Drugs, Love and More in the Black Hole (Burns and Reynolds) - Book Review Sample

Introduction

The black hole is not a new phenomenon. Scientifically, a black hole is considered as a natural cause for the death of the stars, once a lead is pulled towards the black hole there was no possibility of it getting out given that the gravitational force at this point is too intense for any object to escape. "Black Hole" metaphorically refers to powerful destroyers; a mighty inescapable dark force that consumes everything along its path. "Black Hole" is a novel, comic illustration by Charles Burns, that explores the struggles of adolescence, as they strive to balance life and pleasure. the author has metaphorical used black hole, to symbolize the tribulations of the adolescents in search of identity, love and belonging. This paper explores the challenges that teenagers face during this critical stage of their life, and how they struggle to fit in, in a society that is never keen enough to notice that what these youngsters need is love and guidance, to put through.

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The black hole has been used metaphorically when the teenagers cannot find anyone to love them, which make them get attracted to destructive activities such as the use of drugs. The teenagers in the novel are not different from healthy adolescents in society. They look around the environment and try to compare themselves with others, and do actions to seek validation. Drugs became a black hole which cannot let these teenagers go free. Keith becomes a drug addict as he tries to find acceptance in society (Burns and Reynolds). The behaviour eventually destroys this boy when he had to consume acid to prove to the others that he was not different. Keith is aware of the dangers of the drugs but has to use them, even though he is scared of its effects. Peer pressure; make these adolescents plunge headlong into the unknown, which ends up destroying their lives. Because Keith cannot admit to his friends that he is afraid of drugs, he keeps on using them, and in the long run, he is trapped and able to reverse the condition, thus the black hole.

The Drugs Black Hole (Burns and Reynolds)

The disease' punishment is like black holes that have trapped the teenagers all their lives. During adolescence, sexual hormones become active, and teenagers cannot avoid engaging in activities that threaten their health. In the novel, the bug is a disease that affects teenagers, and once they contract the condition, they live a miserable life (Burns and Reynolds). The virus is transmitted sexually, therefore frequent given that at this stage, teenagers become very sexually active. In the story, the bug creates some form of deformities which cannot be hidden from the world. The condition becomes devastating, given that it lowers the self-esteem of the teenagers. The symptoms for the bug are; pimples bumps on the face or other symptoms such as a growing a tail, and skin shading. Chris falls in love with Rob, they cannot hide their feelings, and before long they had already engaged in sex, through this Chris contracts the bug and as a punishment, she has to shed off her skin once in a while (Burns and Reynolds). However, she is fortunate to have such a disease because, with her symptoms, she had the leeway to peel off the skin when others were not around. The teenagers have to endure this suffering alone since no one cares for them the reason they have to hide in the woods so that they can enjoy some privacy. Stigmatization is at the highest levels, as these teenagers are cut off from social interactions. They are seen as deviants by healthy teenagers. These teenagers are forced to live horrible lives, which is very devastating, given that they are at a very critical milestone in their development.

The Bug Black Hole (Burns and Reynolds)

The powers of love have become so strong for the teenagers to control, just like the gravitational force at the black hole. It is ironic that even when teenagers know that engaging in sex leads to sexually transmitted diseases, they still indulge. Keith is so much in love with Chris, but Chris cannot reciprocate, a factor that makes Keith frustrated and end up falling in love with Eliza (Burns and Reynolds). Love exhibit so much Power which makes it impossible for the teenagers to turn their back against it, even when their objects of desire reject them; they still find a way to maneuver about, by falling in love again with a different person. Chris does not fall in love with Keith, But Get attracted to Rob with whom they fall in love (Burns and Reynolds). Even when love becomes so painful, the teenagers still cling on, a manifestation that love was a black hole, whose gravitational force no one would escape. The love life of these teenagers is very bumpy, and they lack someone to guide them through. When Rob disappears from Chris's life, she is disappointed and frustrated, and she becomes incapable of taking good care of herself, given that it is Rob who gave her status in society. It is this love that gave this young woman power and identity. No wonder she cannot move on. The Power of love binds the teenagers together as they assume caring roles to one another. Eliza and Keith love each other immensely, and they rely upon each other for support. It is this love that helps this couple to withstand the traumas that come with the bug. In this society, teenagers are left to wonder about with no counsel from grownups, and this heightens their agony. Love becomes a black hole given that these teenagers cannot unshackle themselves from the forces that pull them towards it.

