Theme Statement
The theme statement was difficult for me to find in Girlfriend in a Coma. There are many hidden meanings and symbolical references, and each of them means something different to each person. Each character has a different lesson to learn, and the characters are related to each reader’s life differently.
The following is the theme statement that I finally decided on:
The future is not necessarily the great, bright, happy place we all imagine, but that does not prevent us from moving into it and believing it will be all we hope for. Technology advancements are not as wonderful as society makes them seem, but the gradual progression into the advancements blind us from the abnormality of it. These progressions hide the truth of what the future is really doing to the world.
We are living in a society of laziness, impersonality, and efficiency. There is no way to escape the control of technology. It has taking over, and as is said in Girlfriend in a Coma, technology won, humanity lost. There is nothing any of us can do but accept the horror of extreme technology that has been created for us.
The world survived just fine before the era of technology. Anywhere from our parents’ generation to before the Common Era, humanity survived without huge advancements in technology. So why is all of this suddenly necessary? Is it helping society interact on a larger scale, or crippling communication on a smaller scale? Is technology a cultural advancement or devastation? What problems will arise in the future because of our actions of today?
In Girlfriend in a Coma, mostly only the negative aspects of technology in the society are illustrated. All the points that were made are valid, but there are two sides to every story. The novel portrayed technology as a bad influence on humanity, a way to hide the past from the future. But is that really true?
Computers, internet, and other technological advancements have made finding large amounts of information very simple. In the past, books, encyclopaedias, and other literary works were needed to find information. This is an advantage as it saves time, but that goes into the point in Girlfriend in a Coma that Karen made about efficiency. Why is it necessary for the society to be so efficient?
Communication has been both advanced and sacrificed as the result of technology. Email and internet has made it possible and easy to interact with people around the globe. Online translators have made the language barrier no longer an issue. Communicating with people across continents and races is made simple. It also makes communicating with people who you talk to daily much simpler, more convenient and efficient. These communications involve typing and reading, not speaking or listening. Because of this, younger generations are worse at listening and pay attention because they have grown up reading peoples words instead of fearing them. This is unnatural for humanity.
Technological advancements have changed our world, but it is impossible to say whether it has been for the better. I personally enjoy using new communication methods to remain in contact with friends who live far away, but dislike the dependency humans have to it. I would prefer to have a conversation with somebody in person than type into a computer.
Girlfriend in a Coma illustrates this sense of impersonality and dependency throughout the book, and I believe this to be the main theme.
