11.) The Object

Book Title: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Pages: 360-423 since last week; 680 since semester

Callie and The Object go on vacation together with The Object's family in the woods, and Jerome brought The Object's crush, Rex. The four of them sneak out at night into a cabin and get drunk and do drugs as the boys' scheme to go all the way.

This is the night that Callie finally realizes that she's a hermaphrodite. She's had a major crush on her best friend the Object, and all this time she's been trying to dismiss it. When Rex and The Object are kissing across the room while her and Jerome are kissing as well, Callie gets an out of body experience and imagines that she's the one kissing the Object instead of Rex. Once her and Jerome actually have sex, she feels only excrutiating pain, and although Jerome notices nothing, Callie realizes that she is no normal girl. Callie goes to the doctor and her parents finally realize she's a hermaphrodite as well. I would consider this the climax of the book because now it's about her dealing with who she is, not just trying to discover it. This kind of reminds me of the hero's journey, because you always have to fall into the abyss before you can come out as a hero. Callie has experienced the worst possible thing, and out of it she's realized who she is.