“Pet” is not a normal pet. It’s all astonishing!

 

Hello, this is Judy’s first reading reflection post.

The book I have chosen is called “Pet,” which is written by Akwaeke Emezi.

Before illustrating the plots and reflecting on them, I want to discuss this novel’s cover first. From my own perspective, I think this cover conveys a few vital clues for me regarding this story. First, the center of this novel’s cover is a young black girl. I suppose that this book will involve some of the sensitive issues, such as race and sex. Secondly, I couldn’t help but wonder why there are a lot of feathers in an unorganized order on the front cover. I guess it might be related to the title of this book which is “Pet.” In other words, there should be an animal or any other creature portrayed in the plot. Thirdly, there is an eye-catching subtitle above the title. It goes “Pet is here to hunt a monster. Are you brave enough to look?” It is terrifying but exciting. I believe that this book must be well-plotted. I also expect this book to be such a page-turner. Last, the color pattern of the cover is mild, pastel, and rich. In my opinion, it may symbolize peace at my first glance. The above is all the information that I infer based on the book’s cover.

"Pet" is set in a utopian city, Lucille. It is a safe place which is at least told by the protagonist Jam’s mother. But what does the so-called “safe” mean exactly? All the adults in this city always teach their children “there are no monsters anymore.” That is the meaning of safety in their eyes. Monsters perhaps represent evil people or the real monsters, destructing everything in this city. Nevertheless, there is tentatively no method to find the correct answer. But I couldn’t help wondering where monsters go and who has done something to get rid of them. The answer to the latter question is “angels.” Angels make every effort to establish so-called “justice and peace” in this city. Nonetheless, from my own perspective, citizens are all just brainwashed into such peace. The phenomenon of justice and peace is not quite real. It is all about angels’ arrangement. What angels have done is to keep most of the citizens from understanding bad matters such as monsters because Angels don’t expect that citizens are exposed to those annoying trivia. Although this behavior might be out of considerateness, it is actually not suitable for establishing and developing a city. It might lead to a lot of negative influences and problems. For example, if all people have lost “the right to know,” people will become ignorant and forget to enhance their alertness when necessary. It is one of the apparent disadvantages for a utopian city. Thus, such an operation is not highly admired by me.

The next issue that I want to discuss is about the role of Jam’s parents, Bitter and Aloe. First of all, because Jam is a trans kid, she often faces lots of derision and sarcasm when going to school. Her classmates make fun of her once in a while by calling her “such a handsome little boy.” Such taunts happen time after time, which has gradually crushed her confidence. Fortunately, her lovely parents always play a crucial role in helping her regain her confidence. They dedicate all their lives to protecting their only child, Jam. They seldom refuse their daughter’s demands because realizing the importance of meeting one’s needs. It contributes positively to not only well-being, but her confidence. Accordingly, it occurred to me that I cannot neglect the responsibility and impact of parents.

Last but not least, the rest of the plot that I have read is centered on the appearance of a real monster, Pet. It is the climax that makes me feel excited. A real monster has finally appeared. How can it appear again? It is exactly how inconceivable and eerie this story appeals to me. Jam indeed needs to take the major responsibility for this accident because she is the one that discharges a monster from the painting. Painting is the place where the monster has come out. As long as a few drops of human’s blood drip, it will effectively stimulate the life of the creature which is fully portrayed by Jam’s mother in the canvas. It sounds very weird and unbelievable to me. Upon seeing the monster coming back to life, Jam starts to question what she herself has learned before because she has little knowledge regarding monsters. Hence, it is ignorant of Jam to do nothing but stand still and feel scared to death, which is all caused by Angel’s concealment. Accordingly, it highlights the reason why “knowing” and “remembering” are essential. Memory is for everyone to learn lessons from the past experiences.

To sum up, in my opinion, “Pet” illustrates a world which may look peaceful and perfect on the outside, but in fact, it is full of monsters inside. It is a typical issue that occurs in utopian countries. In some ways, it mirrors the current situation in some countries. The authority has been used to depriving citizens of the right to know. In short, they always ignore the negative influence of concealment.