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

[John Shaffett <jshaffett AT shorter.edu>]

In my tutorial yesterday, we were discussing Percy’s Moviegoer. We were looking at some connections between Percy and Hemingway. One thing we noticed is that both Percy and Hemingway have a history of mental illness in their family. I was surprised to find out recently that not only Hemingway’s father committed suicide, but Hemingway, his brother, and a granddaughter. You already know that Percy’s father committed suicide and possibly his mother committed suicide. Of course, there is a long line of suicides in Percy’s family. He referred to himself as an ex-suicide. Suicide is a major theme in the majority of Percy’s novels. It is also discussed in Hemingway. Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Robert Jordan struggles against suicide. Several of Hemingway’s short stories includes discussion of suicide. The suicides of the fathers of Hemingway and Percy had a major impact on their lives.

 

A second theme is stoicism. Stoicism is represented by Aunt Emily in Percy’s Moviegoer. Sam Yerger seems to represent Hemingway in the novel. Percy thought Hemingway was more of a stoic than a Catholic.

 

Another point is that they wrote at different times. The Moviegoer was published in 1960-1961. Hemingway committed suicide in 1961. Hemingway was writing post World War I and modernism. It was more acceptable to talk about Christianity/Catholicism in a novel when Percy was writing than in Hemingway’s time.

 

People tend to confuse the myth of the person Hemingway with the characters in his fiction. There is a big difference between Hemingway’s stories and the myth of Hemmingway as the man’s man.

 

Another interesting theme is how nature is handled in the two writers. Nature often provides the revealing of grace in Percy. Nature is both good/bad in Hemmingway. Often nature is depicted as against man in Hemingway.

 

These are some of the things I have been thinking about Percy and Hemingway.

 

John E. Shaffett

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