The Education of a Corpse

When examining the similarities throughout the bans on saggy pants and tattoos with Galbraith’s exposition into the education of young children by their parents in regards to the issues surrounding A Wrinkle in Time, one of the central elements in understanding the disparities between those involved is the manner by which we speak of these issues. Although saggy pants and tattoos appear to be harmless to many younger audiences today, the meaning behind the banning of each reflects issues that have changed in modern times compared to when the people coming up with the laws experienced the meaning originally. Therefore although younger audiences do not see saggy pants as tattoos or maybe have joined in causes that argue for the artistic expression of saggy pants and tattoos as part of who someone is, the older generations who were around when these breaks from the cultural norm first occurred could potentially see these actions as a degeneration that could cause harm to others. In this sense, the realities surrounding baggy pants and tattoos appear similar to that which Galbraith has to say about parents educating their children in the degree that adults risk determining the understand of their children due to the influence of language and experience.

            Responding to the issues through the lens of A Wrinkle in Time, one of the primary understandings that is taught in the novel deals with the rejection of the appearance of things. Whether it is Aunt Beast, Meg’s father, or the concept of love, the key aspect that is taught by L’Engle is that things mean more than that which they appear as. In this sense, the meaning of each aspect of Meg’s world has the ability to constantly change, which is important for Meg due to the problems of her conception of her father which was literally held in stasis until she broke through the appearance and discovered the multiplicity of meanings for one thing, and allows Meg to come discover things on her own rather than repeat definitions that are predetermined for her. Therefore, much like baggy pants and tattoos acting like a catalyst for degeneration for an older generation, the predeterminism of the older generation freezes the ability of the new generations to discover any meaning. Caught in this constant re-education, no new information is learned and the concept ultimately dies, or loses meaning for the people due to their inherent acceptance from others.