Jennifer Egan's Writing

Jennifer Egan’s writing changes perspective throughout the book constantly shifting single-minded opinions the reader develops in each chapter. Each story the reader quickly labels each character with certain qualities of their personality: manipulative, depressed, insane, and/or many more. The first chapter shahs, the focus, or perceiver of the chapter easily allows the reader to create opinions of her. She saw the world as a cruel place that everyone had an endgame to rob you of your riches to feed their own “We live in a city where people will steal the hair off your head if you give them half a chance,” –Sasha pg.1. The reader, understandably, views Sasha as insane or bias. Simply her talking for two pages makes her seem manipulative and on l=some judgmental. These opinions may not form through what she says but with the reader making assumptions based on life experiences or even by watching TV. Yet Egan had still to shift the reader’s image.

Yet the reader spends a whole chapter inside Sasha head how would Egan create an opinion such as that if they where simply mentioned. In the second chapter Sasha is introduced as a secretary. Simply her profession can already spark a stereotypical opinion in the readers mind. Then when Bernie mentions her in an alluring way but also says how she has kept him at arms length without hurting his feelings. This makes her seem like a pleasant girl. One who does not think about how people think of her but simply just attracts them. This does not seem like Sasha. Egan has mastered this technique. She uses stereotypes that the reader assumes, passively of course. This allows her to easily shift blame thought the book.