Nipple Jesus by Nicky Hornby
Nick Hornby follows literary current in his short story, Nipple Jesus, to highlight immorality in the world. The story is centered on Dave, who leaves his job as a nightclub bouncer in search of a safer job. The author paints Dave is a family man who aspires to spend considerable time with his family. Finally, Dave lands a new job as a security guard. In the new role, Dave is tasked with guarding an extravagant picture that he hates until he meets its artist, Martha. Religion, family, change, art, and its relationship with individuals are separate themes that are tackled by Hornby in the story. Careful analysis of the story reveals that the character of an individual cannot be figured out using an insignificant feature or unique source.
Nick Hornby emphasizes the theme of family responsibility in his short story, Nipple Jesus. Initially, Dave is a worker at a nightclub. However, he works as a bouncer, where he is tasked with ensuring order in the club during night hours. Dave is a family man who is married to one wife. Working as a club bouncer is the only job that Dave seems to be qualified because of his big size. Lack of trade and academic qualification limits Dave to a few posts, and he understands his situation. Dave states that “I’m a family man. I can’t have people waving rusty spikes at me at two in the morning.” (Hornby, 2011). Working as a club bouncer is not a dream job for any person. However, the need to provide family needs keeps Dave on this job. Working at night denies Dave enough time with his family, and he decides to search for any other task that suits him for the sake of his family. Dave is thus used in the short story to challenge all other members in society to carry on with their family responsibilities.
Religion is an important aspect that explains our day to day activities. After several days of searching for a new job, Dave is employed as a security guard. Dave’s role is to guard a picture of Jesus Christ, which he dislikes. Dave states that “how can something be so beautiful far away yet so ugly up close?” (Hornby, 2011). The image comprises of breasts, hence the name “Nick Hornby.” Dave appears to be insulting the deity of Jesus during his first encounter with the picture. In the current world, many people abuse and disrespect their religion before seeking an adequate understanding of the religion. After working for several days, Dave claims that “Jesus is Jesus, isn’t he? No matter what you make him out of … Christ is where you find him.” (Hornby, 2011). A large crowd of people was attracted to the artistic work that depicted Jesus with breasts. Many people criticized the artistic work by claiming that the art was of low standards. Jesus Christ is a sacred being according to the Christian teachings. Jesus Christ should be recognized and worshipped at any place. Therefore, people who abused and destroyed the artistic work committed blasphemy.
People’s perspectives of a particular situation can change from time to time. When Dave lands his new job, he recognizes a good picture that he was going to guard from a far distance. On walking closer to the picture, Dave changer his view on the picture after noticing that the picture represented Jesus Christ, who was made of nipples. “I hated the picture then. Two minutes ago I’d liked it, now I hated it. And I hated the bloke who’d done it, too.” (Hornby, 2011). Initially, Dave sees the artistic work as exceptional. After a few minutes, Dave’s perspective on the painting changes completely. Hence, judging Dave from his first perspective on the picture would be wrong because he changes from time to time. Dave disgusts the art until he meets Martha, the artist behind the picture. Now, Dave’s perspective on the painting changes again. Dave asserts that since the picture is made by a decent woman, the image should also be decent. Dave defends the picture from many people who dislike it as if it is his work. The author depicts Dave as a character who keeps on changing, which makes the audience to develop different ideas on art.
Outstanding artistic works makes the audience to develop different meanings. For the people who believe in the existence of Jesus Christ, they consider the artistic work by Martha as exceptional (Hornby, 2011). Jesus Christ represents hope for millions of believers. Also, breasts are vital body organs that are used for nurturing young ones. Therefore, for the audience who are Christians, the work by Martha comprised of two extraordinary and sacred things. For the audience who have never heard of Jesus Christ, they thought that the picture was a depiction of a man in pain. The audience who had roots in the Western values believed that the picture was made for sexual pleasure. For the atheist audience, some thought that the picture was a good entertainment art while others believed that the picture was as a result of shoddy artistic work. Therefore, exceptional artistic work attracts different perspectives from a different audience.
From the short story, I learn that artistic work can convey a hidden meaning rather than the obvious physical meaning. Many Christians from Christian affiliated states have denied the existence and teachings of Jesus Christ. The painting of Jesus Christ portrayed that Jesus Christ is the opposite meaning of what people imagine of in the real world (Pinto, 2014). Martha had the different meanings of what her artistic work made. Martha had installed cameras near the picture so that she could film the public as they destroyed the picture. Both the public and Dave had a different meaning of the artistic work from Martha. The actual art was to view people as they destroyed the picture. Martha wanted to provoke individuals. Both the public had judged the artistic work as inferior without understanding the actual art. Also, Dave had initially expressed her dislike of the artist, which was a wrong perception. Hornby used the art to warn individuals against judging others from insignificant features.
In conclusion, Dave is the main character in the short story by Hornby, Nipple Jesus. The author uses the themes of religion, family responsibility, change, and equality to communicate his ideas. Dave changes his mind about Martha’s art as the story progresses. Different audiences can develop different perspectives about a particular piece of art. Dave and the public had a different meaning on Martha’s piece of art. The actual art was to view people destroying the painting made by Martha. Hornby challenges the audience to explore before judging others by making the reader conceptualize art as an act of provocation.
References
Hornby, N. (2011). Speaking with the Angel. Penguin UK.
Hornby, N. (2011). Small Country: Vier Storys. Not a Star, Otherwise Pandemonium, Small Country and Nipple Jesus. Kiepenheuer & Witsch.
Pinto, H. L. (2014). A long way down to redemption: Nick Hornby’s four sides to the same story.