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

[Percy-L Listserv Manager <percy.listserv.manager AT gmail.com>]

Dear Percy-L:

I have highlighted in blue, indented text Janet Cantor's earlier 7/10 response to Rhonda's opening post for MG Chapter One.  Since Rhonda's post is lengthy, and Janet posted her comments "inline", this formatting tweak should help Janet's comments stand out for discussion. 

Henry Mills

Percy-L Listserv Manager

wppdirector AT gmail.com 

--------------------

Rhonda,

I wrote my answers to your questions under each question.

Janet Cantor

On Tuesday, July 9, 2024, 05:27:16 AM EDT, RHONDA MCDONNELL <rhonda_mcdonnell AT msn.com> wrote:

. . . I have some questions I am contemplating regarding the novel — some for the first time and others ones that arise for nearly any reader. I am including them here for discussion along with a bit of my own thoughts. I invite any sort of response — disagreement, elaboration, alternative perspectives, etc., or other thoughts about this first section of the novel (60ish pages in most editions). My one request is that we keep our focus on this first section and not jump ahead to things we may know will happen later. 

— Here’s a simple one: most folks refer to our narrator as Binx, a nickname Walter uses for him, but Aunt Emily refers to him as Jack several times, and his given name is John. Why so many names? Is it merely the Southerness of the novel? I recall two Tennessee boys who showed up in a class I was teaching at Arizona State — they went by Driver and Yancy (middle names) rather than their first names, which is like using a diminutive for Binkerson to refer to our narrator. So the excess of names might be atmospheric — like reading a Russian novel and recognizing that every character will have two or three names. Or is the excess of names (John/Jack/Binx) —all of which we are provided in this first section—saying something more about his identity? Also, is it significant that John Bolling was a historical person? To save you the trouble of looking it up, he was a descendant of Pocahontas and John Rolf, and was an 18th century  Virginia planter and politician.  

I am guessing the various names are because each person perceives Binx differently. This is part of the charm of the first section. There is a lot of misreading of Binx by others, and misperceptions characterize a lot of this part of the book. 

— What do you make of Binx as he presents himself in this opening section? How do we reconcile the failed researcher, the one who refuses to be distracted from the wonder, with the stock broker who has as his only talent the ability to make money? What does going to the movies signify for him? He seems to treat films (and movie stars like William Holden) as a sort of sociological experiment—as research though he claims to not be a researcher. 

Binx makes a lot of claims, and as a reader part of the fun is deciding which are true, which Binx knows are not true but wants to believe, and which are nonsense that Binx either knows are nonsense or does not want to face as nonsense. His earnestness - is it real or a facade? On page 14 he offers his percentage breakdown of Americans. 98% believe in G-d, 2% are atheists or agnostics, and that doesn't leave  a single percentage point for a seeker. That is simply adorable. Claims like this run all through the early pages and I found myself laughing and smiling often. 

Binx is obviously good at his job as a stockbroker so he is not dumb or untalented. But he claims to feel unfinished until he goes on a search. Is he truly in earnest? We shall have to read on to see if we can find out.

—Inevitably reading this novel leads to discussion about the search — what he’s searching for and the like. However, in this reading “the wonder” caught my attention. While it is related to the search, it seems more about a state of being. What exactly is this wonder?

Binx seems to have an "is that all there is?" sensibility. Thus he says he feels the need for the search. The wonder, I guess, is the effort to overcome the  everydayness he complains about.

—If you’ve read Bertram Wyatt Brown’s fine books on the Percy family (House of Percy and The Literary Percys) or Will Percy’s Lanterns on the Levee, or the biographies by Samway and Tolson, what do you make of the autobiographical aspects of the novel? How much of it is Percy wrestling with his own nature? Or does it do the novel a disservice to consider its possible connections to Percy’s own life?

I do see connections to Percy's life experiences with themes in this novel. When I introduce the last section of the discussion. I will refer to them. I only read Lanterns on the Levee and the Tolson biography, both with their good descriptions of history and the character of the South.

— What do you think of Percy’s portrayal of race relations? The obvious character to consider is Mercer, who seems to be in the process of transforming from the old way of doing things to a new way of being in the world. A distinction seems to be drawn between how Aunt Emily sees Mercer and how Binx sees him. Percy was an astute observer of human nature, and I have the sense that his descriptions were lifted from real life— not just of Mercer but also of the interactions between Walter and Jake. Does Binx merely notice these things or do you get some sense of judgment? Add to that the inclusion of the marchers in dirty Klan robes in the Mardi Gras parade—is this detail just a bit of atmosphere or is Percy making some bigger point?

All through this first section Percy is setting the stage for his observations about new attitudes, both among whites toward blacks and within black souls. As for  the negro marchers in dirty Ku Klux Klan robes, I guess they would represent mockery of former oppressors. If one has the ability to mock, that means one has power over those they are mocking.

—This chapter focuses on establishing key relationships between Binx and Aunt Emily and Binx and Kate. This makes sense to me as they are the two most important people in his life. However, Percy also spends quite a bit of time on Binx’s interactions with Walter, Mercer, and Eddie. What does each relationship reveal about Binx? 

There is the game Binx plays. He carries on his internal monologues but is still able to say appropriate responses to those he is in conversations with. But most people he engages with also have their own points of view and are not noticing that he is not paying attention. Most are in their own heads as well in some ways. The exception is with Aunt Emily he is honest. He can't pretend with her. The search he cannot confide to her about because he expects she would shut it down as nonsense. He is powerless to stand up to his Aunt Emily. He understands Kate even when she is snippy out of the blue; and Kate is most honest with him.

— Here’s a last question: does the novel feel dated? For a while it did feel dated to me, but this time I was struck by how current the voice in this novel is. I’ve been reading a lot of books published in the last couple of years, and Moviegoer fits right in — at least that’s how it’s reading for me. 

Not only does it not feel dated to me. It is easy to read today. I was charmed by it and smiled and laughed more than I expected. 

Those questions are the things that caught my attention on this read. Any thoughts on them? And how about you? What have you caught onto this time? 

I’m looking forward to everyone’s opinions and perceptions!

Rhonda