Page 12 - Middle Georgia State University - Knighted 2019

I sat on the rug. I sat in the middle of the floor. I could smell my own sweat from my
folded places. I sat there. . . . I ordered the draft pants from Multitude. It was a real
bargain. . . . I ordered another pair. I ordered pair after pair. I ordered them all in the
same color. They were slate. I was ordering them as quickly as I could. I put in my
address again and again. I was shivering with the cold on my butt. My arms were around
my legs. I ordered pants after pants. I put tracking orders on them. I tracked every one. I
could feel them moving through the system. . . . I had no credit. I had nothing left in my
account. . . . I stayed up all through the early morning, shivering, ordering, ordering, and
was awake at dawn, when I put on clothes, and went up to the surface, and watched the
shit-stupid sun rise over the whole shit-stupid world. (293)
To cope with his loss, Titus spends all of his money on pants.
The reader is wrong to assume that Titus is simply bored. For boredom to exist, a better
life must also exist. Boredom is inherently hopeful; it implies that there is a better world than
what already exists. Emptiness is a buffer, prohibiting optimism from shining through an issue
and illuminating a solution. Titus’ world does not offer a fulfilling life. The only character who is
fulfilled falls ill from messing with the system. Violet fools her feed into advertising products
she has no interest in buying, so the companies punish her. They refuse to sponsor Violet and
help her illness because she does not consume enough.
Although Titus’ world seems like a distant future, the previously mentioned research
suggests that people are developing relationships with technology much like Titus. The theories
and concepts applied to Titus have first been applied to modern teenagers. Titus and his friends’
lives are more integrated with the technology around them. The effects on Titus and his friends
are more obvious because they have been inundated with this material. Their society has failed

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