Mirror Image
- Lena Coakley
Sub Genre: Science fiction
Language: Contemporary
and employs modern idiom.
Point of view: Third-person Narrator.
Conflict: Man vs Man
(internal & external)
Setting: Alice’s residence,
Hospital, and Bedford Avenue
Theme: The ethics of
modern medical science, change, and family relationship.
‘Mirror Image’ is a very fine example of
science fiction dealing with the theme of impact of science and technology on
human and their life. In this story ‘the impact of phenomenal development in
the field of medical science on human life and society as whole is the central
theme. The story explains all the impacts, unpleasant situations, emotional
stress on Alice, the main character, and other characters involved after Alice
has undergone the brain transplanting operation. It also explains the stress,
regrets and disappointments and etc.
The theme of Change
in Mirror Image:
Change is
something that no one can escape from and throughout life, one experiences several
transformations. According to www.dictionary.com - to change means "to
make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different
from what it is or from what it would be if left alone."
In the story, the
theme of change is revealed through the characters. Change is shown through the
change in families and changes in personalities.
In "Mirror
Image" there is a big change in two families. Alice's family thinks she
has changed since her brain transplant and now the family feels different. Long
after Alice's surgery, Jenny tells Alice what she thinks of her sisters' new
way of acting. "You're a lot different…I don't know…Sometimes I think my
sister is dead.” This change is very drastic; the fact that Alice's own twin
sister feels like she is dead is a huge change for everyone in the family.
Another family
that is shown to have changed a great deal is the Jarred family. Their family
has changed because they have lost a member of their family, their daughter.
The Jarred's feel like they have been cheated out of their daughter. Seen in an
interview after the brain transplant, Mrs. Jarred explains her view on the
situation. "She's our daughter…when we signed the release form donating her
body; we didn't know they were going to bring her back to life with some new
brain. Our Gail is alive and living somewhere in Toronto and I'm not even
allowed to see her”. This change is very hard on the family because losing a
family member is very heartbreaking.
Rationale:
Mirror Image by
Lena Coakley is a scientific allegorical tale that depicts the internal quest
to find one's true self. The story takes us through the experiences of a
teenager named Alice who underwent a brain transplant into a new body as a
result of a fatal accident. Alice struggled to find her true identity and what
it was that made her Alice. The story also shows a striking resemblance to the
children's tale Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Both stories are
allegorical in nature and contain a similar theme. They each describe the
protagonist on their journey within themselves. Alice in Mirror Image must
discover what it is that defines her, and similarly, Alice In Wonderland must
find her way "home." This journey through Wonderland is symbolic of
the internal quest Alice faces. The allegorical pursuit to find one's true self
is developed in both stories by the protagonist's own self-reflection, and
symbolic elements throughout both stories.
In Mirror Image
Alice undergoes deep introspection to find her true identity. She must discover
what it is that defines her. As Alice reflects on her situation she becomes
only more and more confused. She still has her mind but not her body,
"These weren't her hands. This wasn't her breath."Alice questions
whether she is still truly herself. Alice begins to explore the other elements
of her defining features, her mind, and her soul. Because she can no longer take
refuge in her body she begins to identify herself by her mind. As Alice tells
her twin sister Jenny "My brain is me." This does not seem to be
enough to convince others, however. Jenny remains skeptical of her sister by
refusing to let Alice read her diary and by her statement at their birthday
party "Sometimes I think my sister is dead". Alice then turns to
memories of her father for comfort. She felt that he would "just look into
[her] eyes and know who was in [there]." Her father used to tell her that
the "eyes were the mirror to the soul". At the end of the story when
she asked Mr. Jarred to look into her eyes Alice found herself. She discovered
that what defined her was not her body or her brain. It was a deeper, almost
spiritual essence we call the soul.
Science
fiction: It’s a kind of literature that deals with the impact
of science and scientific development on human beings and society. Existing
knowledge, theories and practices help as the background and the author
presents a picture of future by mixing the existing background along with his
imagination. Science fictions are compulsorily futuristic in its approach and
nature.
A short
story/novel in which futuristic technology or otherwise altered scientific principles
contribute in a significant way to the adventures. Often the short story novel
assumes a set of rules or principles or facts and then traces their logical
consequences in some form. For example, given that a man discovers how to make
himself invisible, what might happen?
