Jay Mcinerneys Bright Lights, Big City: You Are The Coma Baby :: essays research papers

Jay McInerneys Bright Lights, wide-ranging City You are the Coma BabyThe novel Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney relates the tale of ayoung man working for a prominent newspaper in Manhattan by day, while visiting umteen bars and nightclubs during the night. He manages to accomplish thisthrough the help of his use of cocaine, to which he is powerfully addicted.Throughout the novel McInerney employs the use of the Coma Baby, a current invoicein the New York Post, a local tabloid, as a symbolic representation of the of import cite. The Coma Baby has been residing in its spawns womb after themother suffered a car accident and entered a coma. The debate is to whether theComa Baby will see the "light of the delivery room". In this passage the maincharacter is experiencing a dream where he interacts with the Coma Baby in hisworkplace. This passage, through the words and phrases employed by McInerney asboth dialogue and narration, is punishing support for the concept t hat like theComa Baby, the main character wants to avoid facing the harsh realities of lifeand continue living isolated in his worldly concern of narcotic-induced pleasure. Theauthor uses the interaction of the main character and the Coma Baby as proofthat the main character will not realize the fallacies of his ways until he hashit rock-bottom.The Coma Baby is shown to be the symbolic representation of the maincharacter through his actions and philosophy toward life, a philosophy whollyirresponsible and unmotivated. As the main character approaches he asks theBaby if hes going to come out. The Baby responds with "No way Jos. I like itin here. Everything I need is manage in."(line 11) This remark illustrates themain characters attitude toward life. With the condition that the Baby getswhat he needs, he has no motivation to improve his situation. This parallelswith the main character, who , provided he has his cocaine, does little toimprove his situation. For example, he co ntinually shows up late to work, andthen after completely botching a project is fired from his job. The drugs havecompletely stolen his motivation towards life. After this, when the maincharacter tries to reason with the Coma Baby about improving his situation, theComa Baby plays a deaf-and -dumb routine(line14), highly symbolic of the maincharacters actions toward those that have been trying to help him. For example,the main character continues to avoid Clara Tillinghast, his boss, in herattempts to bring him to work on time.