Rejection: Fiction
55 pages • 1-hour read
Tony TulathimutteRejection: Fiction
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Symbols & Motifs
The Internet
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of sexual content.
The Internet is the key motif for the theme of The Loneliness of the Internet Age. In several stories, characters turn to the Internet to relieve the pain of their loneliness. This ironically has the effect of deepening their isolation, making it harder to form a genuine connection with anybody else.
In “Pics,” Alison frequently uses the Internet to learn more about Neil and Cece and to seek support from her group chat. Alison obsessively compares herself to Cece, trying to outperform her in posting. Alison believes that by creating an appealing enough post, she can earn Neil’s approval and love. Obviously, this fails. Alison’s group chat serves as an initial source of character support, but she alienates them with her self-pity and her vindictive nature. At the end of the story, Alison returns to her empty group chat to mourn the definitive end to her relationship with Neil.
In “Ahegao, or The Ballad of Sexual Repression,” Kant turns to the Internet to fulfill his sexual fantasies after his relationship with Julian is ended. Kant hopes that ordering custom porn videos will allow him to overcome the fear of his sex partner’s rejection. Although the story ends with him deepening his humiliation by accidentally sending the description of his video to his family and friends, Kant remains hopeful that life will be better through transactional sexual fulfillment online.
Finally, in “Main Character,” Bee turns to the Internet to escape the duplicity of the people they engage with in person. Unlike other characters, Bee thrives in isolation, which enables them to conduct social experiments like Botgate. Bee thus creates the community that forms around Botgate, including MH-Sleuth, who feels that Bee’s story resonates with the loneliness they feel on the Internet.
Pornography
Pornography is a prominent symbol of the unrealistic quality of fantasy. In “The Feminist,” the title character initially turns to pornography as a healthy space for him to explore his domination kink. However, his reliance on pornography in lieu of interpersonal sexual experiences causes him to form unrealistic expectations of sex. When The Feminist has sex with Alison, he is so disappointed that he cannot orgasm. This makes him even more reliant on pornography, which in turn causes physical desensitization and prevents him from ever forming realistic expectations of human relationships.
In “Ahegao, or, The Ballad of Sexual Repression,” Kant’s sexual fantasies are articulated in the context of a transaction. Kant’s custom pornography order is a hyperbolically unrealistic fantasy, underscoring the frustration of his libido. The pornography Kant wants represents his desire to usurp power from his sex partner, here reduced to a one-dimensional enslaved person unable to think of anything other than satisfying Kant.
Pity
Pity is a prominent motif representing failure. Characters turn to pity as a consolation prize for their inability to form meaningful connections with others. Over time, they become reliant on pity, which fuels resentment.
The Feminist and Alison from “Pics” both demand pity when they fail to achieve the outcomes they want. Bee eventually calls The Feminist out for craving pity from them, while Alison’s online friend group weaponizes her constant appeals to their pity—if Neil’s rejection is the biggest problem Alison has, then she is shallow and not self-aware. Max in “Our Dope Future” also turns to the Internet for validation after his relationship with Alison ends. When he doesn’t get the pity and validation he wants, he retreats altogether from the United States, believing that the people around him aren’t ready for his dreams and ideals.
“Sixteen Metaphors” references pity more abstractly. The second-person protagonist thinks there might be something wrong with them, even though their appearance suggests that they are indistinguishable from everyone else around them. By the end of the story, you lament that you have tried everything to “catch fish,” making you feel like what you want doesn’t matter. This is an evident cry for sympathy, which is undermined by the story’s assertion that every “catch” has a “catch,” meaning that every person you meet is turned off to the possibility of a relationship with you.
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