Examples:
ü H. G. Wells, The
Invisible Man
ü Aldous Huxley, Brave
New World
ü Arthur C.
Clarke, 2001: A Space Odyssey
ü Too bad, Issac
Asimov(Class XI-Reading and Literature)
Allegory: A figurative
work in which a surface narrative carries a secondary, symbolic or metaphorical
meaning.
The story is
about self-realization, the ability to form an opinion about oneself through
the eyes of the mirror around you. The
story is written in a series of vignettes where the author presents to us the first human brain cells transplant and the question that arises with it,
unfolding the plot. How do scientists hope this procedure will benefit humans
in the future? Would the person have difficulty getting adjusted to the new
body? Who would she belong to – to the parents of the body, or the parents of
the brain? It focuses on the internal turmoil of the person living in a society
that focuses so intently on physical appearance. Alice, the protagonist of the
story goes through traumatic events that affect her life and the people around
her. The story deals with family relationships, pride, and media power.
Nonetheless, the
author also shows that out of the process of her struggle, Alice gains pride
and grows as an individual and as a family member. The carefully chosen words
in the story subtly bring out the possible consequences and the possible
solutions to an advancement that can be done through modern science.
Vignette: A vignette
is a short, impressionistic scene that focuses on one moment or gives a
trenchant impression about a character, an idea, or a setting. This type of
scene is more common in recent postmodern theater, where less emphasis is
placed on adhering to the conventions of theatrical structure and story
development. Vignettes have been particularly influenced by contemporary
notions of a scene as shown in the film, video, and television scripting.
This
story has been written through a series of small and important events and
episodes from the life of the main character and other minor and supporting
characters in the story. These small events and episodes are called VIGNETTES. To understand the story
properly the reader should join these VIGNETTES
together and see it as a whole.
Critical summary:
What is
identity?
Identity is the
basic characteristics that determine a person's or things' fact of being. The
short story "Mirror Image" illiterates this best with its different
conflicts pertaining not only to physical attributes but also to mental,
emotional, and even spiritual factors as well.
In this short
story, Lena Coakley expresses the idea that these factors contribute to a person’s
identity as a whole and not in a single attribute. Also, a society or other
people can have a certain image of a person's identity. They see these
characteristics in their everyday actions, such as their speech, the way they
move, and the way they act. It can also be a way a person feels around someone
else. These are all attributes other people can see in a person to make their
identity different from everyone else's.
‘Mirror Image’
is about Alice, a fourteen-year-old girl who undergoes a brain transplant as a
result of a fatal accident. In the accident, she loses her father and her body
becomes completely distorted with only her brain in working condition.
Fortunately for her, the parents of a sixteen-year-old girl who died when Alice
was in the hospital donated her body to Alice. Alice then gets a new body with
her brain transplanted in the new body. At first, the world seemed very strange
to Alice.
Everything
around her seemed different. She found it difficult when she tried to speak as
her tongue seemed very large. Before they told her she had a new body, Alice
knew something was different about her – her hands, her breath, her tone. Alice
had to learn again like a small baby how to walk and talk.
She had to spend
about six months in the hospital before she was fit to go home. In order to
help her cope up with the situation, her mother removed all the mirrors from
the house that somehow when Alice chanced to see her reflection in the shop
windows she would fail to recognize herself and say “excuse me”. To remind to
herself that she did not have her old body she took to wearing sunglasses.
The question of
identity comes in here when Alice’s identical twin sister jenny had her
reservations about Alice. When Alice wanted to read Jenny’s diary, she refused
her. Before the accident, they used to share each and every feeling with each
other and one of the ways in which they shared was by reading each other’s
diaries. When Alice told that they had always read each other’s diaries. Jenny
said, “I have to get you to know you better”. This meant that Jenny still couldn’t
accept Alice as her sister. Alice is shocked to the point that she asked Jenny
whether fourteen years was not enough to know her. But how much ever Alice
tried to make Jenny see in her the Old Alice, Jenny still had her reservations.
