Twilight, Part 4: Manipulation and False Valor

I'm back working on my Twilight review!  If you missed the first three parts, click here, here, and here.

**spoiler alert**  (Some themes in this post may not be appropriate for younger readers)

One of the main reasons that so many Christians support the Twilight series is the notion that the story supports celibacy until marriage, and that the characters in the story, though troubled, have better morals than characters in other modern tales such as these.  And to an extent, it's true, because the two do wait until marriage.  However, one really can't give them much credit for it at all.  In fact, the book is almost racier than it would have been if they had not waited!

Let me explain how this works.  I credit the author, Stephenie Meyer, for being brilliant at the psychological manipulation of young girls and their parents.  Many parents look at the books and see two teens practicing good moral behavior, while teenage girls read this book and become emotionally invested in characters who are deeply in love.

One has to understand that boys and girls are different.  While a boy reading this book wouldn't get much of a thrill from the whirlwind love affair of the two main characters, a girl reads this and is deeply effected by this so-called perfect love.

Another impressive fact about Meyer's authorship is that she pushes boundaries of moral behavior in a way that can effect readers, but not so far as to really be accused of being too racy.  But I challenge this, and say that the Twilight series is, in fact, incredibly inappropriate!

When one removes the harrowing aspects of the story, you have a teenage girl who allows her boyfriend to sleep in her room, though they do not do anything other than talk and sleep.  Kisses are in every chapter, and the description of the emotions Bella feels is lofty and deep.

In my rhetoric class early in the year, we were all discussing Twilight, and I took some notes, as I had been planning on doing this review for a while.  One of my good friends, Santiago, said "It's like the line between holding hands and... having babies."  After we all had a good laugh, I realized what a true statement that really is.  The two characters in the book, though they abstain from actual sex, are so emotionally invested and are constantly kissing, etc.  It's not that I think kissing is a sin, necessarily, but you have to read the book to understand how often and how significant each kiss is... It pervades the entire story, and attempts to create an anticipation that, I think, is unhealthy.

Not to mention, they have to abstain.  Bella wants to become a vampire, but Edward doesn't want her to be one until after they get married.  He's afraid that if they were to do more than just share kisses, that he would be tempted to bite her, thus making her into a vampire prematurely, though Bella actually tries to initiate romance on more than one occasion.

Now, when you put it that way, doesn't it just sound like a ridiculous story?

The characters in Twilight are no more moral than any other characters out there.  They remain celibate solely out of necessity, and the anticipation built in the story is unhealthy for young people to read!  It gives no moral reason for waiting; it simply forces the heroes to do so.  Stephenie Meyer has cleverly tricked many through her manipulation of emotions and morality.

Twilight, Part 2: Edward Cullen

**spoiler alert**

I am going to first address the male lead in the Twilight series, Edward Cullen.  First, I will explain how the book portrays him and how most girls my age see him, and then I will explain why I’m less than thrilled with his character.  I will also discuss reasons why his character is admirable, in a few ways.

Edward Cullen’s life stalled at the age of 17, when he was turned into a vampire by a Dr. Carlisle Cullen.  Edward’s parents had died of a serious illness, and he was on the verge of death as well.  Carlisle, a vampire himself, made the decision to save Edward’s life by making him immortal.

So fast forward.  Edward’s in the 21^st century in a little town called Forks, where the sun rarely shines.  (Vampires sparkle in the sun, you know.  Very manly.)  Edward and some other young people Carlisle saved are posing as a family with adopted children, with Carlisle as the father and his wife Esme as the mother.  The other vampire “children” are Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, and Jasper.  However, they aren’t actual siblings.  Emmett and Rosalie are a couple, and Alice and Jasper are another.

This leaves Edward on his own, in a sense.  So he meets Bella Swan on her first day at school, and is met with a surprise.  He can’t read her mind, but he can read everyone else’s.  Not to mention she smells, really, really great. (It's a vampire thing.)  It becomes difficult for him to be around her because he has the urge to go all Dracula on her, but he tries to stay away.  At the same time, he feels the need to protect her... and so he follows her everywhere.

