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Post by Adrienne on Jul 19, 2007 5:31:07 GMT -5
I think it's interesting that no one has brought Joey up in a single conversation about The Hoax. It's ironic, since initially he was supposed to be the main character, until Shep took over.
Do you love Joey, hate him, indifferent? One up for the Yuppie Prophet.
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Post by pesposito on Jul 19, 2007 22:03:41 GMT -5
I've been waiting for someone else to tackle this first, but it's just been occupying my mind all day now. Joey. No, I don't hate him. I don't love him, but I'm also not indifferent. For one thing, he's part of the threesome and I can't imagine no Joey there. But as I've been thinking about him, about why we might focus on Patrick and Shep more, I guess he feels like a secondary character to them. Shep has a vision that drives the novel, and an unrelenting determination to see it through. Patrick has the moral fortitude and the everyman quality that we latch onto. Joey is in the middle for me. I don't get the feeling he cares a bit about Shep's grand design, and he definitely doesn't want the trouble Patrick's ethical choices unleash. But I like him there. In some ways, he provides comic relief, like when he's petulant and just plain bored while Shep's planning mass sterilization. Like when he's horrified by Kelinda's desperation, and just wants normal in a house that's going crazy. Sometimes it's hard for me to imagine he has this incredible intelligence, but then I think he's even bored with that. He scared me at the end though; I never thought of him as dangerous to Patrick. I think there's more brewing under him, that's dulled because his soul's been put to sleep.
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Post by Adrienne on Jul 20, 2007 6:01:53 GMT -5
Yeah, that his sociopathy was inherent and not purely enforced came as a surprise even to me.
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Post by Bill the Awesome on Jul 20, 2007 12:42:30 GMT -5
I had sympathy for Joey. Especially at the end when he revealed himself to Patrick for who he really was. He may be damaged, but he has reasons to be.
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Post by franktoast on Jul 20, 2007 17:34:07 GMT -5
Joey's not the messiah. He's just a very naughty boy.  |
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Post by Bill the Awesome on Jul 24, 2007 7:34:26 GMT -5
HA! You guys are hysterical. I loved the whole hoax itself and the public reaction to Joey. I believe it. That people would follow someone like that if it was done in the right way. Kind of scary.
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