The role of the primer is certainly an idea that we spent a great deal of time discussing in class. The primer is so controversial, because it affected Elizabeth, Nell, and Fiona differently. Like we mentioned in class, Elizabeth is the character seen as pure loyalty. She is a true Victorian, and as a result of this she does not feel the need to question her surroundings. Essentially, she has no lived experience, and like her grandfather points out in section two, she doesn’t think about her actions, for she simply goes after what she wants. At the conclusion of The Diamond Age, Elizabeth ends up joining the Cryptnet tribe, and I attribute this to the fact that she is loyalty and doesn’t have a consistent instructor dictating the primer to her throughout the text. Fiona is another female character in the text influenced by the primer. Throughout the entire text, she is described as a character living in the fantastical world. I attribute this to the fact that her father, Hackworth, is solely narrating the primer to her. Like any father, Hackworth attempts to shield his daughter from the harsh realities of the everyday world, and as a result of this Fiona is far removed from reality. Last, Nell is affected by the primer, although her experience with the text is very different. The primer is narrated to Nell by one consistent narrator, Miranda, but Nell is still able to overcome her circumstances and create her own tribe at the end of Stephenson’s The Diamond Age. More or less, like suggested in class, I think it is possible that Stephenson is making the argument that if a kid from the wrong side of the tracks is given a book, he or she will be equipped to change the world. I’m not sure if I believe this argument made by Stephenson, but I do agree that books are only powerful if they are taught or narrated by adequate instructors. As many of you know, I plan on becoming an English teacher in the near future. I, of course, love literature, but I understand that not all of my future students will share my love for reading. I think, however, that they will enjoy or benefit from the literature we discuss in class, because I will make it relevant to my students’ lives. Constable Moore tells Nell in section two that in order to be intelligent, one must have access to books as well as lived experience. Essentially, I feel that Stephenson is posing the argument that in order to be educated one must understand how to make literature, such as the canon, relevant to his or her life. This is why I plan on bringing supplemental literature into the classroom, such as contemporary texts, to make the literature that I teach in the classroom relevant to what is going on in today’s society.
At the end of class we discussed how Stephenson may possibly be posing the argument that the book has revolutionary potential of letting one bring down cultural hegemony. I agree with this statement, because I feel that literature is capable of causing a revolution. I completed my undergraduate work at Oneonta, and while there I had a series of literature courses with a professor from South Africa. This particular professor left South Africa, because of the extreme segregation between races. One evening, this particular professor told my class his experiences when returning to South Africa to teach college courses. At this particular time certain books were banned, but my professor taught the words of these banned texts to his students. His students then memorized these words and used them against their aggressors. I think this scenario shows the importance of the texts, and how books can be used to stage a revolution; so in this respect, I feel Stephenson is right with his assumption.
Overall, Stephenson’s The Diamond Age, really made me think and I can appreciate this quality of the text –even if I typically despise science fiction.
