Breaking Dawn came out today. For those of you non-vampire-lovers, it's the newest book in the Twilight sage, the series by Stephenie Meyer, a Mormon mom from Arizona. She is a BYU grad, and her Twilight series has been called the next Harry Potter, although because it deals with subject matter that is more mature than HP and focuses primarily on the relationship of a teenage girl and her vampire boyfriend, it reaches a smaller demographic (primarily teenage girls).
An understanding of the book is not necessary to the reading of this post, but it probably helps. And part of the reason for writing this is to let you know that not only teenage girls read the book. Although, being a 20-something male, reading the books in public may get you some weird looks and/or comments from others. Well, at least my friend Wyatt told me he'll reserve judgment on me for reading the book, which is nice.
Here's a basic rundown of the story for those who haven't read the books. [WARNING: Spoiler alert] Bella is a high school senior who meets and falls in love with a vampire (Edward), who is a good vampire living among humans (doesn't drink human blood). Bella and Edward fall in love, but Edward decides that by being around, he's endangering Bella, so he abruptly leaves her, sending her spiraling into depression. At that point, along comes Jacob, who is slightly younger than Bella, but who adores her. He brings her almost out of her comatose state, and Bella starts to live her life again. She calls Jacob her "sun."But then Edward returns for Bella, making it necessary for her to choose with whom she wants to be. Oh yeah, and turns out, Jacob is a werewolf, which is the mortal enemy of the vampire.
Kinda far-fetched, but a very compelling and interesting story, which is why I've read the books, and I can't wait to get further into the new book (I've been reading my friend Janae's copy backstage at performances today and have gotten to page 136 as of this writing).
I think part of the reason I like this series is because I used to see my life paralleled in the books, especially in Jacob's story. Analyzing it now, though, I don't think that really holds quite true (although I am still admittedly on Team Jacob), but I have been able to draw some interesting thoughts from my reading. Here's how I see it.
Both Edward and Jacob have their flaws. In their actions, Jacob is hot and impulsive, while Edward is cool and deliberate. Jacob is young and somewhat emotionally immature, but he is the best friend Bella has ever had. She even says she never did anything to deserve such a wonderful friend as Jacob. But at the same time, he is somewhat selfish - he wants Bella to love him like he loves her, and he's stubborn and refuses to make the decision easy for her. Basically, he won't give up. On the other hand, Edward loves Bella so much, he will do whatever he thinks is best for her (often without regard for what she thinks).
Edward may seem perfect to Bella, but it is exactly that "perfection" that makes him imperfect. It is that absolute desire to do what is best for Bella that leads to him hurting her more than anything or anyone else ever did. And it is that controlling nature he has that makes his seeming perfection unreal (and really sends up red flags for the relationship).
Now here's my plug for Jacob, and let me apply it to relationships in general. Some people attack Jacob because he's somewhat immature and selfish, and was rash and made mistakes in how he dealt with Bella. But I'm willing to give him a little latitude, because he was younger. As he gets older, he'll learn and grow and become more emotionally mature (it even shows him progressing somewhat on that front in the books). Edward, however, does not get the same accommodation, as he is about 90 years old. He should have already learned from his mistakes along the way.
Now I've talked about this before, but you shouldn't be looking for perfection in a mate. You should be looking for someone who loves you and who makes you want to be a better person, but not someone who is perfect. If you think someone is perfect, that should send up more red flags. One of the great things about truly being in love is that you can even learn to love someone's flaws.
But quite honestly, I don't blame Edward or Jacob for the problems - I blame Bella. And really, Bella was starting to drive me nuts in the books. And even though the book has turned out the way it has so far (which doesn't make me happy, by the way), I'm at least glad that Bella isn't fickle anymore. I'm excited to read more.
So go and read these books - they're good.
That's all.
6 comments:
I am on team Edward... I think that Bella has more 'friend' type fellings for Jacob, and Edward and Bellas love is more true. That is just my opinion. PLUS- this is why I LOOOOVE Edward way more then Jacob. He RESPECTS her! Jacob if I am remembering right (it has been over a year since I read them..) he tried kissing Bella and making her uncomfortable and was not very respectful of Bellas feelings. Whereas Edward has always shown SO much respect for Bella. For her feelings, her body, and her well-being. I do like Jacob and I wouldn't be upset to see them together, but I think the love Bella and Edward share is no where near what Jacob and Bella ever felt together.
Can't wait to read the next one!!
Their love is "more true?" No. Bella loves both Jacob and Edward, and yes the love for each is different, but the love she has for Edward is more of what I'd call hero worship. In her mind, Edward can do no wrong, no matter how many mistakes he makes.
Yes, Jacob should have been more respectful of Bella's wishes, but something important to keep in mind is that what we think we want is not always what's best for us. I'm not saying Jacob was in the right, but when Bella kissed Jacob, she realized how in love with him she actually was. She had just refused to acknowledge it for so long, because she kept hoping Edward would come back for her.
Edward was like a drug to Bella. She was depressed because he was gone, and she was having severe withdrawal. She even went to incredible lengths to "hear" his voice in her head again. That's how addicted she was. And also, despite his respect for her body (mostly because he was afraid he would hurt her - not really because of a sense of chastity), Edward quite often did not respect Bella's feelings.
On the other side of things, Jacob was a ray of light that cheered Bella up when she was blue. He was rough around the edges, but you could see changes in him as he rolled, becoming smoother. I still maintain that Jacob is better for Bella.
I agree with you. I like Jacob a lot better than Edward. I never brought it up in conversations though because too many people get too excited and upset about my dislike for Edward. I liked Jacob since the first time he was introduced in the book. Thank you for pointing out what I have thought all along.
I liked having that conversation backstage. Even more, I like that we can be talking about a fictional story with fictional characters and yet I find that when I've ended my conversation with you that I've learned things that can be put to use in my own life. That's pretty cool. Yay for not having to learn EVERYTHING about relationships from personal experience!!! It's wonderful to learn from my own experiences, but can be discouraging if I fail when I didn't have to.
well well well...I'm not going to argue that Edward is better any more...all I can say is that my very favorite part of the books is the hot and steamy love scenes with Bella and Edward and that is why they must be together because I need more of it!! So- if I knew Bella in REAL life and she wanted my advice about who to choose.. well, I think it would be a toss up, I MAY even lean towards Jacob... BUT this is not real life and I want Edward and Bella to have some more make-out scenes. They give me goosebumps and I love it ;)
IT has always bothered me that Bella fell in love with Edward so fast. It was like in an instant (and it was so much faster in the movies). It makes me think that their "love" is superficial. And I agree that by the time Bella meets Edward he should know all of the things he shouldn't do. And I really like the way that Jacob feels about Bella. Yeah he kinda forces himself on her, but at the same time, that is what happens in real life. You might not always want it, but sometimes love sneaks up on you.
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