Changing social intimacy

                One of the major themes that “Super Sad True Love Story” develops is the changing meaning of social interaction and the value of relationships. Through exaggerated depictions of what social interactions are becoming, Shteyngart illustrates the changing dynamics of friendships and relationships. He employs Lenny’s old friends to show the transformation of friendships, his relationship with Eunice to depict how modern relationships start; and Eunice’s global teen talks represent the modern ideology about relationships. He truly emphasizes how modern culture affects old, new, and future social dynamics.

                Lenny’s reunion with his old friends is a key example of the media’s influence on even relationships with a deep history. Lenny’s apprehension about meeting his “friends” that he has known for over twenty years, simply because he has been gone for a year. Shteyngart writes “… I needed to reclaim m prime position among the boys as a kind of alternate Noah. I needed to replant myself on native soil.”(85) He portrays friendships as a stake or ownership that must be renewed and refreshed. This old relationship between friends has become shallow and fleeting, an effect of the new culture and media that is fast paced and adaptive. His friend Noah even uses the reunion as a means of work by filming the event and streaming it. It evokes the question of how can intimacy exist when nothing is private.

                The question of intimacy is continued in Lenny’s reunion with Eunice and their starting relationship. Shteyngart demonstrates that, despite all the intense emotions and thoughts going through both Lenny and Eunice’s minds, their actual interactions are reluctant and awkward. Shown in the passage, “The cab ride passed in near silence, both of us a little ashamed of the situation, each probably feelings guilty of something… mindful of the fact that we had spent less than a day together in total…” (101)Their reunion is an example of the potential that technology has to connect people from vast distances, but also how it creates illusions of closeness and compatibility. It demonstrates how desperate people many become for intimacy and affection that they will turn to complete strangers for it.

                Another interesting passage from the book that caught my attention was during a conversation between Sally and Eunice. Eunice writes “He’s not a stranger… that’s what being in a relationship is about. Talking to the other person.” Sally responds “That’s why I’m never going to be in a relationship I’m just going to get married.” Eunice displays a level of maturity that she hasn’t shown before. She symbolizes how, even though society has shift away from intimacy and direct contact, people still crave it and value it. While Sally’s response is ridiculous, her response embodies the new purpose for relationships. Relationships are simply tools in the future for status and gain. They are based on a trade for benefits, instead of a connection of emotions and ideas.

D.L