Middlesex+(477-end)

Definitions: Botticelli's The Birth of Venus: The work was painted by Italian painter Sandro Botticelli. It depicts the goddess Venus emerging from the sea as a grown woman. The painting is housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. There are many interpretations of this painting. For Plato, Venus had two aspects. She was an earthly goddess who aroused humans to physical or she was a heavenly goddess who inspired intellectual love in them. Plato also argued that contemplation of physical beauty allowed the mind to better understand spiritual beauty. [])

Mithras: Mithraic Mysteries were a mystery religion practiced by the Roman Empire from the 1st to 4th centuries A.D. The name of the Persian god Mithra, adapted into Greek as Mithras was linked to a new and distinctive imagery. Was popular among the Roman military. Worshippers had a complex system of seven grades of intiation, with ritual meals. They met in underground temples. []

What range of emotions did this book make you experience? What have you gained from reading it? Why did Eugenides include the details that he did? Did it surprise you that a novel could make you feel so uncomfortable? I felt a plethora of emotions while reading this novel. At times I pitied the characters and ached for them. Sometimes I was angry at some of the characters and even shocked by some of their actions. Other times I was happy, sad, nervous, anxious, excited, horrified. I pretty much experienced every emotion whilst reading this text. From reading this novel I have gained a new perspective on the world. I had never considered what the world would be like from the perspective of a hermaphrodite or from a person who represents a small minority in society that is generally overlooked. I think that it was necessary to include extreme detail to make the story more tangible and to create an emotional response from the text. I wouldn't say the novel was as uncomfortable as it was intriguing. It was fascinating to read about something that I had a very limited understanding about.

8. The circumstances of Milton's death are certainly ambiguous. While eyewitnesses and investigators claim that the Cadillac was part of the pileup on the bridge and that the injuries sustained by the victim were consistent with the injuries of those involved in high speed car chases, according to Cal Milton envisions himself flying off the bridge and plunging to his death in the waters below. It is never made entirely clear which scenario is correct and maybe this is up to the reader's interpretation. I don't necessarily think that Milton himself is in a liminal state so I do not think that he is between two worlds; however the differences in the two scenarios could represent reality vs. fantasy or the regularity, routine and monotony of everyday life vs. lofty dreams and goals and the courage to overstep the boundaries of stereotypical thought. While outsiders, eyewitnesses and investigators see what is on the surface, the injuries sustained in the accident on the bridge, Milton experiences something far different, overstepping the boundary of conventionality, hovering over the water in his beloved Cadillac.