Literature has always worked as the quintessential reflection of life and existence in the mortal world. The authors find their liberty as they engage in the portrayal of the fictional character as expressions of their creative zeal. Fiction goes on to get meshed with the elements of reality, thereby portraying the true picture of life in the literary works by the stalwart authors. A close introspection of one such work, The Moviegoer, by the acclaimed writer, Walker Percy would let one develop a perfect understanding of how literature can explore the true meaning of life in this temporal world of existence. Now, it needs to be reckoned that the novel in context delves deep into the thematic content of existentialism. The character of the male protagonist works as the archetypal character representing the escapist tendencies of humans in general. Binx goes on to find an escape route from the drudgeries and impediments of the real world of existence in the world of movies. He finds a perfect solace to his soul in escaping from the grim reality of human existence, and this goes on to establish the central theme of escapism in the famous novel in context.
The protagonist of this novel is a very complex character indeed. Binx Bolling is documented in the week that leads up to his thirtieth birthday in the city of New Orleans. It becomes clear to the avid readers that the protagonist is desperate to find an escape from the mundaneness of his life so as to be able to find his inner self that has been lost in the hustle and bustle of the city. Binx is found to be a loner who goes on to remain isolated from others even at an emotional level as he moves to the suburban area of the New Orleans. (Byrd 165) As the narrative progresses, the avid readers get to know that every night at the hour of dusk, the protagonist goes on to leave his apartment with the movie page of the day’s newspaper in his hand. Moreover, he carries with him the telephone book along with the map of the city. Thus, being equipped well, Binx engages in proceeding toward charting the course to one neighborhood cinema where he intends to spend that evening. One can understand that this practice has become an integral part of the male protagonist’s life as described in the narrative of this novel.
Now, one needs to realize the fact that these neighborhood cinema houses provide the protagonist with the perfect route of escapism from the drudgeries of the real domain off existence- something that the character seems to be done with. The character in context is in search of finding his inner self being lost in the chores of life and the blandness of city life. As such, the films that he watches on a regular basis provide him a different mental space where he can dwell as a free individual away from the facts of his life. The movies provide him with the prefect domain where imagination reigns supreme while those imaginations are given wings as they are portrayed fantastically on the large screen. (Simmons 624) Thus, movies are much more than just a mode of entertainment in this particular narrative by Walker Percy. Here, movies can very well be described to be the true elixir of life itself as it provides Binx with the much needed exuberance to survive in the real world. To Binx, the gigantic figures flickering across the large screen come across to be more real than the mundaneness of daily life that encompasses the city and its population.
However, Binx goes to his brokerage office every day and earns a much as $3,000 every month by shuffling stocks. Also, the taste of the movies watched by the male protagonist is not that strong. Thus, Binx can be seen as a commonplace person just like any other individual in the city who is endeavoring to find peace and happiness in his route of escapism. It needs to be noted that “Percy artfully extends this story to the core of modern existence, showing that at the heart of the alienation of the modern person is a striving for authenticity that is always hindered by the person’s own self-consciousness of that striving.” (Schulman 2) Moreover, one needs to understand that the very philosophy of existentialism goes on to propagate an approach that emphasizes the existence of any person as a responsible and free agent who has the power and consciousness to determine his or her own development via actions as per his or her own will. Now, one can relate the very philosophical theory of existentialism with the lifestyle of the male protagonist of this novel in context.
Here, one finds Binx making choices on his own to let him get away from the drab reality of the milieu where he lives. He knows that movies can provide him with the sea of imagination and fantasy so as to enable him live a life of happiness and peace. The movies augment the quality of his life and being as he finds the quintessential way to live in the society yet find the escape from it every single day at a particular time after he is done with his mundane work and other chores of life. The movies essentially work to reinvigorate him with life and energy to start a new day the next morning being totally afresh. Intriguingly, Binx is a self-aware character who understands his own emptiness and ponders about the absurdity of life and existence. He seems to comprehend his own despair via his quest in the course of the narrative of this novel. His practice of going to the movies also symbolizes his existential search apart from his escapist tendencies. This becomes quite evident as one goes through the description of Binx’s life in the novel by Walker Percy.