In the book, he is portrayed as a loving, albeit troubled, young man with a burning love for a girl.  He’s other-worldly, with unmatched good looks and impeccable manners.  He plays the piano with great skill, and is always considerate of others.

Young ladies today absolutely can’t get enough of this character.  He’s almost like a god among men in this book, and Bella, too, falls under the spell.  Interestingly enough, he watches her while she sleeps, even after she finds out.  He is always, always around, even when she can't see him.

At one point, he even tells her that she needs to be afraid of him.  That he’s dangerous and that she should never have contact with him again.  But she doesn’t listen.  A simple “I’m not afraid of you,” and they throw caution to the wind and fall in love.

Basically, I believe that Edward Cullen is an unhealthy character for young ladies to read books about.  He is portrayed as this perfect being, and he seemingly treats Bella so well!  However, this does two things to young girls.  One, it makes them assume that unless a boy lives up to these perfect, all-consuming characteristics, he’s not good enough.  Two, the story makes girls believe in a dangerous relationship.  Though Edward is good, he’s still technically the archetypical bad boy because he’s so dangerous and volatile.  I think that this is one of the reasons girls get into so many abusive relationships.  They act like Bella and follow the emotion that they feel they need, and end up getting hurt, even physically. 

I was shocked when I realized that this book is basically promoting this unsound type of relationship.  Certainly, Edward hates that he has urges to hurt her, but at the same time, I’m sure real boys who injure girls have a level of self-loathing. 

Edward is portrayed as the Renaissance man, but it really makes girls crave this dangerous, seemingly unattainable specimen.  He keeps her safe by watching her while she sleeps and following her around (which in itself is creepy, and gave me chills), but at the same time, he’s not healthy for Bella.  He’s all she can ever think about, and later on in the story, she becomes nearly suicidal when he goes away for a while.

So, tell me what you think.  Explaining these traits in Edward Cullen, does he not seem to you like a dangerous stalker?  Bella is driven crazy by her level of feeling for him, and she throws her entire life away for this on boy, and I will go into that in further detail later. 

Many who dislike the book still praise Edward Cullen for being a model young man.  However, I disagree.  He’s selfish in taking Bella so thoroughly from her life, and he remains near her no matter how dangerous it is for her.

Twilight Review, Part 1

A while back, I read the Twilight series.  For you.

I had adamantly sworn that I would never read it, but my curiosity piqued enough… and so I did.  I thought it would be a great blog post or two, and so I dug through the books in about two weeks.

Let me begin with my first impressions.  I have been told regularly that the writing in these books is absolutely phenomenal.  However, I disagree.  And at the same time, I fully agree.  As I read, I noticed that the authorship was plain.  It was simple vocabulary with a few choice words thrown in here and there.  However, it wasn’t spectacular by any stretch of the imagination.

At the same time, I agree that the writing is skillful.  Reading in as neutral of a mindset as I could muster, I found myself being pulled.  My heart would alternately soar and fall as the story did, and I had to really think about the story in order to continue reading.  I knew I was in this to give an honest review, and I needed to focus.

The author’s ability to reach into the mind of a young girl is absolutely stunning.  Though the writing is simple, it’s still amazing how Stephanie Meyer manages to tug the heartstrings.  You follow the characters with reckless abandon unless you stop and truly think. 

Once I began to consider the actual story as opposed to the frippery and romanticism and feeling that it evokes, I was shocked at the message. 

Girls, especially teenage girls, have a natural craving to be safe and protected.  In this case, this protection comes in the arms of a mysterious, Victorian-esque vampire.  The main character, Bella Swan, is the very image of  a down-to-earth young lady… or so it seems.  I actually find her to be unbalanced and foolish.

This is a basic summation of my thoughts in regards to the Twilight series, however, I will continue with an analysis of the main characters and then a final post in conclusion.

Get ready!  It’s going to be a biting review.  (See what I did there?  Haha.  Hah.  No?  Ok.)