But the new body
has its own advantages to it. Alice likes her new body much better than the old
one which had a lot of “cellulite”. She could now walk like a model which she
could never do with her old body. She started having new friends around her as
her confidence in her increased. Also, she decides to join the cheerleading
team because she is confident in her new body. All this is now more than one’s
self-image. Alice before the operation thought that she had a lot of
“cellulite” in her body and thought her old body was less athletic than the one
she has now.
Mental
attributes also play an important factor in one’s identity. Alice can now drive
a vehicle as she has a body of sixteen years old. Now she sees herself as being
beautiful and athletic. Ultimately this gives her confidence to do things she
really wanted to do but thought impossible because of her old physical status.
Because of this, she starts meeting new people and gaining new friends.
With new body
many things change about her. She had a new athletic body and even her taste
buds change. That’s why when on their birthday, their mother prepared cake for
Alice and Jenny, Alice didn’t like the taste of the cake and she tried to hide
it but Jenny noticed it. Jenny felt frustrated about the whole affair and said,
“Sometimes I think my sister is dead” and left the dining room. Jenny still
could not understand that the person behind the new body was still her sister
with whom she used to share everything. Jenny found it difficult to adjust to
the new person although Alice tried to persuade her that was the old Alice.
Although her mother accepted her, still there were doubts in her mind and perhaps
whenever she looked at Alice she tried to see the face of Alice in her and
finding it to be someone else the mother might have felt guilty about it.
Therefore the mother was unable to meet Alice’s eyes directly.
Alice then
begins to question her identity. Who is she anyway and tries to find an answer
to it? She doubts whether she herself is herself anymore. In the end, we find
out that Alice was feeling unsure if she was really herself anymore. Once while
returning from school she finally gets the answer to the question about her identity
when she meets Mr. Jarred (who donated his daughter’s body) and talks to him.
Mr. Jarred showed this when he saw Alice downtown. Mr. Jarred told her that
she was not his daughter as his daughter was different in the way she stood and
talked from Alice. When Alice asked what he would tell his wife, he replied,
“I’ll tell her I looked into your eyes and that I didn’t see my daughter.” At
this Alice felt elated and very much excited that she finally found her
identity.
If a person
believes that he/she is attractive they will have more confidence and will
follow a different path in their life than a person who is overweight and has
less confidence to do things they really want to do. If you believe you are
beautiful then you are. Alice feels different, yet confident. She feels something
is missing like there is a hole inside her that she had to fill. Physical,
emotional, mental, and spiritual elements are all factors of one’s identity.
The author uses
science fiction to alter readers about the future in “Mirror Image”. She uses
Alice’s brain transplant incident as an indicator to see how far would today’s
world stretch if science attempts to generate a sense of wonder. She explores
the life of a girl, who appears to be searching for more answers about her and
her life. Alice seems to be aware of the fact that the person to whom the
Mirror is reflecting is not the old Alice but a new Alice, with another body. Throughout
the story, the author talks about how important it is to understand the basic
characteristic that attributes to a person’s fact of being. The story exposes the idea that a person is not identified in a single attribute, but as a whole.
We see ourselves
and others differently in their physicality, history, personality, psyche,
habits, dress, intellect, etc. It is not only pertaining to the physical
attributes that make up a person’s identity, but mental, emotional, and
spiritual factors are also important.
Character Sketch
–
Alice
The character of
Alice in Lena Coakley's "Mirror Image" is insecure and uncomfortable.
Alice is going through a change; a change brought on by a devastating car crash
that left her clinging to her life in an un-resurrectable body. Alice becomes
the first patient to ever receive a brain transplant, giving her a completely
new appearance. Although Alice is entirely aware of this, she is still
extremely confused about the new changes, which seem to surround her new life.
Alice feels that
appearance and personality are two divided parts.
"Mirror
Image" does not reveal extensive information about Alice's appearance.
Alice's eyes, large and dark brown, are mentioned on several occasions during
the story. Besides her eyes, no direct information is revealed. Alice's body,
however, is often imagined by the reader to be lean and athletic.
This imagery is
the result of the following quotes. "Alice grabbed a chunk of her thigh,
‘no cellulite!'