Movies have a very special role to play in the life of the novel’s protagonist. Movies can be comprehended to have an enormous influence on how this man construes the world around. It also provides him with the perfect way to combat the despair that has come to encompass his existence. It needs to be noted in this context that Binx lacks the sense of purpose, structure or even identity to his life. As such, movies provide these senses that he lacks in himself. Even if these senses are fictional, yet they mean a lot to the protagonist. Binx goes on to describe his own actions and the various situations faced by him in terms of the actors or the films that he has seen in the past. This role-playing is something that comes recurrently in this novel since Binx goes on to portray the behavioral traits of a number of archetypes and clichés that have been shown in various films. (Wang 3-4) Since he lacks any sense of identity on his own in the real domain of existence, it is easier for him to adopt the language as well as attitudes of the heroes of the movies that he watches on a regular basis.
Thus, it can be reckoned how films constitute an integral part in the life of the character in context. Cinema constitutes his sense of self and his understanding of the world. Binx finds the perfect solace in movies as he is unable to find that charm in the real domain of existence in any way. His affinity toward films is reflected in his real self and existence. Movies also provide a way to Binx to validate reality. The movies watched by him regularly let him give real life this sense of legitimacy- something that it lacks on its own and can only be imbibed from cinema. Hence, for the protagonist, aesthetic experience is essentially and fundamentally intertwined with his feeling about what is literally real in the world around him. So, his aesthetic consumption is very important for comprehending his existential wandering as well as his narrative consumption in the course of his novel. In general, Binx keeps up the appearances that his family and society expect from him. Toward the inception of the novel, he opines, “I am a model tenant and a model citizen and take pleasure in doing all that is expected of me.” (Percy 6) He simply imitates the behavior that he finds to be characteristic of the society around. Nonetheless, he believes that such behavior is quite phony in nature. Under such a circumstance, films provide him the much needed respite from the social imposition of acceptable behavior that people have been mentally conditioned with.
The readers can understand that Kate is more of a rebellious character in the narrative of this novel in comparison to the male protagonist. Kate is the only character in the literary work who refrains from exhibiting the phony behavior that is accepted by the society. In juxtaposition, Binx is someone who chooses the path of immersing his mind and soul in the realm of cinema that works as his ultimate source of inspiration and exuberance. He too like Kate is not happy with the impositions of the society and feels like living life on his own terms. However, instead of being rebellious in nature, he chooses to conform to the ways of the society yet find an escape route in watching movies on a regular basis. It has to be noted that the author of the novel portrays the character of the protagonist as an archetype who represents the alienation of modern day man. Binx’s despair echoes the innate despair of innumerable people of the society who fail to live life to the fullest due to the various impositions and social parameters. (Lawson 425) Just as Binx endeavors to escape from the drudgeries and impositions of such a society, common people too try to find ways to escape from the clutches of the bland lives they are supposed to be encompassed with.
Hence, it would be right to conclude by opining that the novel, The Moviegoer, penned by the acclaimed author, Walker Percy, delves quite deep into the philosophical understanding of existentialism by exploring the society and humans. The philosophy works as the driving force behind the narrative of the text with the main character being an apt representative of the modern man who wishes to escape from the various drudgeries immersing his own self in the life of movies that provide the best possible scope of encompassing one’s embodiment with happiness and fantasy. The novel concludes with Binx’s final rejection by the old society that is characterized by values that stand to be futile to him. It can be said that the cultural self-understanding of the various characters in this novel point to the fact that the society is truly in ultimate stages of a breakdown- something that pushes the characters to find solace in escapism and aesthetics. Thus, one does not bizarre seeing Binx trying to escape reality or his love-interest being a rebel. The novel succeeds in portraying the validity of existentialism in the modern day world and explores human nature and societal influence on the individual in daily life.
Works Cited
Byrd, Scott. “Mysteries and Movies: Walker Percy's College Articles and "The
Moviegoer".” Mississippi Quarterly 25.2 (1972): 165.
Lawson, Lewis A. “From Tolstoy to Dostoyevsky in The Moviegoer.” The Mississippi
Quarterly 56.3 (2003): 411-428.
Percy, Walker. The Moviegoer. New Orleans: Methuen, 2004.
Schulman, Ari N. “Recovering the Creature: Storytelling and Existential Despair in
Walker Percy’s The Moviegoer.” PDF.
Simmons, Philip E. “Toward the Postmodern Historical Imagination: Mass Culture in
Walker Percy's "The Moviegoer" and Nicholson Baker's "The Mezzanine".” Contemporary Literature 33.4 (1992): 601-624.
Wang, Zhenping. “Undefined Man: Sartrean Reading of American Novelist Walker
Percy’s The Moviegoer.” web.uri.edu. web.uri.edu, 2012. Web. 22 July 2016.
