Thursday, April 2, 2009
Percy's The Moviegoer
Briefly define what you believe to be the aim of Binx's search in The Moviegoer. Does he seem to you to be a genuine seeker? If so, what are the signs within the novel that indicate he is genuine? Finally, do you believe that at the end of the novel, he has found what he has been seeking?
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In class we have focused on Binx's search as being largely driven by religion. The statistic about people believing in God is a chief example, and Binx mocks the idea that 98% of people in the US really understand their claims to believe in God. His search is not necessarily a search just for God, however. Binx is fairly passive, despite his own claims to the contrary, in regards to truly seeking out an answer to a religious or moral quandary. Binx lives a rather pedestrian life, measured more by his liasons with his secrataries than spiritual epiphanies. There are times, however, when Binx transcends his normal limitations and offers insight into something (not always a religious subject) and proves to the reader and perhaps himself that his life is not meaningless.
The most obvious example of this insight is Binx's relationship with Lonnie. He is able to identify with the child as fellow 'moviegoers,' meaning not just that they share a love of film but that they can objectify and delineate what they see in the world around them. One of the key scenes for arguing that Binx finally 'gets it' is his handling of Lonnie's death. He does a far better job explaining the circumstances than his Aunt did when he was a boy. Placing the contrasting scenes at opposite ends of the novel is a conscious attempt by Percy to show Binx's ability to change.
On the other end of the spectrum from Lonnie is Kate. Binx tells us he has always had an important role in Kate's life, but he does not ever display the same warmth he does when describing Lonnie. When he travels north with Kate, a trip that could easily have ended in catastrophe, Binx makes his greatest mistake in the novel. At this point, he has either given up or forgotten about his search. When he is harshly scolded by his Aunt, Binx finally realizes that playing God for someone else gives him some semblance of having found God himself. At the same time, however, the version of God he is forced to play for Kate is a disturbing one. A God (or god) that tells His (or his) followers exactly what to do all the time is not one I would desire to believe in. Kate's mental weakness requires that somebody treat her in such a manner. With Binx's continuously fluctuating mind, will he be a permanent God for her? Even though they are married, I cannot believe that this is a role Binx could inhabit for an extended period of time. So while I believe Binx himself has some closure on his search, I believe it is inevitable that a new search or sense of malaise could overcome his desire to play God.
Describing the nature of Binx's search is perhaps best centered on his focus toward avoiding the onset of malaise. This malaise seems to be threatening Binx at all times, from when he is riding in his car with Sharon and on the train with Kate, to when he is at home and around Greenlilly. It seems that the undercurrent of Binx's desired evasion of malaise is his search for authenticity. It is a desire to feel alive in a world of dying people, most of whom Binx sees as already dead, having abandoned their searches long ago. He himself qualifies the search as “what anyone would undertake if they were not sunk in the everdayness of his own life.” It is precisely this everdayness that robs Binx of joy and purpose and it is precisely this sort of malaise that is unavoidable for him. Binx does desire an understanding of God to give him relief, but not in the same way that Kate desires a guide. Binx, whose “unbelief was invincible from the beginning,” finds it impossible to focus on the things of God, but also finds it impossible to rule him out.
It seems that Binx does have the motives and intentions of a genuine seeker, but he is far too distracted to follow a line of thought or make intellectual progress. Binx watches TV and goes to movies for purposes of not being distracted from “the wonder” and for the “certification” of the spaces around him, but the onset of malaise at his lack of direction and purpose becomes no less crushing. On page 56 Binx admits that he “has never analyzed anything” in response to his aunt’s prodding. Binx is amazed at nature and people, particularly women, and he seeks to fathom the mystery of the world around him, but the meaning of it all is elusive. Binx wants to be a person of substance and mystery and he is afraid of “being found out to be concealing nothing at all;” he is afraid of the everyday human condition. However, in light of his consistent state of distraction and his aversion towards directly addressing his life’s greatest questions, such as the existence and purposes of God, it is difficult to characterize Binx as a genuine seeker. Binx certainly indentifies his search and his longings well, but it seems that he lacks motivation to seek revelation because, as he admits to Kate, no progress will be satisfying to him.
