Fiction and Uncomfortable Topics

Growing up in an LDS community, and having mostly LDS friends I have come to find that Mormons find talking about a large array of topics taboo. In most of my friend’s, and in many church members homes, talking about sexual relations, pornography, sexually transmitted diseases, masturbation ect. just doesn’t happen. I remember in High School the first time I traveled by myself, far away from home, was to attend a conference back east. This was a medical conference and one of the topics discussed centered on sexual relations and STDs. I was shocked at the amount of knew information I learned and disgusted that Utah schools didn't spend more time talking about things that are so dangerous, but also very prevalent. It was surprising to me at that time that the "LDS culture" we live in was so prominent that even the public school system followed suit. 

The candor and honesty Douglas Thayer presented in his novel Will Wonders Never Cease was a perfect way to present information to young adults in the church. He presented topics such as sex, homosexual relations, pornography, drug and alcohol use, and others in a way that would help sheltered youngsters understand that “taboo topics” are alright to talk about. When kid's don't learn those things in a structured, honest setting at home or in a class room, they tend to learn them in the halls at school where they are perverted and misguided. 

Representing the LDS experience by fictional novels can be difficult given the topic and the angle presented by the author. However, the way Douglas Thayer used sarcasm to depict the sheltered lives LDS youth often live was perfect. He talked about real issues in a way that helped the reader understand that not all important discussions need to be brushed under the rug and that often confronting uncomfortable topics can be very healthy. 

Mormon Undertones

In writing a fictional story or any piece of literature, one always needs to have the opinions of the audience in mind. One of the main things that influences how successful a piece becomes and how the audience receives it is the mindset that the author has while writing it. That is especially true for mormon literature, as much of the world does not understand or is not familiar with our religion. Mormon literature seems to be almost frowned upon, when the author makes blatant references to the mormon church, people will generally have a different opinion of the book.

The amazing thing about fictional mormon literature is that the author can tailor it to his needs, whereas a non-fictional piece of literature cannot be changed as much to fit the religious background of the audience. For example, sharing a personal story about conversion to the church or a principle can be a scary thing, putting your feelings out on the line. With fiction you can share your story but possibly change it to fit the general feeling you want the reader to have. Also, the author can change the story to add a lot of mormon influence, or a little, or not even mention the mormon church directly at all. Fiction allows the reader to become more immersed in the story, and the the author can introduce themes about the church in a more subtle undertone.

In the book, "Will Wonders Never Cease" by Douglas Thayer, the author chose to introduce the church in a more up front way, and that was his choice to make it a prominent theme throughout the book. This allowed him to slip in ideas about serving missions, baptism and conversion easily throughout the book. While some prefer this more in your face method, others may prefer to leave it as a more subtle undertone throughout their work.

life experiences, Fiction Genre and Nonfictional Genre

Douglas Thayer wrote a fictional novel representing a teenage boys LDS experience. In his novel “Will Wonders Never Cease” it helps others who read it have an outlet of LDS experience. Douglas Thayer is able to show how the boy feels like. He was able to show the struggle it showed. In the struggle he was able to “allows for the candor and honesty to be openly received (at least in most cases)” as Lizzy Sainsbury said. The Book Douglas Thayer had written helped express or come in common with some of our views. It became much more common to our life although it was fiction. Lizzy Sainsbury also had said that the book “relate to similar feelings in a safe way”. I think that it is a safe way to express feelings openly. I think it helps others relate as well.

Representing LDS experiences with fiction is a great way to pop out of your comfort zone about the feelings of the experience. I think that the fiction in the story helps release your feelings in a bigger way or that you may be able to exaggerate with certain LDS topics or experiences with a fiction novel. Thayer presents different scenarios that would be much more of a conflict to let out if it was nonfictional. I think that Thayer is a great example as he presents those difficult ways in his fictional novel. It helps the relationship with the reader and Thayer become more in common about what they feel.

As I read other experiences through the nonfictional genres I noticed I enjoyed the fiction genre more. I enjoyed that Thayer expressed or overstated more thoughts on a certain area of the experience he presented. It helped me relate in a way to the story. I liked that the fiction conveyed a lot of troubles that a nonfictional experience might not look at. I have enjoyed reading the fiction experience that Doug Thayer has written.

The Power of Honesty in Representing Cultural Experience

I believe that representing LDS experience through fiction is very valuable.  There are so many things that can be shared through the mind of a fictional character in a fictional setting and situation that can’t be shared (or can’t be shared very easily) through nonfiction.

For example, it is very difficult to represent the negative aspects of a culture through one’s own personal writing or speaking.  Often the negative things in life get pushed aside and those involved try to ignore them.  I believe this is alarming because I believe that many people could have a legitimate concern and yet be embarrassed to express their concern for fear of being too negative or being against the norm.  This could be bad, in my opinion, because this could mean that there are problems in society that are not addressed.

In Doug Thayer’s novel “Will Wonders Never Cease”, Thayer does an excellent job of being honest.  His main character and protagonist, Kyle, is a young teenager who has plenty of ideas about the world he lives in.  Some of these ideas are very negative.  However negative these ideas can be, however, I really enjoyed reading some of them.  I was able to relate with Kyle very well, since I have also had similar ideas and opinions in my life.  Thayer was able to address some very sticky issues that I don’t think he would have been able to address without using fictional writing.  Had he simply been writing or speaking some of these ideas or concerns from his own point of view, I think it would be very likely that he would be looked down on and his ideas would be rejected.

I for one connected very well with Thayer’s main protagonist Kyle, and I am a fan of being honest in fictional writing.

Assignment: Representing Mormon Experience in Fiction

What happens when one attempts to represent Mormon experience in a fictional form? This is the main question I wish my students to explore in a blog post due Tuesday, December 2nd. As a class we have been reading Douglas Thayer's new novel, Will Wonders Never Cease, and this gives us a way into that question. Thayer is an established author of Mormon fiction, and his latest novel can serve as a test case for my students in thinking this through.

A related question which they could also consider is the issue of candor or honesty. This is a main theme in many of Thayer's fictional works. How can one achieve an authentic representation of one's life or beliefs in literary form? Can fiction do this in ways nonfiction cannot, or vice versa?

In a blog post of about 300 words, my students are to make an observation or short argument about representing LDS experience, and to do so with reference to Doug Thayer's novel (and, if they wish, to other Mormon fiction). They may also consider the question of how fiction differs from representing (LDS) experience through the nonfictional genre of the personal essay.

Hopefully, my students will not just give an opinion in response to reading this novel, but they will engage this broader topic, and one another, in their posts.