reading response 10/20

The novel "Shoplifting From American Apparel" by Tao Lin, is written in first person narrative. In the novel, the protagonist Sam, a teenage writer, continuously tries to manage all the circumstances life has thrown at him. He is perceived as a person who is careless about life and what goes on around him. The setting of the novel often takes place in New York City, Florida and on an online chat room. Personally, I perceive Sam as a typical young Americanized boy, from the current generation, who often slacks off, travels, hangs out with friends, but most importantly spends alot of time on the web. Many teens in this generation have no sense of direction, they don't know who they are or where they want to go. They spend their days on the internet either looking for companion or looking for a place where they can feel safe and free to express themselves. However, for Sam the relationships he had on social networks were meaningless and superficial. I believe that Lin was trying to portray that we, as Americans of the modern world, have become extremely infatuated with material things that we have become in a sense dehumanized. In my opinion, part of the definition of the word "human" means to be able to physically interact and communicate with others in order to build a bond or relationship. Lin portrays this as he explains how Sam had been arrested twice for shoplifting for things that aren't even necessary for survival.

The novel is very similar to the essays of Warhol and Muhammed. All three pieces express how technology has had an immense influence on society and how people's strive to want to psychically socialize with others has diminished because of the capacity technology has. People no longer have to call or visit each other to have a conversation. Now, they can send one another an email or speak via privet message on social networks and the meaning of the conversation would be the same as if they were psychically next to one another. Another similarity between all three writings was postmodernism, when the authors reflect the images and symbols used by popular culture and place a mirror on society.