Transformation and Adaptation

Transformation and Adaptation

In the world today, there are events that come about and shape who we are as people such as 9/11. That day had changed how we all view of humans and how destructive they can be but one thing stayed consistent throughout the event, we all adapted and adjusted to the problems that it had caused and now we all have transformed into guarded and alert people that are aware of our surroundings and now are ready and able to handle events such as that again. The main point here is that no matter the problem or event, human beings have the innate ability to transform themselves and adjust to the situation. In the book Middlesex, Cal has been placed in the unfortunate situation of being a man even though he has been raised as a girl. As the story goes on, we come to realize that Cal is a true human being even though he has been diagnosed with this unfortunate condition. Just as people adjusted to the events of 9/11, Cal takes the condition which he has been diagnosed and begins to start his survival as a person and eventually transforms into a person who now can lead a life. Cal is the perfect example of how humans, when handed a dilemma in their lives, can persevere and live life even though it is slightly adjusted. The people who do not adjust to life will eventually die and throughout the book, Cal shows that he is one of those people that will adjust and live.

Cal, throughout his life is teased about his appearance and the way he acts towards others. The relationship he begins with his best friend at age 14, "The Obscure Object" is a relationship in which Cal became a very curious person and started to slowly become closer and closer to her while they lay in bed. There has to be something going through Cal's mind at that time of the exploration of the Object's body that may have tipped Cal off to the fact that he has feelings for her. The way that Cal described the features of the scene when Cal rolls over to get a better look at the Object. Cal eases over slowly to the Object's side of the bed and pulls the covers off her. This is where the story begins to take a turn that Cal is feeling as though he has masculine qualities, besides his appearance. The point here is that no girl that is raised as a girl would be describing the bedroom scene like Cal did unless they either were a lesbian or they are in a situation similar to Cal's. But this situation was a turning point for Cal in the sense that he began to see that the feelings that he had developed for the Object were not normal. Those feelings really took a turn when Cal and the Object were sitting on the porch and Cal slipped his hand down the Objects pants. Cal took these feelings as though he was a girl and saw nothing wrong with the feelings and didn't have to adjust at the time.

"I began to exude some kind of masculinity, in the way I tossed up and caught my eraser, for instance." (Eugenides, 304) This is a perfect example of how Cal began to see that he is not as normal as other people around him. When Cal and his parents took the trip to the doctor in New York, Dr. Luce, at this point in time, no one had any idea of Cal's condition other than Cal. This appointment is where Cal was found to be a man instead of the girl he was being raised as. This event in Cal's life is a very important one is that this is the point where his life changed dramatically. The slender, lack of breast figure that Cal had been born with, that his parents viewed as a girl through all of these years, is now finally being put out into the world as a man. Being raised as a girl for all of his life, Cal was formally adjusted to life that way. Hanging out with girls, especially his friend the Object, sleeping in the same bed a girls, and just being treated as a girl by all of his peers and family. Cal, being a human and acting on that fact, he took the news of being a man and accepted it. By accepting it means that throughout his life, Cal took in countless time when he noticed things were different between himself and his peers. But Cal did not just take it and say well I'm just going to hide it and no one will know. He went out and went to the barbershop and got his haircut. This was when he really noticed that the physical features of his body and face showed the true identity of who the girl everyone called Callie. This person that he saw at first when the barber turned the chair around "And there she was, for the last time, in the silvered glass: Calliope. She still wasn't gone yet. She was like a captive spirit, peeking out." (Eugenides, 442) This is where he knows that the hair that he has grown as a girl for so long is now going to disappear forever and the true face and appearance of the new man that Cal is now will appear to him and the world and remain for the rest of his life.

The tragedy of 9/11 changed people's lives in so many ways from not being able to just board an airplane even though you know that you have nothing to hide in your suitcase. The peace of mind that was lost because of the terrorists of 9/11 and just being able to go on a vacation without the worry of the plane being high-jacked and the possible loss of life. This situation is relatable to Cal's situation by having the same qualities and worries that the people of 9/11 have today. Cal, now knowing that he is a man, has the daunting task of adjusting to life as so. He no longer will enter the same restrooms as he once did. He will no longer have the close relationship with the Object and he now will have to adjust to life as man, meaning that the womanly qualities that he once displayed will now have to take a backseat to his new life as a man.

The word adaptation has several meanings but in the true sense of the word, the true meaning is being able to adjust to a specific situation that you are given and being able to have the tenacity and will power to drive on and make the most of the situation that has been placed upon you. Cal is a very curious person so he travels to the library in New York and looks up the definition of hermaphrodite. The true definition of the word Hermaphrodite is "An individual having the reproductive organs and many of the secondary sex characteristics of both sexes." (free-dictionary.com) In the story, the book that Cal finds lists synonyms such as monster that made Cal's mind wonder. "The synonym was official, authoritative; it was the verdict that the culture gave on a person like her. Monster. That was what she was. That was what Dr. Luce and his colleagues had been saying. It explained so much, really.