The Urban Dream Is No Fun
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The Urban Dream is No Fun.
The lengths that people will go to, to reach the epitome of the urban dream are unhealthy. In the novella, No Fun by Annabel Lyon, Kate and Liam Cleary struggle to maintain the appearance of being a normal family during a difficult situation. No Fun exposes the fragility of Kate and LiamЃfs urban dream; when faced with the possibility that they could lose all they have worked for, they realise that the quest to acquire the perfect urban world is superficial.
Kate and Liam do everything in their power to achieve and maintain their urban dream regardless if it appears superficial or not. Kate, a successful doctor, and Liam a university professor who will soon be granted academic tenure, live in a prestigious suburb, drive nice cars, and have the money to renovate their garden. They have a ЃgbrightЃh (12) fourteen-year old son who still tucks in his t-shirts into his chinos, and they hope to have a second child, a girl, to complete their family unit. From the outside, they have a seemingly perfect life and even Kate recognises her luck and knows not to look too introspectively or scratch the surface of the force field protecting their urban dream. Kate reflects: ЃgI should know better than to try to peek behind the sceneryЃcI have the house, the job, the world with the bright, neat-edged colours of a cartoonЃh (13). When contemplating a second child at her age, they discuss the risks of doing this, and the possibility of it being born with Ѓga condition, a deformity or a syndromeЃh (13) and Liam responds to this by saying that she shouldnЃft think these kinds of things for fear of jinxing their good luck (13). Therefore, by not discussing the facts of the real world, they will protect what they have built up together maintaining their dream.
Similarly, on a superficial level, they put down others to reaffirm their social position. They dislike Jason-from-swimming, TylerЃfs new summer friend. He swears, wears inappropriate t-shirts to their house, holds his knife and fork in a fist like a toddler, and doesnЃft know what the herb cilantro is (6). Liam comments to Kate that Jason is ЃgA sniggering, repugnant boyЃh and that he must be a Ѓglower life formЃh compared to his son Tyler, the ЃgPrinceЃh (12). Moreover, Kate constantly makes derogatory social commentary on her patients. A family with shell-fish food poisoning comes in to the emergency room, and Kate comments that she would never give her two-year old clams (9). Furthermore, she comments that the assailants that attacked Paul Malone must have been teenagers; only teenagers could have been responsible for this type of violent act. Her teenager, the prince, would not be capable of such an abhorrent act (10). Lastly, when the two meet JasonЃfs parents, their fragile world is threatened and Liam especially, reacts negatively toward the accusations, but more toward the social class of the Parmenters; prior to meeting them he assumes they could have been classified as Merlot or Chardonnay people (15), but the reality is, they are not even in a similar social class. With their urban dream under attack, Liam fights back; however, Kate freezes and observes the situation and likens this threat to a ЃgfistЃcin slow motionЃca meteor closing in on its own shadowЃh (16). The two are in shock: their prince could not have been involved in this vicious crime as it doesnЃft fit in the plans they have for