Theme Of Being Zach Morris

What do many important things “inevitably,” have in common? (Klosterman, 136) The answer to this question can be found in the essay “Being Zach Morris,” (Klosterman). In the essay, the author and narrator, Chuck Klosterman, provides anecdotes from his early adulthood. The topics discussed throughout the essay include Klosterman’s experience making mixtapes and the role of a once popular television series. The point of these anecdotes is to serve as proof of his theory that “important things are inevitably cliché,” (Klosterman, 136). A major theme present throughout the essay is psychoanalysis. To help the reader to better understand the anecdotes and why they were included, Klosterman analyses the thoughts and feelings of his peers, as well

During a season of Saved by the Bell, two characters, Jessie and Kelly are replaced for 12 consecutive episodes by a new girl Tori (Klosterman, 145). The new girl Tori possesses traits that both Jessie and Kelly exhibit and is immediately accepted and brought into Kelly and Jessie’s group of friends (Klosterman, 145). While the aforementioned girls are gone and Tori is around, none of the girls’ friends mention them at all, Klosterman concludes that this is the most realistic part of the show (Klosterman, 145). This conclusion is come to after Klosterman does some psychoanalysis and evaluates his own experience with the “Tori Paradox,” (Klosterman, 146). When he first considers the idea of the “Tori Paradox,” Klosterman describes it as “idiotic, borderline insulting, […and] unreal,” (Klosterman, 146). After looking back to his high school and college experiences, he realizes that he as well as some of his friends disappeared for long stretches of time just like Kelly and Jessie did (Klosterman, 146). In addition, as on Saved by the Bell, whenever he or one of his friends was not around they were not mentioned (Klosterman, 146). His initial rejection of the authenticity, he concludes is the result of his “memory always [creating] the illusion that [they] were constantly together, just like those kids on Saved by the Bell,” (Klosterman, 146). Nevertheless, in reality, there were “long stretches where somebody who […] seemed among [his] closest companions simply wasn’t around,” (Klosterman, 146). In the essay “Being Zach Morris,” Chuck Klosterman explains his well-supported theory that “important things are inevitably cliché,” (Klosterman, 136). He uses many approaches to help with his explanation, one of them being psychoanalysis. Using this approach, Klosterman is able to help his readers fully understand his point of