, iPods, and steel bear traps in its front window. Two men in caps and oil-stained plaid shirts are standing in front smoking cigarettes. As I park alongside the rusted mufflers and oil drums of Mike’s, they eye my solar car like they would a flea-ridden dog” (Weinstein 8).
Alexander Weinstein’s short story “Saying Goodbye To Yang” follows Jim, a father who must process the death of his robotic surrogate son, Yang. Jim and his family reside in Detroit at some point in the near future when androids and human cloning have become normalized. Despite these advancements in technology, Americans remain divided along class lines; which is highlighted when Jim takes Yang to a repairman near Kalamazoo by the name of Russ Goodman.
Weinstein establishes his new setting immediately by giving the repair shop and its neighboring stores names such as “Mike’s Muffler Repair” and “Stacey’s Second Times” (8). These titles share three commonalities: they are alliterative, they incorporate the names of their owners, and they are very straightforward about what type of business they are. This naming convention is most often utilized in small rural areas where function is more important than form when it comes to marketing. It also implies that the businesses are small enough to where the owners are on a first-name basis with many of their clientele. Finally, the alliteration is crude, with words like ‘Mike’ and ‘Muffler’ only sharing the sound of the letter ‘m.’ While that doesn’t mean much on its own, combined with the other elements of the names it harkens back to many a small-town establishment, thus contributing to the reader’s understanding of the new setting’s socioeconomic status.
Another hint of this comes when Weinstein describes the storefront of Stacey’s Second Times as “displaying old rifles, iPods, and steel bear traps” (8). The mention of traps signifies to the reader that the local populace has an interest in hunting while the fact that guns are casually displayed in a thrift shop’s window implies they aren’t viewed as particularly dangerous. This mindset tends to be more common in rural areas and is a major cause of ideological tension in America.
That tension is all but confirmed near the end of the passage when Jim, in reference to Russ and another man standing outside the thrift store, observes that “they eye my solar car like they would a flea-ridden dog” (Weinstein 8). The use of simile here expresses the men’s extreme distaste for the car and conveys that Jim is out of his element. Prior to this, Weinstein makes multiple references to the presence of oil. The men are described as wearing “caps and oil-stained plaid shirts” and Jim parks alongside “oil drums” outside Mike’s Muffler Repair (8). Since electric and solar cars are much more expensive than gas-powered ones, the men’s withering glances can be interpreted as them feeling like Jim is showing off or looking down on them. All of this is emblematic of lower class rural Americans who feel like society has left them behind.
Weinstein’s word choice also emphasizes how Jim seems to view this area. His description of the thrift store as “cluttered” and his special note of the “rusted mufflers” in the parking lot shows a slight fixation on the run-down state of things (8). The unfriendly mood could also have influenced his interpretation of the men’s glances; although this is merely conjecture. Either way, there is certainly a disconnect between Jim’s usual way of life and the situation where he currently finds himself.
One may wonder how this all connects to the story’s central themes regarding human connection. Simply, “Saying Goodbye to Yang” warns against such stereotypes and assumptions as the one’s Jim is making. Jim forms initial opinions about various characters, including Yang and his neighbor George; he must confront these presumptions after seeing them in a new light. Russ, while presented as vehemently racist and generally unpleasant, does receive a somewhat similar reappraisal later when he doesn’t charge Jim for his services (Weinstein 8-12). This doesn’t exactly make him a good person, but it does give the guy a layer of humanity, rebuking the reader’s initial perceptions. Such introspection would not be possible if it weren’t for Weinstein playing so deeply into people’s preconceptions regarding rural Americans.
“Saying Goodbye to Yang” utilizes stereotypical rural imagery and nomenclature in order to later challenge its readers’ assumptions regarding these areas and the people who reside within them. While the Kalamazoo section of the story initially appears to be somewhat unimportant to the main plot, it sets a crucial thematic precedent regarding preconceived notions of others.
