Diary of an Oxygen Thief

As a creative type within the advertising world, much of the narrator’s life revolves around either photographing or filming material for commercials. He essentially commodifies reality via advertising while also scripting it. His creation of reality and altering of perception also plays into the fact that most of his expressions and body language are artificially contrived; he poses himself as though he is in one of his commercials or photo shoots. However, the way in which the narrator views himself is also as the protagonist of a great tragedy, and he creates body language and potentially alters reality in accordance with this belief.

This changes once the narrator meets Aisling, an actual artist who seeks to capture reality as opposed to the narrator’s artifice. Perhaps her alleged targeting of the narrator for her photo book is a reaction against the narrator’s line of work, which probably offends Aisling’s sensibilities. Of course, the narrator does not realize this because he does not conceptualize Aisling as a person who can have thoughts. Regardless, Aisling uses her camera to show the narrator for what he is, portraying him in the least flattering light.