Thursday, January 28, 2010

Binx's search is strange. He continually mentions it, without ever actually deciding what he is looking for. This is why I think that his search is actually a search for something which he can then search for. It sounds confusing, but is simple really. Binx is a man who has done various things over his life. He was in a fraternity in college, joined the military after it, and now runs around chasing his secretaries. He doesn't seem to know anything about what he wants out of life. Work is about all he knows, and he still uses this as a tool for going after women.

He creates an illusion of a "search", probably to be able to tell himself that he is doing something with his life. A likely cause of this is his experiences in the Korean War. They have left him a stranger to his own life. The war shattered things he had previously believed, and he doesn't know what he wants anymore. Before, it had been about having a good time, then eventually going to work. His wartime experiences have created a new set of beliefs inside him, that he is still unsure of.Binx wants to find a meaning in his life, to find his identity. He just doesn't know how. I believe he is trying to find these things through the search, but he does not yet know what to search for.

Binx and Identity.


The search that Binx indicates an interest for shows his insecurity within his own identity. This search has no true definition behind it, shown through here:

"What is the nature of the search? you ask. Really it is very simple; at least for a fellow like me. So simple that it is easily overlooked. The search is what anyone would undertake if he were not sunk in the everydayness of his own life."

New Orleans is not even 100% sure if it's identity during this time as it is beginning to see two different worlds only so far apart. Binx is alone in this place, and all he has is his work, women, and his family. Early in the novel, Binx stated he knew how to be a soldier, and at this point in time the only identification he had with being a soldier was through movies. Movies allow Binx to relate to the world, especially the world outside of New Orleans.

Growing up strictly in the South, I definitely feel the a southern identity within myself, strictly based on the fact of WHERE I grew up. I find it surprising how Binx's identity is unfound, and that he has this search which means so much to him. The fact of the matter is that even though he did grow up in the South, the region he grew up in did not help him establish an identity. Binx's search interests me, and I look forward to seeing how his search progresses through the novel as he handles relations with women, work, and family.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Who Is Binx?

From photo album

“My wallet is full of identity cards, library cards, credit cards”(6). “It is a pleasure to carry out the duties of a citizen and to receive in return a receipt or a neat styrene card with one’s name on it certifying, so to speak, one’s right to exist”(7). These quotes embody a simple truth about Binx, he desires to be known to have existed. He desires to have an identity. In fact Binx needs a unique identity because he fears becoming yet another person, becoming invisible. “The truth is I dislike cars. Whenever I drive a car, I have the feeling I have become invisible”(11).

Why does Binx need this search? An identity shouldn’t need a rather long search should it? In Binx’s case to set a unique identity for himself from the family is in fact quite a challenge. Binx thus far has gone to college and was a solider in a war. Certainly this already would create uniqueness for Binx, right? Well even after these accomplishments Binx’s aunt would like him to consider entering medical school. With this suggestion Binx can only be reminded of previous family, “When my father returned from medical school and his surgical residency in Bonston to practice with my grandfather…”(48). While the aunt cannot see the struggle Binx is having with his identity she clearly wants Binx to prove that he is great by following into the footsteps of his father and grandfather. This creates an identity for Binx, but not a unique one as is what he desires.

While his aunt wants him to fit into a certain identity, Binx will be sharing this identity with his father and grandfather. He will be a somebody as Emily Dickenson puts it, but he won’t be the nobody he desires to be. Yet he has already fallen into near invisibility. He is a broker working for his uncle for a firm. “Once I thought of going into law or medicine or even pure science. I even dreamed of doing something great. But there is much to be said for giving up such grand ambitions and living the most ordinary life imaginable…”(9). His life is the most ordinary life imaginable, which gives an identity, but not one that is unique. So he must search for this unique identity, which will set him apart from all others.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

A Place in this World


Many things define who we are. These include our beliefs, our goals, our profession, and our home. These components that define us ultimately structure our identity. In the novel The Moviegoer, by Walker Percy, Binx Bolling is on a search. He wakes up one morning and feels that his “peaceful existence in Gentilly has been complicated” and “for the first time in years, there occurred to [him] the possibility of a search” (10). When he got dressed that very morning and began gathering his belongings, he felt as if he were looking at the items for the first time—that the items could have “belonged to someone else” (11). Binx declares that he is on a search, but he is very vague in classifying the object of his search. Since Binx Bolling seems to question the components that define who we are, I feel that he is on a search for his own identity.

