The class discussion on Orchid Fever last week really interested me as I had a different reaction to the article as a lot of other students. While many people found the text bland and that she could have made the subject more interesting, I would gladly read more about John Laroche and his obsessions.
As I was reading the text I found myself trying to diagnose Laroche- does he have Asperger's, OCD, or did he loose something when he was a child that made him cling to certain things above all else but not get too attached? This is why I would love to be able to read more about his journey, especially about his childhood and strange collections. Laroche is far too interesting to be confined to 6000 words.
As a reader I never felt i could really connect with Laroche- Orlean may have written it in order for the reader to feel alienated from his, and thus more inquisitive. This is demonstrated through quotes such as "I'm probably the smartest person I know" (Orlean)-- Laroche is depicted as either self-obsessed, crazy, or both. For me Laroche's story shows what everyone desires to be in some way- the best. The constant picking up and dropping off of collections, until he discovered the orchid, signifies the curiosity and absurdity of an indecisive human mind as we struggle to ascertain what really matters in life and what purpose we have. Laroche's decision to "never set foot in the ocean again" (Orlean) is an indication of how humans strive for perfection, and if it can't be achieved they do not want to be reminded of their attempts to gain it.
The choice of orchids as Laroche's long-term collection made me think of my Pop, who used to also collect the plants, had greenhouses for them, and went to orchid meetings and in competitions. He always had a new flower to show me, and still has many of the plants. I was very interested in how the orchids were brought to life through the article-they morph, adapt, and can be mutated. This idea of mutation makes me want to read more about Laroche's story as I would like a better understanding of how a real collector of the plant can view a mutated plant as a real specimen- and where is the line drawn between a real orchid and a human creation. Maybe these things do not even matter for collectors; some could deem orchids as art-forms instead of a plant and flower.
Source: Susan, Orlean. Orchid Fever. The New Yorker: New York, January 23 1995. Web. 6 March 2012.
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