After being ordered by the State to undergo Deep Sleep, a treatment for troubled teens, Jo awakens in the hospital with sporadic and unexplained memories. Upon celebrating her rebirthday, she recalls strange past events that makes her question reali...
There is something to be said about the violation of women and their rights throughout history and within society. Although not prominent during the first read through of Let Me Be, those subtle themes can be found in the subtext of the story as well as the conspicuous chapter names and book title.
Let Me Be is a call out to society and its exploitation, abuse, neglect and silencing of women. As depicted on the book cover, the blindfold represents a woman whose identity is veiled, making it difficult to empathize with her at first glance.
On the surface, Jovial Spencer is confined, held against her will, and told to accept her fate while the wool has been pulled over her eyes and the truth distorted or hidden. Beneath the surface, she fears not being heard, believed or taken seriously, even while being stripped of her identity, oppressed, silenced, punished and violated.
Her struggle is the ongoing struggle of being a women. Her fight is the fight to make her own decisions about her body, sexuality, and health, alongside a similar struggle of children and black men who are often mistreated, exploited, and silenced.
It's no coincidence that Jovial reacts to the restrained bodies of a black male and a child who were put on display and stripped of their identifying markers. The black man is identified by the color of his skin and his apparent athleticism, while the child's youthfulness and innocence distinguishes him, signifying the exploitation and profiting of blackness and children in society through entertainment and in media.
It's also no coincidence that Jovial as a young, biracial women, is silenced, restrained, lied to and repeatedly forced to comply, adapt, and told to "Please stay calm," by a machine meant to keep her from causing trouble, stepping out of line, or otherwise damaging the system.
In this era of woke culture and being awake, seeing beneath the surface, being socially aware, and having a real understanding of the societal systems in place, Jovial is symbolic of us removing the metaphorical blindfold and no longer being asleep to the truth.
Jovial is eventually reborn with a newfound power to create positive change.
Nods to Horror in Pop Culture:
1. It's no secret that Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books urged me to pick up a pencil and notepad at a young age. His collection of folklore inspired me to create my very own scary tales to this day.
2. Stephen King's movie adaption of The Shining made Room 237 popular in modern day horror. This number is reference to this infamous haunted room in the movie and is often nodded to in movies and films.
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THANKS FOR READING
LET ME BE!
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