Analyzing The Character Of Rob English Literature Essay

High Fidelity is written from the position of Rob Fleming who runs a record store and whose girlfriend, Laura, has late left him. The first portion of the book consists of Rob ‘s analysis of why his relationships with old girlfriends failed. The balance concerns how Rob copes-when Laura leaves him he ‘s non certain whether to be distraught or relieved ; later he longs to hold her dorsum but ca n’t assist falling for other adult females.

Rob is a self-involved individual who has non truly grown up decently. His life revolves more around his records than his relationships. He reorganises his aggregation at times of emotional emphasis and produces digest tapes for those he truly likes. Finally he comes to gain his emptiness and finds something to make full it.

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Nick Hornby’sA High FidelityA is a screaming trip through the head of a thirty-something individual male who can non make up one’s mind what he wants to make with his life. Readers observe the daily humdrum of the storyteller, Rob Fleming, as he second-guesses every determination he has of all time made. Rob owns a record shop called Championship Vinyl in which he sells second-hand records. He is a overzealous when it comes to music. He loves authoritative dad, but he spends much of his twenty-four hours knocking his clients, most of whom know nil of the music that Rob sells. Joining Rob in the sarcastic comments that are made behind his clients ‘ dorsums are Dick and Barry, Rob ‘s two associates and music-loving brothers.

Rob is besides impotently in love with Laura, though he will non acknowledge it. As the narrative opens, Laura has left him for Ian, a adult male who used to populate in the upstairs flat. The dissolution was non all Laura ‘s mistake. Rob had told her he might be interested in another adult female ; so he went out and had an matter. So she left him for Ian, who turns out to be a regretful replacement.

Rob has a immense job with committedness, non merely with Laura, but besides with everything about his life. He was at the top of his game when he was a disc jocky. He has a bent with music, cognizing what will maintain a group dance and engaged. But he does non make that any longer. He does non make much of anything except reminisce about his yesteryear, seeking to calculate out where he went incorrect. And when he is non reminiscing, he is looking for a adult female to travel to bed with. That ever restores his assurance, at least for a few proceedingss.

In the terminal, after Laura ‘s male parent dies, Laura and Rob acquire back together. But it remains a battle. Laura tells Rob that she sees his potency. However, Rob appears blind to his ain good qualities. He is laughably missing in assurance. Even after he has Laura back in his weaponries, he is easy enticed by another adult female. Will he of all time larn?

Rob FlemingA is the lone character that readers get to cognize in Hornby’sA High Fidelity. Rob is the storyteller, and most of what happens does so through Rob ‘s point of mention and reading. So who is Rob Fleming?

Readers know that Rob owns a record shop and ranking near to his love of holding adult females around him, Rob loves music. He knows more about music than he appears to cognize about himself. For illustration, Rob makes a batch of misstatements about his feelings forA Laura. He tries to do a point, right from the beginning of the novel, that Laura ca n’t ache him. And Rob is non messing with his reader ‘s heads when he does this. In other words, he truly believes what he states, at least on the surface of things. However, the writer is messing with the readers. Hornby gives his audience merely plenty information about Rob ‘s insecurities and misreckonings to let everyone to reason that Rob either does non cognize himself really good or is afraid to acknowledge the truth. This is true in Rob ‘s relationship with Laura. Rob loves and misses Laura, though he is difficult pressed to acknowledge it, and she has hurt him a batch.

But this is how Rob goes through life. He has small assurance and is non audacious plenty to acknowledge that he might merely hold a small more entreaty than he make bold claim. At one point he describes himself as norm: mean expressions, intelligence, and endowments. He evidently is fine-looking plenty and attractive in other ways to acquire adult females to be interested in him. But Rob price reductions this because he merely looks at the terminal of his relationships with adult females, when they walk off. He pays small attending to the fact that his deficiency of assurance and therefore his changeless demand to be reassured might merely be driving the adult females off. Rob is his ain worst enemy. He believes he is non worthy and hence he is. He is the Godhead of his worst incubuss.

But Rob is a really sympathetic character excessively. First of wholly, he has really small self-importance, so he is willing to endorse down in a confrontation. He ‘s besides capable of being a good friend, particularly with his male friends who do non perplex the relationship with sex ( as opposed to adult females ) . Rob has a good bosom. He does non desire to ache anyone ‘s feelings. He is intelligent even though he has no thrust to better himself or his life. And if person, like Laura, comes along, who can see through the protective veneer that Rob has erected around himself for protection, Rob can earnestly fall in love.

On the other side of the issue, Rob takes a batch of forbearance. He is smart but in life he is a slow scholar. He does non cognize when he has eventually found something genuine in his life and this causes him to lose it. He besides has a batch of fright. The biggest fright is that he might acquire hurt, which is precisely what keeps go oning to him because is so afraid of dropping his protective shield and taking a opportunity.

Championship Vinyl is a fitting topographic point for Dick, Barry, and Rob.A The fact that it is a record shop that specializes in records that are merely for the most discerning of aficionados helps to supply some degree of stability in a universe that is barren of stability.A The music in the shop is non popular and more brooding of what the universe should be in their ain heads, as opposed to what is.A In the efforts to fly the mutableness and deficiency of transcendency in the existent universe, Championship Vinyl stands opposed to this.A It is a kingdom where Rob, Dick, and Barry can happen their ain gustatory sensations valued and their voices validated in a universe that fails to make so.A In a universe of Compact Discs and finally digital music, the vinyl facet of the shop is symbolic of this.A In the most ineffectual of efforts, the characters ‘ strong association with the shop helps to postpone or set aside the universe and its changeless annulment of what these characters value and validate.

InA High Fidelity, Dick, Barry, and Rob are like one of their friends says, Under-appreciated Elitist Snobs. A They are anachronisms stuck in the yesteryear ( their stone N ‘ roll young persons ) , still listening to outdated music on records, still have oning vintage vesture and Cosby jumpers, and trusting, *HOPING* to get down a set, produce a group, day of the month a stone star, or at least have a stone star reference them in an album ‘s line drive notes.

Like some veterans who ne’er got over ‘Nam or their set gap for Nirvana, Dick, Barry, and Rob ne’er got over their love matter with 70s stone and axial rotation. A As Rob says:

I get by because of the people who make a particular attempt to shop here on Saturday immature work forces, ever immature work forces, who spend a disproportionate sum of their clip looking for deleted Smiths singles and “ original non rereleased ” underline Frank Zappa albums… The fetish belongingss are non unlike porn.A A I would experience guilty taking their money if I was n’t, sort of, well, one of them.

As Rob ‘s girlfriend says, Rob takes pride in the fact that he has ne’er “ sold out, ” which is an alibi truly for ne’er holding to alter or turn up or commit to anything like a relationship, matrimony, or kids.A Rob is covetous that his girlfriend has cut her hair, acquire a occupation, and grown out of her rave dance yearss.

As for Dick and Barry, they are the amusing alleviation, polar antonym foils of non-responsibility. A Barry is the rough critic, theA Idaho, full of fustian and exaggeration. A Dick refuses to be a critic at all ; he is theA superego, full of respect and shame. A Together, they foil Rob because they, unlike him, do non hold a top 5 list of dissolutions. A They ‘ll be lucky to set down a girlfriend at all.

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