Whats in Eli’s head?
- OskarTheArsonist
- Posts: 66
- Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2018 9:05 pm
- Location: USA
Whats in Eli’s head?
I have been reading LTROI and specifically at the part where Eli is with the cancer patient I have noticed something strange in Eli’s behavior. While we know that the reason for why Eli is in the women’s house is to eat her, he doesn’t act in the way I whould expect him to. because of reasons that involve the Woman being high out of her mind on meds Eli is able to faily easily get her into a vounrable position to strike (the woman is laying her head on Eli’s lap). But instead of eagerly biting at her neck like I whould expect a hungry desensitized vetran vampire to do he just sits like that for a while stroking her hair. He even tells her part of a story before finally going at it. I have not been able to think of a good explanation for this, what do you guys think?
"the quieter you become, the more you are able to hear"
Re: Whats in Eli’s head?
Eli waited until the woman had fallen asleep.
But another interpretation might be that Eli just wanted to savour a few seconds of tranquil closeness to another human being before letting hell break loose once again.
But another interpretation might be that Eli just wanted to savour a few seconds of tranquil closeness to another human being before letting hell break loose once again.
But from the beginning Eli was just Eli. Nothing. Anything. And he is still a mystery to me. John Ajvide Lindqvist
- OskarTheArsonist
- Posts: 66
- Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2018 9:05 pm
- Location: USA
Re: Whats in Eli’s head?
I don't think that Eli was waiting for her to fall asleep because Eli has had to learn how to kill people while they where awake, its just about catching them by surprise and getting them into a vulnerable position.
I thought this at first to but now I am not sure since he has Oskar. So trying to get some tranquil closeness from the person you want to eat seems cruel, but Eli has to be pretty desensitized to killing people by now and he is 11 or 12 so he may have not seen it that way.
"the quieter you become, the more you are able to hear"
Re: Whats in Eli’s head?
Maybe he wasn't waiting for her to actually fall asleep, but that is what happened. Anyway, I think Eli's approach here is rational. Fighting a struggling victim surely isn't a very good idea, if for no other reason than that it's likely very unpleasant, so waiting a little longer when things are going his way seems to be a good idea.OskarTheArsonist wrote: ↑Tue Feb 13, 2018 9:42 pmI don't think that Eli was waiting for her to fall asleep because Eli has had to learn how to kill people while they where awake, its just about catching them by surprise and getting them into a vulnerable position.
But from the beginning Eli was just Eli. Nothing. Anything. And he is still a mystery to me. John Ajvide Lindqvist
- SpartanAltego
- Posts: 251
- Joined: Sun Nov 26, 2017 4:39 am
- Location: Michigan, U.S.
Re: Whats in Eli’s head?
It's been a long time since Elias has been held or in close physical contact with anyone without repulsive subtext. Even his moment with the woman isn't devoid of that subtext - he's there to kill her after all - but he can simultaneously enjoy the close contact and lull her into a vulnerable state. Compartmentalization.
The interesting thing, too, is he immediately seeks Oskar out after burning the place down. The first touch between them on the jungle gym woke a craving for contact in Elias, to my eye. He tries to satisfy it while preying on the woman, but only succeeds in being made ever more conscious of an isolation he's grown numb to. The drug addled nightmare only worsens the feeling, so he then seeks out Oskar - where he finds fulfillment in connection. Where he can enjoy closeness without hunger and predation, and just be...Eli the child. A little bit.
The interesting thing, too, is he immediately seeks Oskar out after burning the place down. The first touch between them on the jungle gym woke a craving for contact in Elias, to my eye. He tries to satisfy it while preying on the woman, but only succeeds in being made ever more conscious of an isolation he's grown numb to. The drug addled nightmare only worsens the feeling, so he then seeks out Oskar - where he finds fulfillment in connection. Where he can enjoy closeness without hunger and predation, and just be...Eli the child. A little bit.
"The dark is patient, and it always wins. But its weakness lies in its strength: a single candle is enough to hold it at bay. Love is more than a candle. Love can ignite the stars." - Matthew Stover
Re: Whats in Eli’s head?