It is possible that Binx does find meaning for and in his life and a focus for his search at the end of the novel, in a setting far removed from movies, actors and self-analysis. These are the times when Binx looks outside of himself and helps others. The scenes where Binx comforts his siblings at Lonnie’s death and provides Kate with instructions certainly do not represent the fulfillment of Binx’s search for the avoidance of malaise and everdayness, but they represent significant steps for him. These occurrences represent semblances of Binx serving others. Moreover, with his decision to marry Kate, he has clearly chosen a lifestyle of service, as he knows as well as anyone the extent of her mental instability. It is progress for Binx that may not be in the form he has been looking for, but his search will certainly now have a different composition.
Throughout the novel, Binx it is clear that he is searching for something to believe in. He mentions that 98% of Americans believe in God and 2% do not. This statistic leads him to believe that he is the only person still seeking an answer. Although he claims his search is simply to find an answer either way, he is seeking more than just religion. He is also on a desperate search for himself, for authentication as a human, and for a purpose in life. This explains his fascination with movies and movie stars and also his determination to play “God” to Kate.
Multiple times, he demonstrates how movie stars authenticate the lives of those who watch their movies and of those who come in contact with them. I think in a way, Binx is envious of their power. Not only do they have a purpose, but they are recognized and this recognition in turn authenticates their lives. To Binx, it seems so simple, although he does recognize that this impact is not long lasting and that in the grand scheme of life, neither person truly matters. This leaves Binx with an even greater need to find the answers he is looking for.
Binx recognizes that the greatest impact he can have on others is with his own family. This is why he begins to act as a “god” to Kate. Kate simply wants a God to tell her what to do, and Binx can be that. But, it is too simplistic and artificial.
I do not believe Binx truly finds what he is seeking. The mere fact that he tries to be a god to someone else shows that he does not truly grasp what it is he needs from a higher power. Also, by trying to be someone else’s god, he abandons his search for self.
I think Binx's search in the novel is about coming to terms with the existence of God (i.e. choosing sides between the 98% who do believe in God or the 2% who don't). This largely has to do with the concept of authentication that we talked about in class. The title of the novel is very telling in this regard; Binx defines himself as a moviegoer because it is what authenticates him to a large extent. Of course, it is a fleeting authentication, as the scene in downtown New Orleans with the nonchalant newlywed illustrates. Because movies have not provided him with the sort of authentication he needs or wants, he must go out and seek a decision about God, for if God exists his existence is authentication enough, and if he doesn't the certainty of his lack of existence is also an authentication.
Binx's search is genuine insofar that he never loses his search for authentication in the novel, and the general "malaise" that he talks about is what occurs when he is not following up on his "search." He doesn't really find an answer to his holy search at the end of the novel though, and although Walker makes it ambiguous whether Kate can provide a necessary level of authentication, it does not seem likely that she will. Although Binx is making some major life changes at the end of novel (moving from New Orleans, going to med school, etc.), in no way is Kate the ideal person to put all of his energies into--his godlike role in her life will either diminish as she becomes healthier (less crazy), or her dependence on him will likely degenerate into another malaise from which he feels the need to escape from.
Meaningful, reciprocated relationships are at the crux of human existence, yet Binx struggles to kindle these very relationships that, essentially, make life worth living. Binx is searching, throughout the novel, for a human connection that would allow him to both receive and reciprocate genuine love. He finds this, perhaps, in Lonnie, and although it could be argued that Lonnie’s influence on Binx transcends both space and time, Binx nevertheless with forming these kinds of relationships in his day-to-day life. Binx is certainly searching for a god, but it is more than that. He is searching for relationships, for some kind of connection to both the spiritual and human worlds.
Binx has romantic relationships with his secretaries, but these are fleeting and almost purely physical. When he speaks of his secretaries, he lumps them together as if they were one person, as if these relationships were nothing more than simple “repetitions.” Their names and their faces take the backseat to their bodies, and Binx does not hesitate to state that in another few years, another nameless young woman with attractive features will be seated at his typewriter. These are certainly relationships, but Binx values them for their physical aspects, rendering them meaningless in his continuing struggle to find, perhaps unconsciously, a deeper bond to his fellow man.
In a sense, Binx is Kate’s god as Aunt Emily is his, and although Binx inarguably cares deeply for both of these women, both of these relationships are almost solely one-sided. Perhaps Binx is perpetually unhappy with his search because his idea of god is something that is unattainable. He understands god to be a kind of task master, like he is to Kate or Aunt Emily is to him, and in fixating his search upon this impossible ideal, he is doomed to be forever unable to form any kind of meaningful, two-sided, reciprocated, real relationship with either a god figure or a human counterpart.
