Research Paper
Lyndsey Warner
Professor Johansson
Final Research Paper
The World According to Garp In the modern world we, as humans, are not always considered perfect. Everyone has flaws, according to the book The World According to Garp. In John Irvin’s novel it deals with the life of T.S. Garp. This novel is humorous, bittersweet and wonderfully human character. Garp’s unusual life begins before him, with an extraordinary conception. Jenny Fields, Garp’s mother is a no-nonsense nurse who unorthodox philosophy on life shapes Garp’s irregular fate. Jenny Fields is not interested in men or sex, but interested in motherhood. While nursing in Boston Mercy Hospital Jenny has a patient who is a World War II soldier. This leads to how T.S. Garp was conceived. In the beginning of the novel Jenny nurses Technical Sergeant Garp, observing his infantile state and almost perpetual autonomic sexual arousal. After matters of practicality and kindness in making his passing as comfortable as possible and reducing his agitation, she manually gratifies him several times. Jenny uses Garp’s sexual response to impregnate herself, and that’s how T.S. Garp got his name. Jenny continues to raise Garp herself as she wanted, taking a position at the all-boys school Steering School in New England. When Irving displays the harmful effects of romantic relationships in The World
According to Garp, he often does so by addressing two parts of romantic love: lust and attachment. Lust is a topic that proves the flaws of humanity by highlighting the immoral actions that we are prone to committing, and is referenced on numerous occasions throughout the novel. Garp grows up, becoming interest in sex, wrestling, and writing fiction which was three topics his mother was interested in. When Garp and Jenny were at the school, while Jenny was working, Garp was exposed to books. In which this time, Garp lives in the infirmary and receives a fine education in the classroom, and a decent amount of
Professor Johansson
Final Research Paper
The World According to Garp In the modern world we, as humans, are not always considered perfect. Everyone has flaws, according to the book The World According to Garp. In John Irvin’s novel it deals with the life of T.S. Garp. This novel is humorous, bittersweet and wonderfully human character. Garp’s unusual life begins before him, with an extraordinary conception. Jenny Fields, Garp’s mother is a no-nonsense nurse who unorthodox philosophy on life shapes Garp’s irregular fate. Jenny Fields is not interested in men or sex, but interested in motherhood. While nursing in Boston Mercy Hospital Jenny has a patient who is a World War II soldier. This leads to how T.S. Garp was conceived. In the beginning of the novel Jenny nurses Technical Sergeant Garp, observing his infantile state and almost perpetual autonomic sexual arousal. After matters of practicality and kindness in making his passing as comfortable as possible and reducing his agitation, she manually gratifies him several times. Jenny uses Garp’s sexual response to impregnate herself, and that’s how T.S. Garp got his name. Jenny continues to raise Garp herself as she wanted, taking a position at the all-boys school Steering School in New England. When Irving displays the harmful effects of romantic relationships in The World
According to Garp, he often does so by addressing two parts of romantic love: lust and attachment. Lust is a topic that proves the flaws of humanity by highlighting the immoral actions that we are prone to committing, and is referenced on numerous occasions throughout the novel. Garp grows up, becoming interest in sex, wrestling, and writing fiction which was three topics his mother was interested in. When Garp and Jenny were at the school, while Jenny was working, Garp was exposed to books. In which this time, Garp lives in the infirmary and receives a fine education in the classroom, and a decent amount of
Cited: Irving, John. The World According to Garp. New York, NY: Pocket Books, 1979. Print. Irving, John and Larry McCafferoy. “An Interview with John Irving.” Contemporary Literature 23, no. 1 (winter 1982): 1-18 Lounsberry, Barbara. “The Terrible Under Toad: Violence as Excessive Imagination in The World According to Garp.” Thalia 5, no. 2 (fall 1982-winter 1938): 30-5. "The World according to Garp by John Irving." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 175. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 253-360. Literature Criticism Online. Gale. Brevard Community College. 3 December 2012