Students are raised to be sponges–intended to absorb the wisdom that our teachers and parents constantly preach to us. When we were in high school I was forced to take certain classes with barely any freedom to decide how my schedule would be arranged. My schedule was filled with hard deadlines for busy-work assignments, all meant to prepare me for tests that didn’t test knowledge but memorization capabilities. Now that I’m in college, I have control over what I want to major in, what classes I’m taking within that major, where I’m living, and overall just how I wish to delegate my time. The only expectations that professors have for college students is for them to form expectations for themselves. It’s our responsibility to show up to class and make an effort to learn the content and expand our ways of thinking. I now have jurisdiction over what I want to absorb.
There’s definitely a lot more freedom in college. I didn’t even realize how much I wanted this freedom until I got to Geneseo and realized I could live my own life exactly the way I wanted to. In Everett’s Frenzy, Vlepo also struggles to obtain freedom. While Vlepo’s true origins are unclear, it is evident that he relies on Dionysos. I am not certain if Vlepo exists only because Dionysos does, but this might as well be the case because of how Dionysos and Vlepo treat each other. Early on, Vlepo says, “I hate my Bakkhos, love my Bakkhos” (Everett, 3). This sentence alone shows the reader that their relationship is an unhealthy one. This is endorsed by the fact that Vlepo’s existence is solely for the benefit of Dionysos. Yet Vlepo still fulfills Dionysos’ every desire. Vlepo has repeatedly been forced to observe the world by being transfigured into both living and nonliving things. For example, Dionysos wanted to know what it was like to be a woman, so he forced Vlepo’s essence into a woman’s body. Dionysos never asked Vlepo if he wanted to do this, instead he guilt trips him, exclaiming, “Vlepo, Vlepo, what would I do without you, my eyes?” (Everett, 71). Since Vlepo is so burdened by Dionysos’ expectations, he rarely has the opportunity to live his own life. He is merely Dionysos’ sponge.
Vlepo becomes fed up with his situation, shown when he states, “I need a life…I would like one” (Everett, 49). This is how I felt by the end of senior year. I was more than ready to begin the next stage of my life and start making my life my own. As I was reading Frenzy, I found myself feeling empathetic towards Vlepo, and I think this is why. All Vlepo wanted was to have control over his own life, which is by no means an outrageous request, yet he was not granted this freedom. Maybe in the same way that I now have freedom after coming to Geneseo, Vlepo will have freedom after killing his master.