In order to overcome the malaise, Binx would have to become involved in something greater than himself, that is, some kind of relationship that includes a sense of mutual respect and responsibility. There is a certain comfort in certainty, but Binx is neither comfortable nor certain in exactly what it is that he seeks, thus rendering his search insincere and fruitless. Because Binx only realizes that something is missing rather than realizing what exactly it is that is absent from his life, he is unable to form the kinds of relationships he unconsciously and desperately seeks.
In the novel, Binx Bolling is in search of some unnamed entity. It is never even clear if he really knows what he is looking for; all he knows is that something is missing from his life. It could be authentication of himself as a human being, it could be his purpose in life, it could be God, it could even be love, or more likely all of them combined. In essence, I believe Binx is looking for himself and how he is supposed to interact and truly live in the world that surrounds him. When his search begins, Binx is so stuck in the everydayness of life that he might as well be a dead man. He is leading a dull and meaningless existence having no real effect on the world outside. He seems to just go through the motions of the day without investing too much of his heart, personality, or effort into it. He callously uses the word love for each secretary he has a “relationship” with, he takes a pocket slide ruler with him when he leaves his home, and he is just as concerned about the characters in movies as he is about his own city. He has superficial relationships with others, because they do not know who he truly is as a person. Even Aunt Emily has created in her mind a different Binx than really exists. Only Lonnie seems to love Binx unconditionally, and that is probably because Lonnie is the only character of the novel who has completed his own search successfully. He did not need Binx to be anything other than himself. Binx is still seeking for that peace and security in himself as a man.
It could be questioned whether or not Binx was genuine in this “search” of his. While there is no point in the novel in which he actively looks and researches for the answers to his many questions and an end to the malaise he often finds himself in, he seems to be more open to new ideas. Unlike his Uncle Jules, who is oblivious to everything outside of his self-created perfect world, Binx is open to ideas that will challenge what he has known before. It is not until the end of the novel, when he has his confrontation with his aunt that he finally begins to find what he has been searching for. She finally sees him for the true person that he is, and while she is disappointed with who that person is at least she is no longer believing in a lie. This revealed truth is what allows Binx to begin to come out of his personal malaise. He no longer has to pretend, and now he can move forward and grow and develop as himself. It is not until Binx see Kate coming toward him on the beach, however, that his search is over. Up until that point, he had not changed his actions from his previous way of life. He was about to plan another unemotional tryst with Joyce, when he sees Kate and seems to have his eyes opened. He realizes that they are all lost, and that another being needs him. It is this need and love that comes from Kate that finally authenticates his existence. It gives him the confidence to become a more active member in his family. He begins to form real relationships with them, and in the final chapter when Lonnie dies, this allows him to be a true support system for those around him. He seems to become a man who is wiser and older; a man who cares more for the people around him than himself; a man who his Aunt Emily might actually be proud of for the right reasons.
In the beginning of the novel, Binx tells the audience that 98% of Americans believe in god, and that 2% do not. I believe that his search throughout the novel is chiefly to find his place among those people, though not necessarily to define whether he believes in god. He is very passive in his search and lives a simple life without actually trying to learn anything new about religion. In the beginning of the novel he explains how he became so solitary. He chose his solitary lifestyle and doesn't actively fit into any of the groups of people he has been a member of. In college he was a member of a fraternity but wasn't active or memorable, in his occupation he is present and apparently good at it but it doesn't have any meaning to him. In his family he is more of an outcast than an active participant. His solitude, rather than being literal, is within himself. He doesn't see himself as a member of, as he describes, 100% of Americans. I don't believe this search implies that he is looking for god as much as he is looking for his place among humanity. He also says that he doesn't know whether he is miles ahead or miles behind everyone who claims to know their beliefs. He feels like he is different, and therefore cannot relate to the everyday human being. By the end of the novel, I do not believe he has accomplished the goal of his search, so much as that he has accepted that his questions will not be answered. His marriage to Kate doesn't give him any answers with regards to god, but it does give him a place in the world and a purpose. If his search was to find where he can fit in as the everyday human being, and how to relate to everyone around him who knows their beliefs, he has made progress by finding something meaningful to do (take care of Kate).
Kirsten Serba
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