Thread:Yeerk/@comment-28171460-20190726184223/@comment-34202220-20190726202145

I think it's hilarious he called his own article scholarly. I actually really enjoyed his scholarly article, haha.

When I first started these recaps, I had the same view as you about literary analysis of Stine's work. Then, I thought about it, and I feel like we are limiting the perceived quality of these books by not analyzing them. I think kids, especially reluctant readers, can gain a lot out of these books if they choose to look at them analytically. I want to be able to direct my students to my blog in the future and help them discover books to read, showing what they can take away from them. In the 12 books I've covered so far, I've found red herrings, foreshadowing, symbolism, and in this most recent book, deus ex machina.

Now, about that deus ex machina. I think it's up for debate. Here's what I wrote on my blog for why I feel it is deus ex machina:

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Did anyone feel kind of cheated when Gabe held his mummy hand up in the air and saved his impossible problem? You should have. Deus ex machina, translated from Latin to English as “God from the machine,” is a literary device that is often frowned upon in literature. The idea is that something will come out of seemingly nowhere and save the day. These devices seem too random, and often, too convenient. The Summoner, the mummy hand Gabe keeps in his pocket as a good-luck charm is a classic case of deus ex machina.

I like the idea of the purpose the hand served. There is something cool about Gabe having an ancient artifact in his pocket, but how he came about it is too random. We’re told Gabe bought it at a yard sale for $2. An unknown boy sold it to him and told him it had powers to summon evil spirits. Where did that boy get the hand? Where did he get that information? Why wasn’t this explored more?

If we had more of a backstory on the hand, the ending of the book wouldn’t have felt as cheap. I get this this is a Goosebumps book, and these books are not generally deep, but Stine could have avoided the need for background altogether, and would have killed accusations of deus ex machina if he had made Gabe discover the hand in the pyramid. Gabe got lost twice in the pyramid. If he had stumbled upon the hand the first time he got lost, thought it looked cool, and decided to stick it in his pocket, the ending would not have felt cheap at all.

What we got, however, was Khala’s hand just so happened to end up in a yard sale in the States that Gabe, a boy who would become trapped in her pyramid, would stumble upon and keep as a good-luck charm. Nah. I’m sorry. This is too convenient. For that reason, and because this particular item happened to save the day, The Summoner is deus ex machina. It’s a cool piece of deus ex machina, but it’s still deus ex machina.

Early in the book when Gabe is waiting on Ben and Sari to arrive, he hears movement at the door and, without thinking, he holds his mummy hand up in the air for protection. He does it again at the end of the book when he, Sari, and Ben are in danger. What drove him to do that? Did the mummy hand persuade him or control him to a degree? Now that is interesting. We just get a cop out, “I don’t know why I did what I did,” answer and it’s not explored more. It’s a shame, because this one item had real potential to strengthen this book, but as deus ex machina, I think it harmed it.

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As for your argument, the magic in the hand appears out of nowhere. Given the randomness of Gabe having the hand in the first place, I think it could absolutely be deus ex machina.

On a side note, I read some other reviews of this book after writing mine, and a few others have mentioned deus ex machina. I just noticed it on Blogger Beware today. That's not where I got it, but I think since more than one person sees it, there's a case for it.

I support its removal off the article. I understand how it could be seen as opinionated. I was seeing it more in line with calling Alicia a red herring in The Horror of Camp Jellyjam. Since you think not everyone will see it as a clear case of deus ex machina, it's definitely opinionated and doesn't belong in the article. :)

Thanks for the heads up instead of just removing it. I'm not offended at all.