1) Edward is abusive
Throughout the “Twilight Saga, Edward constantly insults Bella. Some of it could be written off as good-natured humor, but most of it is unnecessary. For example, he’s is always telling her things like, “Bella, it’s not my fault if you are exceptionally unobservant” (Twilight 81).
</aHe also says to her, “Bella, you are utterly absurd” (Twilight 82). What about when he says to her, “Do you think that I could be scary?”(Twilight 107) Does he sound manipulative now?
Let’s not forget that Edward also controls everything she does. Don’t think so? Look at the facts. She is not allowed to see Jacob. Not just he doesn’t like it when she sees Jacob; she is forbidden from seeing Jacob. He’s only trying to protect her? I think not. Picture your boyfriend. Now picture him telling you that you can not see your best friend because he is “dangerous,” although he has no evidence to support that allegation.
He tells her, “You are my life now” (Twilight 92). Wouldn’t you be creeped out if some guy told you that you were his life? His whole life? Isn’t love supposed to be about a union of two people coming together? Since when does love mean having one person be your entire life? I think what makes a relationship interesting is the difference in opinions and personality; apparently, Stephanie Meyer does not agree.
Still not believing me? How about when he says, “I hate you for making me want you so much” (Twilight movie). Questionable? I think so.
The real problem lies in the fact that Stephanie Meyer and her fans see Edward as the perfect man to end all men. They hold him as an ideal, when the truth is, he is far from it. I would not want my boyfriend to go around telling me who I could and could not see. Nor would I want to be his entire life. But, hey, that’s just me. If you want to get involved in an abusive relationship, be my guest.
Not buying into Edward being abusive? That’s okay. There are many other reasons why the Twilight Saga is no great work of literature.
2) What are the morals of the Twilight Saga? I’m going to go with nonexistent.
So, the sixteen-year-old girl falls in love with the one hundred year old man. Then, the hundred year old man pressures the sixteen year old into marrying him. Then, the couple gets pregnant and the girl, with her entire life ahead of her, abandons all plans of going to college. Let’s say that Edward leaves her again. What then? She has no education and no way of getting one without money. All she has are her looks and a young child. Without college, she would have to rely on Edward for the rest of her existence. What was I thinking? This franchise is rife with good morals.
At least there’s a show out there for Bella…
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3)Characterization? Characters worth remembering? Actor/ Actresses worth talking about? Not in Twilight.
A round character must have three distinct character traits. Let’s see how many I can name for Bella:
1)Clumsy- examples include Edward mentioning it every few paragraphs.
2)Does submissive count? I don’t think it was intended for Bella to be submissive. Oh well- examples include Bella allowing Edward’s sister to take her away for an entire weekend just so she can’t see Jacob.
3)Hmm… nope that’s about it.
That’s the main character…three traits don’t exist for the main character. The novels are written from her perspective, and she doesn’t have three decent character traits. This is a sad, sad, literary world we live in.
If that’s not enough, I don’t think there is any one person who would be willing to vouch for Kristen Stewart’s acting ability. In the defense of the directors, maybe they were just looking for the person who really embodied Bella.
4)The target audience
The Twilight Saga is written at a fourth grade reading level. The problem with this is that the books are written for an audience much older than nine or ten years of age. The last book in the saga, Breaking Dawn, revolves heavily around sex, Bella’s pregnancy and whether or not to abort the fetus once she becomes pregnant. In my opinion, the book is much too mature to be read by someone the age of eleven or twelve, even though that is the age the books have become the most popular with.
On another note, I found it very disconcerting that the fifty-year-old women who sat a row behind me screamed when Edward came on screen in the theater. There are some things I just don’t want to be subjected to; screaming fifty-year-old housewives is one of those things.
5)The entire Twilight Saga is just one huge adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.
The entire thing is just a really bad version of Romeo and Juliet. Don’t see it? Let’s look at the facts.
1)Edward and Bella fall in “love” in three days.
2)Bella is the forbidden damsel that Edward can’t have.
3)They get together anyway.
4)When Edward thinks Bella is dead, he goes to the Volturi to ask to be killed because he couldn’t bear life without his love.
5)Bella runs after him and unfortunately for the literary world, stops him just in time.
If that’s not enough, Edward and Bella constantly discuss Romeo and Juliet as well as Wuthering Heights, another “inspiration” for the Twilight series. Stephanie Meyer even goes as far as to quote Romeo and Juliet in the beginning of New Moon.
She also takes the classic poem “Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost and makes it the premise for the entire love triangle between Jacob and Edward. Stephanie Meyer yet again quotes the poem in the beginning of her book.
Besides, if I have to watch a bad adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, I’d much rather be subjected to one with Leonardo DiCaprio. At least he’s not some sparkling Dracula Wannabe.