Evaluating the Merits of 'Twilight' by Stephanie Meyer’s

The aesthetics quality of any literary work is one factor that cannot be overlooked when it comes to analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of a work. It helps sets aside not just what is good or important, but what makes the literary piece inherently good or bad. Twilight (2005) by Stephanie Meyers, is one novel that divides opinion of readers and critics. It seems to have fallen between a chasm of good and not good. Popularity and criticism are two words that perfectly describe the reception of the book. This essay takes an academic evaluation of the source material to see if it upholds its aesthetic values, or in other words, meet the demands of an average reader.

Twilight is a novel about a young high school girl named Bella Swan, who falls madly in love with a fellow student by the name Edward Cullen, and who by the world is a vampire. Although the general reception of the novel has been mixed, a lot of the reception has been geared towards it been a poor literary work. In her review of the novel in the New York Times, Elizabeth Spires said, 'Although the entire premise of the book is fascinating and captivating, the entire book suffers from the inexperience of an amateur writer.' This take on the book is something I agree with, given the entire nature of the book. The biggest flaw in the book comes from something you would expect from an amateur writer rather than a seasoned one, and this flaw is essential to any written work, and that is the plot.

We are taught that for every story, there must be a starting point, a middle, and a conclusion, but Twilight does not get these basics right, and it is safe to say the author is not clear about these basics of writing. This gives even more credence to Spires's assessment of the book. The book is into two distinct parts, with only a few connecting bases. The first plot of the book is entirely about Bella and Edward's romance, and the second plot is the conflict between good and evil vampires. This lack of connection between the two parts takes the reader on two different journeys. Case in point, Bella and Edward's romance take the center stage for three-quarters of the book, and we do not get to see James and the rest of the villains until the last part of the book. It would have been much better to give a proper introduction to the villains earlier on in the book, and thus adding more weight to the action subplot. Meyers does not solve the issue of plot all across the book, and this is a significant problem as readers are left wanting more from the plot and pacing of the book.

An apparent defect in the novel and a sign of Meyer's inexperience as a writer is the constant need to tell rather than to show. Twilight is full of many instances where sentences are written to tell the emotions and feelings of characters rather than indirectly explaining the character's state of mind using dialogue and action. There are several instances in the book where Edward simply just tells Bell that he is indeed dangerous. A better approach would have had Bella confronting the fact that the person she is in love with is dangerous. The need for Meyers tell rather than show is apparent in her meaningless use of complicated sentences that add nothing to the plot, and are only there just to fill up page number. A case in point when Meyers describes Edward's appearance by saying 'vampires sparkling in the sun.' An underlying issue with this is that it affects the intensity and complexity of the work, without adding vitality to the story. This further affects the issue of plot and pacing in the story.

Twilight is not a good piece of English literature when it comes to aesthetics. It suffers from having an identity, a lack of complexity, zero unity, and useless intensity. Stripe down of its whole vampire subplot; it is a tale of girl meets an almost perfect boy and falls in love with him. In this case, the boy is a vampire whose flaws serve only one purpose, to drive the story. Edward Cullen is best described by the term Byronic which was taken from Lord Byron's work. The term classified male figure, usually depicted as a hero and has all the qualities you would want in a man. In her essay on Fifty Shades of Grey (a book which shares huge similarities with Twilight) Lori Perkins describes the Byronic character as, 'A brilliant but dashing bad boy, with style, and a heart of gold, but with enough flaws to give you that small hint that maybe you have a chance with him.'

Here again, lies another flaw with the book. The Byronic character is not a new idea or a groundbreaking feat. It is a character that predates even the Cinderella story. Although the presence of this type of character does not determine the beauty of a story, it makes us question the originality of the story. Edward is repeatedly admired for his perfection in every way all across the book. An admiration that becomes over Byronic to a certain extent, where it becomes intensity for the sake of it, thus adding to the meaningless intensity, and the lack of unity to balance it. 'I cannot be sure, of course, but I would compare it to living on tofu and soy milk; we call ourselves vegetarians, our little inside joke.' These words are said by Edward, and it shows us how exactly Edward is meant to be the perfect vampire, and the drinking of humans' blood is considered an imperfection.

For all the limitations of the novel, and the fact that it lacks the aesthetics needed for a top literary piece, I do have sympathy for Stephanie Meyer. When the author first wrote the book, she did so without having any intention of publishing the book professionally. It was meant to be her own fanfiction of what would happen if a human met and fell in love with a charming vampire. This shows that she was determined to build a literary universal that readers could relate to and form their own interpretation of the characters. In a way, Twilight can be seen as a novel that tells the love story between a teenage girl and her perfect boyfriend.

Meyers might have only wanted to satisfy her own imaginations and fantasies with the book, and thus might not have taken too much interest in the plot, complexity, intensity, and synergy of the story. Fortunately, the story became a success and loved by people who are in love with fantasy and perfection than the aesthetic quality of the material. However, irrespective of the intention or background of the author, the book is lacking in regards to writing and aesthetics. To explain further, the lack of both factors from the book could be singled down to the fact that maybe Stephanie Meyers wrote herself into her own story because she was her own audience. The argument against the book is valid, and it has to be said that it does not in any way mean the book is not an enjoyable read, it just highlights the fact whether or not one would consider book to be a good literary work or not.