Tess Gunty speaks of “entrapment” when she discusses The Rabbit Hutch. In what senses are the characters in Gunty’s novel entrapped?

The Rabbit Hutch, by Tess Gunty, follows a young group of individuals living in an imaginary town in Indiana called Vaca Vale. The group is made up of three boys, Jack, Malik, and Todd, and one girl, Blandine. Gunty demonstrates a theme of entrapment in her narrative by depicting these characters whose lives are influenced by various physical and psychological limitations.

The novel is set in a deteriorating apartment complex, also called The Rabbit Hutch in the fictional town of Vacca Vale, Indiana. The setting itself symbolizes a kind of physical confinement for the residents, who are trapped in a declining, forgotten place (Gunty 40). This physical environment mirrors the characters’ inability to escape their stagnant lives or achieve upward mobility. The complex also fosters a feeling of isolation. The close proximity of the residents contrasts with the emotional distance they experience from one another, enhancing the sense of loneliness and imprisonment. The physical walls of The Rabbit Hutch separate them, even as they are bound together by shared hardships. As the town decays, the characters' feelings of being trapped in a place where progress is impossible become even more pronounced.

Residents are trapped not only by their bleak surroundings but also by the psychological and spiritual burdens they carry. Blandine, for example, seems to be trapped in a kind of spiritual paralysis, searching for meaning and purpose in her life but often feeling disconnected or disillusioned. Blandine’s fascination with religious mysticism reflects her yearning for escape, not just from her physical environment but from the limitations of the material world. We see this in the very first sentences of the book, “On a hot night in Apartment C4, Blandine Watkins exits her body. She is only eighteen years old, but she has spent most of her life wishing for this to happen. The agony is sweet, as the mystics promised." (Gunty 8). By saying Blandine "exits her body" and experiences "sweet agony," the text mirrors her longing for transcendence, a concept central to the mystics she admires. Blandine has spent much of her young life grappling with feelings of alienation and seeking a way out of her painful reality that she's entrapped in. The mystics, who often described spiritual freedom through suffering, offer her a framework for understanding and justifying her desire to escape from her traumatic past and the world around her.

Overall, Gunty’s underlying theme of physical and psychological entrapment is depicted in the narrative of the individuals in the novel. Through more than just the physical state of their home, the Rabbit Hutch, but also in the individual want to escape a painful reality, as shown through the character Blandine. Entrapment is clearly a prevalent underlying theme in Gunty’s narrative.

Citations: 

“Brainstorm physical and psychological limitations and how they relate to the feeling of entrapment” prompt. 

Chat GPT, Version 4o, Open AI, (22, October. 2024)