Binx is uncertain about his beliefs, goals, profession, and home. He does not consider himself a believer in God or consider himself an atheist. He refers to the statistics of one poll that reported that “98% of Americans believe in God and the remaining 2% are atheists and agnostics—which leaves not a single percentage point for a seeker” (14). Binx considers himself a seeker. He doesn’t want a fixed answer, because when an answer is fixed, there is nothing to look for. Binx is also uncertain about his goals and profession. He was once interested in research and worked in a lab but quickly lost interest. His Aunt Emily now wants him to go to medical school, but he seems hesitant. He is not sure what he wants out of life. Lastly, Binx is also uncertain about his home. His sudden quest to search makes him eager to leave Gentilly.

Although Binx does not identify what he is searching for, his uncertainties and questions suggest that he is searching to find out who he is. Perhaps, he is searching for his beliefs, goals, profession, and home. Perhaps, he is searching for his identity.

What do you think Binx is searching for?

His uncertainties and his quest to search remind me of a song from an artist named Taylor Swift called “A Place in the World.” I feel that the chorus of the song is extremely fitting to his situation:

“I don’t know what I want, So don’t ask me, cause I’m still trying to figure it out.
Don't know what's down this road,
I’m just walking,
Trying to see through the rain coming down.
Even though I’m not the only one,
that feels the way I do.

I’m alone, on my own, and that's all I know.
I'll be strong, I'll be wrong,
Oh, but life goes on…

Got the radio on, my old blue jeans,
And I’m wearing my heart on my sleeve. Feeling lucky today, got the sunshine.
Can you tell me what more do I need?
And tomorrow's just a mystery, oh yeah,
but that's okay.”



Wednesday, January 20, 2010

The Southern Identity



I have lived in Massachusetts for my entire life; so it's fair to say that I don't have a very good idea of what defines Southern identity. When I sat down to think of something, I came up with only the most obvious and stereotypical of things. Even what I finally came up with is one of these. I first thought of food, and the new things I have
had here, such as gumbo, grits, collard greens, or jambalaya. Even with my limited perspective, I felt these things didn't really fit. So I chose this simple picture above. Besides being one of the greatest moments of all time, as Adam Vinatieri kicks the winning field goal in Super Bowl XXXVI, it also happens to be one of the greatest sports of all time: football. I share the view with the majority of Southerners that football is a great sport.

I don't know what it is, but I have noticed that football is especially popular down here, as opposed to back home. The major difference is college football. Up North, one might have a tiny smile when you hear good news about your local college team. Here, however, it is often the case that people enjoy college football more than professional. The rivalry games are much more fierce than in professional. In fact, every game seems to be more intense. I had often heard that football was much more popular here, especially college, but had thought that it was just another silly stereotype. That thought quickly disappeared when I kept entering into conversations based solely on college football, and hearing about players that I had previously never heard of. In many ways, it makes more sense. When you attend a certain college, you spend a good portion of time there. You feel connected, and loyal to that place. It's hard to feel that same sense of loyalty to a professional team that could just up and move to another city or have a major overhaul of the roster at any point in time. In my brief time here, the Southern fascination with football has seemed one of the major parts of Southern identity.

Despite very much enjoying football, I don't think I shall ever enjoy it on the level that people do here. I enjoy it very much, but I prefer the "real" football, which is a different matter.

The Blues

Spiritual music originated from enslaved Africans in the United States beginning in the early 17th century. This music primarily stood for an expression of religious faith, during an experience these slaves all shared together. An experience like this causes those to come together, and this music was their sense of togetherness. Christian hymns were the base of their spiritual songs, and with slavery occurring in the southern states strictly, it would eventually evolve to another form of music.

Blues music evolved directly from spiritual music, and the artifact I chose is from the popular artist B.B. King. Blues eventually came popular everywhere, but was definitely a representation of the south. When I hear B.B. King perform, I see the correlation from the spiritual music which came from slavery. His performance brings a sort of comfort, possibly the same comfort slaves felt when they sang their spiritual songs. Blues music has this specific feel to it. Watching him throughout the performance, you see his passion for his music, and expresses his christian faith.

Slavery was an awful thing, and the South is known for it, but it brought forth this passionate form of music. In H.L. Mencken's "The Sahara of the Bozart", he says specifically that the no white southern composer created a good piece of music during this time period, and that it came specifically from the African Americans. This shows that the South is known for this music, and is why I chose this as a representation of the Deep South. Blues music has now had an impact on the world, and is a perfect representation of that "awful" South.



