The Joker and The Thief

In the preliminary chapter of Jennifer Egan's Pulitzer winning fiction novel A Visit from the Goon Squad she introduces the protagonist of the Found Objects, the first chapter (or short story, pending on whether one views the work as a compilation of interwoven stories or a novel told from many perspectives): Sasha. Sasha, to me, defines a person I want to embody. Her job with Bennie proves to be interesting, enjoyable, and laid back. Also, her kleptomania has me intrigued. If I were to embody Sasha, I would turn my mental handicap into something useful, I'd make it seem like a talent. Sort of like those insomniac detectives in old Noir Films, only instead of inability to sleep I would turn my kleptomaniac self into a sort of Robin Hood type figure. Sasha appears throughout the book, popping in everywhere in character's lives as either a fringe memory of someone they met once or a major influence in the chapter's protagonist's life, and she has the main focus of the beginning chapter. The title, "Found Objects" works as a sort of double entendre; one interpretation relates to the objects themselves, getting 'found' by Sasha, the other interpretation comes from a place, the 'Lost and Found' a place where people take lost objects to help their rightful owners to find them(3). If one further examines the later take on the title one can see a very prominent aspect into Sasha's constant thievery. If the objects she steals are the "Found Objects" then they were considered lost before the pilfering. This implies that Sasha views herself above others, above their material wealth, and above their rights and opinions; she steals almost without remorse for those who she steals from, and recognizes that '" this isn't a great way to live'" but continues on with her lifestyle (8). These characteristics paint Sasha as cold, apathetic sociopath who only looks out for themselves. These personality traits come as a major surprise to me was that she would care so little for the people and things she stole from, but claims she steals more things to preserve people. However, Sasha's character deepens as more personality traits come into play. When Coz, her psychologist, is speaking with her, he suggests talking about her father, this provokes an extreme shut down in Sasha, foreshadowing the coming events. She even thinks about the possibility of conversation, but comes to the conclusion that "in [my father's] direction lay only sorrow" (9). This makes Sasha seem vulnerable, empathetic, and emotional through the pathos evoked via emotional connotations with sorrow. Finally, in the next chapter, focused on Sasha's boss, Bennie, she comes off as very assertive, sarcastic, and competent. She blatantly states her opinion of a band that Bennie signed and enjoys, stating "'They were awful. That was the problem."' whilst contradicting her confrontation later by "following [Bennie's] musical rant to its grim conclusion", stating his exact opinion before he got to it (37). All in all, I believe Sasha to be an amazingly complex character, she can stand up for herself, know when to open up, and most of all, is a cold-hearted master thief. I would love to meet her and pick her brain, just to see how far I could go with a rudimentary understanding of psychology. I would also trade for the thieving stuff too, I could be like some awesome Batman villain.