The Black Hole of Love (Burns and Reynolds)

Sex is a black hole that has caused misery to teenagers. Sex has trapped teenagers in a condition that they cannot run from, which has made their lives devastating—imaginations and dreams of pornography torture the characters. When the narrator is asleep, he has a weird nightmare, in which his penis transforms to be the shape of a pig's tail (Burns and Reynolds). This nightmare is very torturing for the teenager, but he has no one to share with, so the teenagers have to carry their burden alone. Since pigs metaphorically used for ungodliness, it then becomes apparent that these teenagers have been trapped by infatuation by engaging in impure activities. When the narrator is in the woods, he finds the skin of a human being (Burns and Reynolds). The skin belongs to Chris, as she is the one who shed skins as a punishment for engaging in sex. As the narrator put it, the skin has so many marks that revealed the Agonies that the owner felt within, and hard to live with. Thus, another misery that the adolescents in society have to go through because of engaging in activities that their bodies compel them to participate in. Teenagers do not need such penalties since they are at a very tender stage in their development. The narrator sees a figure in the woods, whose face had been disfigured by the bug. The way the narrator describes this damaged human being, paint a clear picture of the suffering, that sex has made teenagers go through. The narrator says that this figure looked Power from the human. He says, "it was just too fucked up to be human, but somehow deep down inside I knew it was. His mouth was all busted up…. broken teeth sticking out of pink gristle…Moving and wet, sloppy sounds come out" (1, 22). This description is too much for a teenager to withstand, but because it is a black hole, they are trapped in that condition all their lives.

The Black Hole of Sex (Burns and Reynolds)

Stigmatization is another black hole that has trapped the teenagers. The people dread them, the reason they have to live in the woods. Because the teenagers that have the bags look scary, they cannot fully integrate with society. The teenager's bodies get disfigured, and since they look scary, they have to hide the shame from the stigmatization (Burns and Reynolds). They suffer psychologically For lack of anyone to take care of them. When Dave engaged in sex, he contracts the bug, which made his face resemble that of a bunny, and he has to relocate to the woods, which now becomes his home. In the woods, they have no decent meal, and even accommodation, they managed to survive of stealing and taking drugs to forget their situations. At some point, Dave becomes so angry that he has to go to town and get some food, for him and his friend, Rick with whom they share someplace in the woods. A healthy couple, at the stores, maltreats Dave and tells him that he has to get out of the place because he looked ugly, a form of discrimination that these teenagers have to endure, on top of them being sick (Burns and Reynolds). Teenagers have young minds and need to be guided through to make it in life. They need love to get through hard situations. Shoving them only leaves them more devastated than they already are. Stigmatization becomes a pinhole that these sick teenagers cannot run away from. They have to endure to the end, as this becomes their fate.

Conclusion

In the novel, it is evident that the teenagers are in a black hole, and they cannot get out because the force that pulls them towards the centre is too strong. These teenagers cannot get out of drugs, sex. Love has a potent spell on them. It is true that these teenagers go through a lot due to their conditions. They cannot enjoy free life due to stigmatization. The moment they try to get out in society, they are looked at as ugly and dangerous. Teenagers have to use risky means to survive, as it is seen when Dave robs a food store. The teenagers need someone to guide them, love them and care for them, but this is impossible, and they have to come up with survival tactics, in this cruelty society.

Work Cited

Burns, Charles, and Eric Reynolds. Black Hole. Fantagraphics Books, 2017.