Rabbit, Part II
So I just finished reading "Rabbit, Run," by John Updyke. I'll spare you a whole lot of plot details as there is a pretty good summary on the Wikipedia page, but the gist is as follows. It's 1960 and Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, formerly a high school basketball start is living with his pregnant wife and 2-year-old son in a blah town in Pennsylvania. Dissatisfied with life, one night, on a whim, he decides to go for a drive and never return, effectively deserting his wife. The rest of the novel concerns itself with how people react to his desertion of his family, how he adjusts to life with his new girl friend, and the ways in which social norms impact individual behaviors.
The novel is largely an exploration of the themes of individuality versus normality, but on an individual, personal level. The novel is not a political one, makes no points about the ways in which society directly affects individuals (aside from the irrational fear Rabbit has that the police will arrest him for deserting his wife), but is rather an exploration of how we as people are influenced by those around us. No person is an island, no person can ever truly be free of the consequences of ones actions and, despite Rabbit's assertion that "if you have the courage to be yourself, other people'll pay your price" the fact is that no one can ever truly be free of the mesh which surrounds us and our lives.
I've been thinking about this a fair amount these days. In some ways, I feel similar to Rabbit: disconnected, dissatisfied with my job, dealing with a bunch of inter-personal relationship issues. But then again, unlike Rabbit, I also tend to realize that even if I were to quit my job, pack a suitcase and disappear on my own, my old life wouldn't just disappear. It would go away for a while, sure, but I would return to something even more complicated than that which I had left. So, instead of just making a run for it, I stick around and work on what I have, rather than attempting to make a run for it.
On the other hand, I really do wish that some of my relationships were stronger. I've been trying to be patient with folks, but at the same time am starting to wonder whether or not I have had the wrong priorities and have expended too much time and effort on relationships that are doomed instead of focusing harder on keeping the meaningful ones I have already going. Ah well, time will tell.
The novel is largely an exploration of the themes of individuality versus normality, but on an individual, personal level. The novel is not a political one, makes no points about the ways in which society directly affects individuals (aside from the irrational fear Rabbit has that the police will arrest him for deserting his wife), but is rather an exploration of how we as people are influenced by those around us. No person is an island, no person can ever truly be free of the consequences of ones actions and, despite Rabbit's assertion that "if you have the courage to be yourself, other people'll pay your price" the fact is that no one can ever truly be free of the mesh which surrounds us and our lives.
I've been thinking about this a fair amount these days. In some ways, I feel similar to Rabbit: disconnected, dissatisfied with my job, dealing with a bunch of inter-personal relationship issues. But then again, unlike Rabbit, I also tend to realize that even if I were to quit my job, pack a suitcase and disappear on my own, my old life wouldn't just disappear. It would go away for a while, sure, but I would return to something even more complicated than that which I had left. So, instead of just making a run for it, I stick around and work on what I have, rather than attempting to make a run for it.
On the other hand, I really do wish that some of my relationships were stronger. I've been trying to be patient with folks, but at the same time am starting to wonder whether or not I have had the wrong priorities and have expended too much time and effort on relationships that are doomed instead of focusing harder on keeping the meaningful ones I have already going. Ah well, time will tell.