How do you understand Lorimer as a narrator in “Houston, Houston, Do You Read?” How do his memories impact his view of the events he’s witnessing in the present of the story? What is one particular example of the way his earlier experiences color his view of his male crew members or the women on board the Gloria?
6 thoughts on “Tiptree–Group 4”
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As I consider the prompt and some of my peers’ responses, I think we’re meant to understood Lorimer as a complicated narrator, character, and representation of masculinity. As has been said, his perceptions of women and of himself are warped by his early childhood bullying experiences, such that they result in an inward, “nerdy,” and traditionally “beta” type masculinity when surrounded by dominant male figures and women. The complexity lies in whether or not we trust Lorimer as a benevolent male narrator and can hold him to his word. The immediate access to his thoughts and knowing that he actively imagines a rape sequence of Judy is damning of his character, even if he attempts to justify the thoughts by saying he would never act on them. We also see a passivity, an intrigue, and a terror as he serves as a bystander during the scene in which Bud does rape, his “arteries pounding with delight, with dread” (623). At best, I think we might consider Lorimer an enabler, one whose experiences as a traditionally less masculine, beta-type male prevent him from intervening and preventing violent and toxic masculinity from occurring on the ship. Still, the experiences don’t justify his thought processes or inaction, and I think we are meant to interpret Lorimer as another toxic facet of traditional masculinity.
At the end, when Lorimer is pleading with the women on the ship, we see him evolve from protestation to resignation–ultimately accepting the “antidote.” A particular stage in that evolution involves a most unique flashback–one that compares his female captors to his mom and sister. “That look; he knows that look of preoccupied compassion. His mother and sister had looked just like that the time the diseased kitten came in the yard. They had comforted it and fed it and tenderly taken it to the vet to be gassed.” (p. 632) In this moment, Lorimer suddenly sees himself as a diseased animal. It’s safe to say that his opinion of his mother and sister’s treatment of the cat is distinctly feminine–maternal even. There’s a reason he flashbacks to it–a reason why it’s his mom and sister, but not his dad or him. The “look of preoccupied compassion” is likely feminine in his mind, too. It colors his view of the women on the ship interestingly, as he’s imbuing them with a semblance of warmth–even while they’re killing him. There’s the obvious parallel drawn between Lorimer drinking the antidote and the cat getting gassed–in both situations, the women are sympathetically guiding them toward their demise. Lorimer realizes that the women see him as “diseased”–a man subject to an untreatable toxicity. The only solution is to put him down. They see him as a lesser specimen–a cat, for all intents and purposes–an animal who’s sickness prevents him from contributing to either society or his own wellbeing.
Though the story “Houston, Houston, Do You Read?” is read through a 3rd person point of view we understand Lorimer as the narrator because we can read his thoughts and emotions. Lorimer is an intelligent scientist, not the physically strong character like his other two crewmates, who symbolize misogyny. Lorimer struggles with his masculine identity and what it means to be a man. His crew mates hold him to a standard lower than what a “man” is. Bud and Dan’s standards for women, however, lead them to their death because they cannot comprehend a society with only women.
Lorimer’s submissive personality is a result to the harassment and bullying that he experienced when he was younger, which is brought up throughout the story. An example that comes to mind is from the beginning of the book and he ends up embarrassed and in the women’s restroom. He also participated in sports that are not considered hyper masculine like volleyball and tennins. Lorimer did take advantage of his passiveness attitude which helped him prolong his life. His ability to constrain his male urges and communicate better to the clone women led him to survive longer than his fellow astronauts. In the end, however, he is still a man not wanted in the manless world.
It is pretty obvious in this story that Lorimer is much more shy and submissive than his male counterparts Dave and Bud. Dave believes in the inherent superiority of men over women as detailed by the bible and Bud is a misogynistic sexual maniac shown by his treatment of Judy. Lorimer on the other hand is much more apprehensive and reserved when interacting with these women than his alpha male shipmates. This relationship with women is a product of constantly being bullied and belittled his whole life. One specific example that is referenced multiple times is his experience in middle school accidentally going into the women’s bathroom and getting laughed at by a bunch of girls. Not only is he shy but he is also much more aware of his current circumstances, realizing quickly that he is under the influence of a drug that causes people to speak what is on their mind. While Lorimer is what most people would consider a genuine good guy with no ill intentions, his masculinity eventually comes out through the influence of the drug. I think the reason the author ultimately has Lorimer succumb to the drug and show his true masculinity is to show the value of inhibitions in how we are viewed by other people. At one point or another all men have hyper-masculine thoughts or thoughts of superiority over women due to the chemical balance in the male brain but, a man’s character is determined by how they act on these impulses.
I understood Lorimer as the narrator as someone in the background, almost as if he lived vicariously through Bud and Dave. He was very observant and intelligent but would not act upon his feelings or desires like the other characters. The scene rape scene highlights the “beta” nature of Lorimer. He on the outside looking in on this rape scene, and although he knows it is wrong, his “arteries are pounding with delight”(623). He feels the same desires as both Bud, a sex-crazed, and Dave, who believes men are fundamentally better than women.
Lorimer’s prior experiences of being bullied or being some nerd impact how he sees events unfolding in the present. His background and history make him more sensitive to interacting with women, although he wants to be more masculine like the other crew members, and he ultimately has the best luck until the end. Lorimer, as the narrator, was strategic, as it exposed the patriarchy and the toxic masculinity that can eventually control all men.
As Lorimer begs for his life at the end of the story, he claims that Dave and Bud would have never acted on their violent thoughts had they not been drugged. He is the same as them, someone who has aggressive thoughts (like his intrusive rape fantasy of Judy, p.612), but would supposedly never act on them. However, throughout the whole story, Lorimer’s thoughts suggest that he wishes that he could act like these other men. When Dave refuses to respond to Luna Central’s attempts at communication, Bud steps in and persuades him, and Lorimer thinks “Now why couldn’t I have done that” for “the thousandth time” (p.596). Lorimer is not a threat to this newfound age of humanity because of the likelihood that he’ll act on his threatening thoughts, but rather because of his understanding that his thoughts are essential to his masculinity, and therefore, to his essence as a person.
Bud, in his sex-crazed, drugged-up tirade, actually articulates the issue quite well. With no other men to compete with, to share the shame of such unspeakable thoughts, he would feel worthless. Such masculinity is only beneficial when it provides the man with some sort of power or dominance over others. Bud and Dave enjoy putting Lorimer down for his “proximity to femininity,” in order to reassure their own identities in being alpha males. When Lorimer finds himself alone at the end, surrounded by women, he starts rambling about how men are owed everything that they once had and that women owe them everything. Lorimer perfectly highlights how toxic masculinity will control everything a man says, does, thinks, and therefore, why he cannot be allowed to live in a world of only women.