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Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City: You Are The Coma Baby - College Term Paper

Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City: You Are The Coma Baby

The novel Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney relates the tale of a
young man working for a prominent newspaper in Manhattan by day, while visiting
many bars and nightclubs during the night. He manages to accomplish this
through the help of his use of cocaine, to which he is powerfully addicted.
Throughout the novel McInerney employs the use of the Coma Baby, a current story
in the New York Post, a local tabloid, as a symbolic representation of the main
character. The Coma Baby has been residing in its mother's womb after the
mother suffered a car accident and entered a coma. The debate is to whether the
Coma Baby will see the "light of the delivery room". In this passage the ...

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not realize the fallacies of his ways until he has
hit rock-bottom.
The Coma Baby is shown to be the symbolic representation of the main
character through his actions and philosophy toward life, a philosophy wholly
irresponsible and unmotivated. As the main character approaches he asks the
Baby if he's going to come out. The Baby responds with "No way José. I like it
in here. Everything I need is pumped in."(line 11) This remark illustrates the
main character's attitude toward life. With the condition that the Baby gets
what he needs, he has no motivation to improve his situation. This parallels
with the main character, who , provided he has his cocaine, does little to
improve his situation. For example, he continually shows up late to work, and
then after completely botching a project is fired from his job. The drugs have
completely stolen his motivation towards life. After this, when the main
character tries to reason with the Coma Baby about improving his ...

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Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City: You Are The Coma Baby. (2006, February 17). Retrieved January 16, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Jay-McInerneys-Bright-Lights-Big-City/41406

"Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City: You Are The Coma Baby." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 17 Feb. 2006. Web. 16 Jan. 2026. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Jay-McInerneys-Bright-Lights-Big-City/41406>

"Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City: You Are The Coma Baby." Essayworld.com. February 17, 2006. Accessed January 16, 2026. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Jay-McInerneys-Bright-Lights-Big-City/41406.

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 2/17/2006 01:37:11 PM
Category: Book Reports
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 801
Pages: 3

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