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Subject: Percy-L: Literary, Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical Discussion on Walker Percy

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  • From: "Beck, David A" <dabeck AT iupui.edu>
  • To: percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [percy-l] New Member Greeting
  • Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2012 22:12:33 -0500

Harry,

Another way of reading Lancelot is to see Fr. John as the main character (my students have a hard time at first seeing this). He is the one who really changes. He moves from a crisis in faith (not wearing his "priest clothes" at the beginning and refusing to pray for the the dead, etc.) to redemption (wearing his priest clothes, turning from the window and looking at Lance eye-to-eye (intersubjectivity) and taking a parish in Alabama).

Frankly, I don't see that much change in Lance. And, what change I do see, isn't good.

As for someone's comment about LIR being too preachy: I'd like to hear in what way. I just re-read it over the summer for the I-don't-know-how-many-times and have never seen it (or any of his novels) as "preachy." If fact, most my students "miss" the Christianity part (I've only taught The Moviegoer, Love in the Ruins, and Lancelot (the latter goes over the best)).

Good to see some discussion again!

-David

Quoting Harry Whelchel <hhw3h AT virginia.edu>:

My name is Harry Whelchel and I am a 4th year at the University of
Virginia majoring in Religious Studies and Economics. I am currently
taking a class in our Religious Studies department taught by Prof.
Bill Wilson and Prof. Vigen Guroian on the subject of Walker Percy
and Flannery O'Connor. So far we have read The Loss of the Creature,
Metaphor as Mistake, The Message in the Bottle, and Lancelot by
Percy. We have read essays from O'Connor's Mystery and Manners as
well as her first novel Wise Blood.

I am interested in Percy to learn more about his works of fiction,
philosophy, and the conversation surrounding him. Recently I wrote a
paper on Lancelot detailing how the process itself of sharing his
story with Percival allows Lancelot to apprehend narrative's power to
convey sovereign experience. I then argued this apprehension changes
the world view Lancelot had developed and leads Lancelot to be open
to the possibility of God's existence (yet Percy leaves the reader
uncertain as to whether Lancelot will accept or reject God's
existence).

The exercise of writing on Lancelot, a difficult work that I am sure
I still do not fully grasp, led me to search for more academic
resources on Percy. So I decided to join this listserv.

Best,

Harry Whelchel







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