Picture this. Walker Percy the awkward observer kid in high school watching everyone else observing their movements, conversations, and actions and analyzing them to form his views on human exsistence. I hope that does not sound overly simplistic because I truly believe a lot about social construction can be observed easily in a high school setting because so many people who do not chose to be there are all put in one place.
Slowly, Percy creates his characters who fall into simple categories first, the aware and the unaware. Without surprise most of the characters are unaware.
Callie and I discussed this today and I think that part of the discovery found in this and others of Percy's work is to understand and accept and then through that live a meaningful life.
This semester has been difficult for many reasons, in particular because there doesn't seem to be a theme or a line of thought to follow. (Other than modern) I think that the common thread through this season has been life. Sometimes it doesn't make sense and nothing really does, there's suffering, challenge, disaster, everydayness, existential dilemmas, etc. but we can find comfort in the fact that it is still life and we are still living. Whether or not that is what I was supposed to take away from all this is indeterminable, but I've enjoyed Honors the struggle, the friends, the food, the games, the slow and painful process of grading blogs. And as it winds to and end it's definitely bitter sweet as I am ready to be done and go home and I will definitely miss the fun I've had exploring the meaning of life and whatever else. So Let it be.
I commented on Joy's post (1st on in the section) about the lady who spoke to us last week
It is ironic that Percy categorizes the characters. That is exactly what an existentialist would have tried to avoid, but he does do that. I think that is just another point for the argument that humans all struggle to return to the Garden and fail. We cannot make it past ourselves, or even into ourselves as they would like to imagine we can. We are looking for peace with ourselves and the world and cannot find it.
ReplyDeleteI agree about your comment on social construction being observed in a major high school, where people of all races and faiths can be observed. What I just realized is odd about that , though, is that to put such people under intensive observation and categorization is the very opposite of the existential ideal. When people are categorized, it does tend to take away an individual element, and people like Percy are important for bringing that to light...or did I just categorize Percy? Now, picture this: a sequel to The Moviegoer where Bolling is a contestant on The Real World! I smell a hit!
ReplyDeleteI have been struggling with the purpose/drive/theme/point of this semester too... and I think you've figured it out Rachel! It's just ...life. Trying to define or categorize it any more than that would defeat the point of the semester, because existential post moderns are all about eliminating categories. However, I think categories are helpful to a certain extent; otherwise, you are left with a jumbled mess from which you discern and learn nothing. So past the confusion, I have enjoyed sharing messy crazy life with y'all this semester.
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