Works Cited
Weinstein, Alexander. “Saying Goodbye To Yang”. Children Of The New World. Picador. 2016. 1-22
“The Value of Shared Sensory Experiences”
By Teagan Schier
“I walked to my station alone every day and sat on the train with my sketch pad, drawing the details I remembered from our trip to Maine: the shoreline with its broken shells and sunlight, the heron before it took flight, Katie’s face in the summer darkness. It’s the intangible details that I remember the clearest, the ones that there’s no way to draw. The taste of the perch as we sat around the table; how a cricket had slipped through the screened windows and jumped around our bed that night; how, after we’d gotten it out, the coolness of the lake made us draw the blankets around us; and how Katie, her father, and I had sat together in the warm light of the living room and played a game “(Weinstein 199).
The story “Openness,” by Alexander Weinstein, explores the complexities of relationships, especially within the setting of new technology. The two main characters, Andy and Katie, agree to be completely open with one another, using technology to remove all barriers between them, eliminate privacy, and uncover all aspects of their thoughts and feelings (Weinstein 193). They face the challenges of being completely transparent with each other, as they must navigate the difficulty of privacy and the emotional strain that can cause. Revealing all the layers of their lives may have led to the end of their relationship (198). Overall, this story discusses how emotional experiences cannot be fully conveyed through technological or descriptive details. Instead, it argues that human connection is enhanced through shared sensory and emotional moments, which technology struggles to replicate.
Throughout this passage, Weinstein highlights the emotional power sensory details hold. It begins with Andy’s attempt to capture memories of a past trip through drawing, but it’s the “intangible details” that linger in his mind (199). For example, “the taste of the perch as [Andy and Katie] sat around the table” is a simple memory, yet it involves taste, a powerful sense that cannot be captured visually (199). The act of them sitting around a table enjoying a meal evokes an emotional bond that exceeds what could be captured in a sketch. This shared experience, marked by the flavor of the perch, becomes a meaningful moment between the characters, one they must remember as they cannot rely on their layers. Similarly, the cricket that “slipped through the screened window” and their joint effort to remove it becomes another shared experience that carries substantial emotional weight (199). This brief interruption in their night serves as a symbol of connection, marking both the beginning and eventual end of their relationship. Through these instances, Weinstein demonstrates how true openness and connection can be found through these shared sensory experiences, rather than through technological representations.
The sensory imagery in the passage reveals a transformation in both the environment and the characters’ relationship. The words, “sunlight,” “summer darkness,” “coolness,” and “warm light” convey this change (199). The “sunlight” magnifies the brightness and warmth, capturing the initial happiness during Katie and Andy’s time together (199). This shifts into “summer darkness,” signifying how the joyful days gradually fade into gloom and sadness (199). Similarly, “coolness” and “warm light” demonstrate how quickly environments and emotions can change (199). The shift from cold to warmth imitates the unpredictability in their relationship, where moments of comfort evolve to colder and more distant feelings. This transition reflects how Andy and Katie’s relationship quickly declines as they discover new truths about each other.
Weinstein often uses forms of repetition to emphasize key ideas. In the phrase, “the shoreline with its broken shells and sunlight,” the repeated ‘s’ sound strengthens the significance of this memory (199). It reveals the shifting environment, where broken shells, symbolizing delicacy, and the sunlight, representing warmth and comfort, coexist. This contrast suggests that despite Andy and Katie’s differing perspectives, maintaining a balance between privacy and suppression might have prolonged their relationship, had they not agreed on “total openness” (193).
This passage by Alexander Weinstein reveals the impact of intangible and sensory memories cannot be captured through technological representation. The detailed observations of taste and touch emphasize the emotional complexity of these moments. This suggests that true connection and openness in relationships are derived from shared feelings and bonds, rather than from details disclosed. Additionally, this passage highlights the possibility of living in opposition, and the consequences that arise when this balance cannot be maintained. Ultimately, Weinstein shows that relationships can be shaped by emotionally significant experiences, which remain well after the physical details have faded.
Work Cited
Weinstein, Alexander. “Openness.” Children of the New World, Picador, 2016, pp. 183-199.