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Fifty Shades of Grey is on everyone’s mind these days. The book has been around for a while and grabbed many fine reviews. However, with the movie recently being released, the book and its story have taken on higher criticism than before. While some of the criticism is positive, more and more are negative. No matter what the public opinion, reading the Fifty Shades of Grey was a novel and quite entertaining experience. This essay will strive to provide the readers with a glimpse into what Fifty Shades of Grey is.
Fifty Shades is, contrary to popular belief, is not a book about sex and bondage. It is a book about a young girl’s infatuation with a man – a man, one must say, is quite twisted and strange, for want of a better word. This man is into all sorts of weird sexual acts and takes on a young, naïve, inexperienced girl to be his submissive. However, the story takes on a romantic nature after a few chapters. Although Christian Grey is in control of all that he does, when it comes to Anastasia Steele he is lost. He cannot fathom how she works. She is a complex character to him, and because of this, his initial feelings of “just wanting a submissive” change to something else. Because Anastasia is “different” in every sense of the word, Christian finds himself attracted and drawn to her. Although the story initially shows us that Christian is in charge of his needs, upon closer inspection, we realize that Anastasia is really the one in charge. She is able to control Christian and do things to him and with him that Christian never thought he would attempt.
Although the movie may be a hit, Fifty Shades of Grey, the novel, did not catch the readers’ eyes till much later after publication. Upon reading the book, the first thing that strikes the reader is the ease of language. This is not a great book of literature. It is very basic and the writing is very simplistic. There is nothing extraordinary about the writing. In fact, it is so simple that one wonders, apart from its erotic nature, what made it so great to be published in the first place. There is nothing outstanding about the writing of the book, other than the sexual content.
What does the book teach the present day woman? At first glance, it teaches the present day woman to be obedient, to take abuse from her partner and enjoy it while doing so. But, there is a deeper meaning to all the BDSM. There is a true love. There is the possibility that people can change despite their actions with the right amount of TLC. This is what Anastasia Steele provides Christian Grey. She tries to understand him and care for him and once she does succeed, the roles reverse and he becomes her slave.
Reading the Fifty Shades of Grey and the other two books that followed it was quite liberating. I believe it was a story meant to inspire and raise question. And right now, Fifty Shades of Grey is doing exactly what it was meant to.