Because we get to know but a few glimpses into Eli's past and thinking, we cannot well decode why the little guy acted as he did with the cancer patient woman. Spartan connects the events together smartly. Oskar wakes up something in Eli. Eli begins to wake up from where he has been; he starts to change. After killing this woman he goes fairly straight to Oskar's window with hopes of being with Oskar yet again. JAL bears this out with his statement (nicely pointed to by metoo's sig)
To consider the scene with the cancer woman from within the story, it potentially shows Eli in the midst of evolving. ('potentially' because this is speculation) That he bothers to share with her a bit of his past and shows her tenderness is at complete opposite to what the scene accomplishes for him. Yet he takes the time to do these things. Add this to a consideration of what the scene accomplishes from outside the story. JAL chose to include this scene from amongst many ideas he had for the novel and from many that he did not include in the end. So, then, why include this scene? That would seem to be to build an empathy for the Reader with the Eli. And it would seem to be to further the arc of Eli's character by showing something that is noteworthy of including. The noteworthiness here being that this is a change. JAL did not see Eli as a flat character. Eli is changing across the length of the story's span of three to four weeks. He needs to show that and because Eli is such a hidden character throughout, JAL has to pick carefully how to show Eli's arc.
We don't know what Eli's regular or preferred hunting manner has been. We don't learn the history of how he has managed to get by for 200 years feeding off the populace. This approach, though, does seem odd. After 200 years of practice would this be the end result of how to get your next meal? I do not know but suspect it is not.johnajvide(22Sept2010) wrote:So, yes, I knew from the beginning that Eli was a boy. What happened when I let Eli meet Oskar was that Eli started to change his behaviour from what I had originally envisioned. I didn´t even know that they were going to fall in love. But I felt that Eli/Elias would try to appear more likeable in order to ge closer to Oskar, once he had decided not to kill him (The stroke on the cheek).
To consider the scene with the cancer woman from within the story, it potentially shows Eli in the midst of evolving. ('potentially' because this is speculation) That he bothers to share with her a bit of his past and shows her tenderness is at complete opposite to what the scene accomplishes for him. Yet he takes the time to do these things. Add this to a consideration of what the scene accomplishes from outside the story. JAL chose to include this scene from amongst many ideas he had for the novel and from many that he did not include in the end. So, then, why include this scene? That would seem to be to build an empathy for the Reader with the Eli. And it would seem to be to further the arc of Eli's character by showing something that is noteworthy of including. The noteworthiness here being that this is a change. JAL did not see Eli as a flat character. Eli is changing across the length of the story's span of three to four weeks. He needs to show that and because Eli is such a hidden character throughout, JAL has to pick carefully how to show Eli's arc.
- gattoparde59
- Posts: 3242
- Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2009 11:32 am
- Location: Philadelphia, PA
Re: Whats in Eli’s head?
To directly answer the question posed by the title of the original post, we know what is in Eli's head because Eli gets to cheat and (other than being in a novel with an omniscient author) he can transmit what is in his head directly into Oskar's head. To make a long story short I think that Eli misses his Mom and in this scene Eli acts out what he misses with the cancer patient: his long lost child hood and the love of his mother. This is brilliant theater!
This same scene is echoed later on when Oskar's Mom tries to comfort her distraught boy. Oskar turns to his Mom and says "tell me a story." This exchange leads Oskar to realize that he has lost his child hood as well.
I'll break open the story and tell you what is there. Then, like the others that have fallen out onto the sand, I will finish with it, and the wind will take it away.
Nisa
- ltroifanatic
- Posts: 557
- Joined: Mon Sep 14, 2015 1:35 am
- Location: Australia
Re: Whats in Eli’s head?
I really like your explanation.It explains both scenes very well.Boys of that age seem to have a very special relationship with their mothers.gattoparde59 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 05, 2018 1:36 pmTo directly answer the question posed by the title of the original post, we know what is in Eli's head because Eli gets to cheat and (other than being in a novel with an omniscient author) he can transmit what is in his head directly into Oskar's head. To make a long story short I think that Eli misses his Mom and in this scene Eli acts out what he misses with the cancer patient: his long lost child hood and the love of his mother. This is brilliant theater!
This same scene is echoed later on when Oskar's Mom tries to comfort her distraught boy. Oskar turns to his Mom and says "tell me a story." This exchange leads Oskar to realize that he has lost his child hood as well.
Please Oskar.Be me for a little while.