Intersex Theme
Middlesex is a rich story written by Jeffrey Eugenides with various characters, events, places and themes. Although it is primarily about the life of Calliope Stephanides, it follows many other subplots and relationships. The book offers a deeper look into themes such as gender identity, race relations, and nature vs. nature. These themes are present throughout the entire book involving Cal’s entire family as they struggle to remain happy in their life. In the end, these themes helped produce a magnificent book detailing some of the struggles of growing up as intersex.
The lead character came into the world as a baby girl, Calliope Stephanides, in 1960. Her struggle with gender identity came to light as she entered puberty and began noticing …show more content…
The beginning speaks about the humiliation Greek immigrants felt in the US in the early 1900s. As an example, when Callie’s grandfather Lefty, a Greek immigrant, works at a Ford automobile factory, the Ford investigators try to “Americanize” him. They come to his home and question him, “How often do you bathe, Mr. Stephanides, and how often do you brush your teeth?” (P101). They walk around their kitchen, looking in the oven, pots, and garbage, as well as give their advice regarding his financial situation. It is appalling to even think of that happening in today’s times, as it was simply outright demeaning to Lefty and Desdemona. The relationship between the Greek Americans and the African Americans is filled with prejudice. During the depression, Desdemona is shocked that she is forced to work in a black neighborhood. “Desdemona looked in awe and terror at all the faces filling the windows, all the bodies filling the streets” (P1410. The Stepanides’ family is affected by the Detroit riots, which although not technically a war, felt like one with the National Guard and military forces filling the streets. In the context of the novel it presents a nice parallelism to the grandparent’s flight from Smyrna, due to a fire, while here, the Stephanides leave Detroit after a fire in their own
The lead character came into the world as a baby girl, Calliope Stephanides, in 1960. Her struggle with gender identity came to light as she entered puberty and began noticing …show more content…
The beginning speaks about the humiliation Greek immigrants felt in the US in the early 1900s. As an example, when Callie’s grandfather Lefty, a Greek immigrant, works at a Ford automobile factory, the Ford investigators try to “Americanize” him. They come to his home and question him, “How often do you bathe, Mr. Stephanides, and how often do you brush your teeth?” (P101). They walk around their kitchen, looking in the oven, pots, and garbage, as well as give their advice regarding his financial situation. It is appalling to even think of that happening in today’s times, as it was simply outright demeaning to Lefty and Desdemona. The relationship between the Greek Americans and the African Americans is filled with prejudice. During the depression, Desdemona is shocked that she is forced to work in a black neighborhood. “Desdemona looked in awe and terror at all the faces filling the windows, all the bodies filling the streets” (P1410. The Stepanides’ family is affected by the Detroit riots, which although not technically a war, felt like one with the National Guard and military forces filling the streets. In the context of the novel it presents a nice parallelism to the grandparent’s flight from Smyrna, due to a fire, while here, the Stephanides leave Detroit after a fire in their own