I believe that when Binx says that he has “not the inclination to say much on the matter” in the epilog, it’s because he has finished his search, not just given up on it. I think there is something to be said about the meaning of the “everydayness” of the lives that most people lead. If it weren’t for the everyday people, then great men would not be so great. But I think that he doesn’t want to speak on the matter because he doesn’t have the authority to. If the search is to be continued, then it shouldn’t be by him, because he has no idea what he is looking for. I believe the meaning of life is in your friends, your family, your coworkers, and all the other normal everyday people that you come into contact with. I would like to hope that Binx would come to the same conclusion and was not merely settling into the depression of everyday life. After all, he did say “to be aware of the possibility of the search is to be onto something. Not to be onto something is to be in despair.” By using this logic, he knew that there was the possibility of a search, and even began one in a strange sort of way. Just because he is no longer searching is not to say that he wasn’t on to something.
I think that Binx had the right idea but he was over thinking it. He says that the movies had the right idea but they messed it up. I think they got it right. They just have a way of showing the extraordinary in the everyday life. It seemed to me that Binx was realizing this when he was with Sharon. It seemed like he was indulging himself in her beauty. He also had this need to please the people that he cared about, like his aunt. He said “my search has been abandoned; it is no match for my aunt, her rightness and her despair, her despairing of me and her despairing of herself.” This makes me think that he cares more about what his aunt thinks of him than he does uncovering the meaning of life, and this is something that everyday people do. He even has to convince his aunt that he is “not a hero, but an ordinary fellow.” He even cares about Kate enough to look after her and make sure that he is in complete control of her life like she asked him to be. He even cared enough to test whether or not she is getting better by giving her instructions but telling her to go on her own. Being with a beautiful woman, gaining the approval of his aunt, and helping someone that he cares about are part of what brings Binx to his conclusion. The search may not be over, but it is for him. And I think he found what he was looking for even if he isn’t able to open his eyes and see it.
I agree with your post in that Binx did not have to open up and literally say that he had found what is he was looking for. I believe that Binx had ultimately come to an epiphany at the end of the text and had therefore found his part of the puzzle. He had found what it was he was looking for. I really like how you attributed so much value to our family and friends. Such a good point that the everyday is indeed made valuable and often times tolerable because of the people in which we are surrounded by in this life. I also agree with the closing statements on your blog that how his life is settling down and he is beginning to enjoy his life. Binx as a character does a complete 180 from his previous inclinations and habits within the text and I believe he to has found what it is he has been looking for all along. Even if it is not the meaning of all life, his life has purpose. I also like how you showed the validity of the everydayness as not being so mundane. There is importance for sure in living the everyday life because after all, what ewlse can there be but the everyday? I don’t know any other place where we are alive, or any other place but the present. Overall I enjoyed reading your post and look forward to possibly reading your post again for tis English class that we share.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if he was overlooking the value of everydayness because to me his family is very different. How did losing his father and brother at a young age affect him? Being sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle, thus being separated from his mother also? Even though it sounds like his Aunt and Uncle were good to him and provided him a good life, can it replace those that one would hold so dear?
ReplyDeleteMany people would hold on to the family and friends they have with dear life after these types of losses, getting the value of the here and now. Not Binx. Maybe leaving his family played a big part in why he doesn’t see the value of everydayness, but more importantly, family friends and solid relationships. Maybe he felt expendable and so those he related too were expendable in his eyes.
At times he does try to please his family like Kate and his Aunt Emily as you state. Is he only “taking care” of Kate or trying to please her. He clearly wants to please his Aunt, as you mentioned. I think he is finally coming around to see the value of family with the most recent losses of his Uncle Jules and Lonnie as he seem to open up his heart to his brothers and sisters after Lonnie’s death. Maybe he finally gets the value of “everydayness.”