In the story “Carnal Knowledge”, by T. Coraghessan Boyle, Jim is the main character who loves to eat meat. He would love nothing more than to enjoy a dinner of “Beef, mutton, pork, venison, dripping burgers, and greasy ribs.” (1107) However, Jim’s cravings for “Kentucky Fried or Chicken Mc Nuggets” were no match for Alena Jorgensen. (1108) Alena is an obsessive animal rights activist whom Jim met while laying on the beach feeling sorry for himself. When a person has feelings of depression and loneliness it can be very easy for another person to come into their life and change their whole persona. Jim had just turned 30 and was feeling depressed for not having anyone in his life.
After dozing on the beach awhile Jim awoke to an “unmistakable odor”, he’d been pissed on. (1108) He first heard Alena’s voice after cursing the dog. Alena is a very attractive girl and Jim fell for her immediately. Alena and Jim left the beach to go clean the piss off his clothes at Alena’s house. While waiting for the clothes to dry, they began a conversation about animal rights. Animal rights are a huge issue in Alena’s life.
Jim never paid much attention to the issue but because of Alena’s beauty and kindness he was willing to listen. Jim’s feeling of loneliness has a big impact on his view of Alena. If Jim met another girl that day on the beach, and who was not as attractive he would have acted very different. Jim was very vulnerable at that moment and needed something crazy and exciting in his life. Jim was never a very motivated person, and now that Alena was in his life he has the excitement he’d been wanting. Alena was a vegan, the very opposite of himself so he told her he also was a vegan.
The Essay on Social Standing Jim War Life
Dear Journal Jim, Jim, Jim - thinking about the senseless murder of Jim by men who never knew him or disliked him except for his nationality. I began to realise that the world is changing everyday and I can't stop it. I started to stroll down the undulating dunes of the gold coast towards the vast desolate beaches. My feet sunk down into the sand and the thousands of tiny white sand grains slipped ...
He lied to impress her and started to get involved in all of Alena’s animal rights protests. These changes in Jim after meeting Alena are something that he would never have done in his past. Jim’s first animal rights demonstration in front of a fur emporium made him feel far from depressed and lonely. The “look in her eye told me that I would spend the rest of the day right there beside her, peeling grapes and dropping them one by one between her parted and expectant lips” (1112).
Jim begins to become infatuated with Alena and willing to carry out any orders she may have regarding animal rights.
Not only are they in love now, but Jim is somewhat her puppet. Alena’s strong opinion of animal rights begins to consume her and Jim starts questioning her feelings for him. Jim’s false impression of Alena begins to take a toll on Jim. His trust in her takes a turn for the worse when he runs into Rolfe, an old friend that Alena shows a little too much affection for.
Alena once again talks Jim into joining her on a mission to save the animals. As they carry out the mission of freeing caged turkeys from becoming Thanksgiving dinner, Jim was left behind and he believed that Alena had left him for Rolfe. It turns out that Alena and Rolfe are readying for a crusade to Wyoming to save some grizzlies and she doesn’t want Jim to join them. Jim leaves and agrees to get back to his old life.
While driving home, he sees an over turned truck that has smashed into hundreds of turkeys. This creates a feeling of anger because he now understands all the protesting, lies, and missions that Alena made him do were only done to please and impress her. He realized that his actions from meeting Alena were ridicules and that in the end those actions did not help him with a relationship nor did they save any animals.