“And "Now
you’re going out for cheerleading, for goodness sake.". Alice radiates
confidence regarding her new body. "Alice walked across the bedroom like a
fashion model, wearing nothing but black bikini underwear." She believes
that the change is a drastic improvement on her old body, "Actually, as bodies
go, this one is a lot better."
.
Alice is clearly
confused about her identity. Her confusion is best displayed in the following
quote: "The eyes are the mirror of the soul, he used to say. Whose soul is
that? Alice wondered. For a moment, she considered screaming, but it was too
much trouble. Besides, it wouldn't be her scream anyway." Alice exhibits
insecure behavior which is proven by her constant self-reassurance. "Just
you, Alice, she would say to herself, looking the way you've always looked.”
After Alice's encounter with Mr. Jarred, she reassured herself once more:
"In a small corner of the sidewalk she wrote her initials, ACS, with the
tip of the umbrella."
CONFLICTS IN THE STORY
INTERNAL CONFLICTS:
·
Alice
vs Alice – after the operation Alice has to undergo lots of mental struggle in
order to adjust to her new appearance and in order to tune her mind with her
new body.
·
Alice
vs Gail – the brain of Alice has been transplanted into the body of Gail and
hence there is constant conflict between Alice and Gail as Alice the brain has
all the time to adjust to Gail the body.
EXTERNAL CONFLICTS:
·
Alice
vs Mother – after the operation there is a lot of misunderstanding and confusion
between them.
·
Alice
vs sister – before the operation they were very close but after the operation, Jenny does not trust Alice completely and there is doubt and conflict between
them.
·
Alice
vs Mr. Jarred, and society – Alice is also in constant conflict with society
and Mr. Jarred who mistakes her to be Gail – his deceased daughter.
- Why did the narrator wish
‘there were no mirrors’
The narrator sincerely wished there
were no mirrors as mirrors were often confusing her and reminding her of her
changed appearance due to the brain-transplant operation. Often she felt there
was someone else standing in front of her as her new image was different from
her old one.
- What were some of the problems
faced by Alice after the operation?
After the operation, Alice had to
lots of adjustments as her mind and body were lacking proper coordination. She
had to reorient herself on how to speak and move in the hospital. At first, everything looked strange – the images, the colours, etc. Her skin responded
slowly to sensations. People’s voices appeared different. She often bit her
tongue while talking. Her tone has changed. She had to do a lot of adjustments
to cope with all these problems.
- Describe Alice’s encounter with
Mr. Jarred on Bedford Avenue.
Mr. Jarred, at the very first sight
of Alice, addressed her enthusiastically as Gail. But Alice’s response was very
cool and unfamiliar. Mr. Jarred slowly realized that everything in her was
different from Gail except that of her body. Moreover, there was nothing
familiar in her eyes. She did not recognize him as her father. Rather she told that her father had died in the accident. Finally Mr. Jarred understood the harsh
reality and sadly walked away saying that he would tell his wife that he did not see Gail in her eyes, but he did not tell Alice who he saw there. Alice too, confused, not knowing what to do, but somehow reassured that she belongs to the family where her brain belongs walked homeward.
- Assess the psychological and
mental impact of the operation on Alice and other family members in your
own words.
Presenting the impact of modern
medical science on human life is the central theme of this story and hence it
deals with the psychological and mental impact on the protagonist and other
family members more vividly. In this story, a dead person has been brought into
life by a successful operation of brain transplantation. It’s certainly a
matter of great pride for the doctors but the protagonist (Alice) and all those
related to her appear to be confused and deeply affected psychologically.
- Evaluate ‘Mirror Image’ as futuristic science fiction.
Science Fictions, in most cases, are
basically futuristic in nature and approach and this story is not any exception
to this basic rule. Science fiction usually looks forward and is much ahead of the
set and established scientific discoveries and developments. It uses established knowledge and facts as its basis and presents a picture of future
development based on logical imaginations.
‘Mirror Image’ is a story that
talks about brain transplantation in a dead person and bringing back the dead
body in life once again through this path-breaking operation. This may appear
impossible at present but keeping the developments coming up regularly in the
field of medical science it does appear to be impossible in the future. Thus we can
comfortably say that ‘Mirror Image’ is futuristic science fiction.
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