Hollywood Always Gives Accurate Stereotypes, Right?



When you are asked to think about a region, what do you think about? Does the local cuisine come to mind, do the curious accents bring up memories, maybe the history of the place fills your thoughts, or maybe your mind drifts to one of the Hollywood hits that all too well describes this region. The South, while not so well defined geographically, has all to well been stereotyped in Hollywood. The once show and recent film, the Dukes of Hazzard was an attempt by Hollywood to comically portray the South. The show depicted two “good ole boys,” as Ted Blake calls them, Luke and Bo Duke and their many adventures in Hazzard County, a rural town somewhere outside Atlanta.

The Dukes of Hazzard show an interesting representation of the South. The two boys are always available to drink some whiskey or even make some money selling it. The boys are all for having a good time, and they can always rely on family and their wits to get them out of trouble. The show provides a view of the South where family takes care of each other no matter what, boys live to have fun, and girls are not only beautiful but better boys then the boys. I think this representation is entirely too generalized. Southern family dynamics are not at all similar to this representation with the exception that is few and far between.

A very interesting dynamic that persists through the show is the struggle between the Dukes and Boss Hog. Boss Hog is the greedy white man always trying to make a buck by generally trying to urbanize the small town. In the show the Dukes always foil the plots of Boss Hog. This in fact demonstrates the will of small rural towns to resist the changes that would lead to urbanization.

The Southern Fraternity: A Monument to Southern Identity

Fraternity at Tulane University

This photograph was taken during a fraternity event at Tulane University. In this photo the brothers are laughing, cheering, and enjoying themselves on the front porch of their fraternity house. Though one would assume through a superficial perspective that these guys are just “a bunch of dudes who party together,” in all actuality the bonds of camaraderie and brotherhood between these men run much deeper.

This represents a certain aspect of southern identity, one usually lost or mistranslated to individuals either outside or skeptical to the idea of southern brotherhood. In fact, this photograph transcends the boundaries of solely Greek Life because it represents something as old as the South itself, the idea of the ‘good ole boys’ -- in other terms, a group of young southern men who may get into mischief but are actually honorable men with generally good intentions. Although this term may be over generalized it is something that runs deep in Southern culture. In Walker Percey’s novel The Moviegoer, he describes this phenomenon when he narrates the story of how his friend bought a river boat that he and a few other men spent time on hunting, fishing, and drinking. Another example that epitomizes the idea of southern brotherhood and ‘good ole boyism’ is the 1980’s show The Dukes of Hazzard. In this series Bo and Luke, “two regular southern boys” sporting a 1969 Dodge Charger named The General Lee, evade corrupt government officials and regularly find themselves in some sort of trouble and mischief even when trying to play by the rules.

When people refer to the good ole boys there is usually a connotation of both bad and good associated with it. It brings up images of mischief and buffoonery but also of young white men just living their lives and having that ‘good ole’ time that only a southern society can both tolerate and understand as just being a part of a young man’s life.



A Representation of Southern Identity

The artifact that I choose as a representation of the South is an image of a man hosting a barbeque. The image is from an article written by Regina Charboneau called “7 Lessons in Southern Hospitality,” which was published in the Food section of the magazine "The Atlantic." The article describes ways one could make cooking and entertaining guests more enjoyable.

I did not choose this image, however, solely because of the barbeque shown (although barbeques are really popular and particularly good in the South). I chose this image because it offers a representation of southern identity. In the image, a man is cooking and smiling at his guests. In the background of the picture, there are people chatting and having a good time. The social gathering and kind expressions of the people in the image portray hospitality, friendliness, and warmth to others that all play a critical role in defining the southern identity.

Growing up in the north myself, specifically Brooklyn, New York, I had my fair share of rude and shocking experiences and encounters. No real action was ever taken to stop fights and bullying in public schools. Loud car honks and shouting are common sounds to hear during a stroll through the neighborhood. One would also not blink twice at the spectacle of a woman shouting nonstop at a man who accidently stepped on her foot. When I finally moved to the South, I noticed a significant change not only in the weather and the scenery but also in people. People are generally kinder and more respectable in the South. Car rides are quiet. When I went to school, I was surprised to see a sign taped on the wall in the hallway that read “No Bullying.”

When I think of people in the South, I think about people who have respect for others, good hospitality, and strong ties to the community. I think the image of the barbeque is an accurate representation of southern identity. The portrayal of the smiling host whose guests are happy displays friendliness and hospitality that is often found in the South.