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Post by reluedders on Jun 28, 2024 13:22:56 GMT
On page 53 of "The Moviegoer," I think I found an example of what I would consider "bad faith."
Binx is talking to his aunt, and it says:
"Here's what we'll do. As soon as hot weather comes, we'll all go up to Flat Rock, the whole family, Walter included. He's already promised. We'll have a nice long summer in the mountains and come back here in September and buckle down to work."
"I don't know."
"You think about it."
"Yes ma'am."
She does not smile. Instead she stops me, holds me off.
"What is it you want out of life, son?" she asks with a sweetness that makes me uneasy.
"I don't know'm. But I'll move in whenever you want me."
"Don't you feel obliged to use your brain and to make a contribution?"
"No'm."
Thoughts?
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Post by jarelyrebollar on Jul 2, 2024 13:49:37 GMT
Bad faith involves self-deception, where one denies one's freedom and responsibility by conforming to societal expectations.
Binx's passive responses, such as "I don't know" and agreeing to move in "whenever you want me," show his evasion of responsibility and reluctance to define his path. His aunt's questions about using his brain and making a contribution highlight societal pressures to conform. Binx's dismissive "No'm" response underscores his detachment from these imposed values and his struggle with authenticity.
This interaction, I feel, illustrates Binx's existential dilemma and tendency towards bad faith, avoiding confronting his true self by succumbing to external pressures. It's a poignant moment that encapsulates the novel's themes of alienation and the search for authenticity.
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Post by Dr. Nemmers on Jul 2, 2024 15:55:23 GMT
After learning more about "bad faith" as part of our conversation, I think this is an excellent example, Renee! Agree as well with Jarely that Binx is quite guilty of "conforming to societal expectation," at least insofar as he refuses to make a decision about his life and defers to his Aunt. (On the other hand, he does somewhat defy his Aunt's expectations by not going into medical research and/ or settling down, as she would like him to. There is another episode where he refuses to go fishing even after his mother wants him to, so he's not entirely pliable, just sort of a drifter throughout most of the novel.
One of the questions we arrive at with Binx is to what extent he has a "true self"-- I think this is where the movies he goes to comes in. When he's so busy seeing all these actors playing different roles, it may impress upon him that he can do the same-- that everyone in real life is just acting in "bad faith" as well. Which one of the actor's roles is their true self? Or is it the person when they're off screen?
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Post by gillianlaird on Jul 2, 2024 19:47:25 GMT
To me, Binx seems like a character who has faith, and it's not in anything conventional like a god or religion. He seems like his only faith stems from the movies. I highlighted a section where he says: "The fact is I am quite happy in a movie, even a bad movie. Other people, so I have read, treasure memorable moments in their lives... What I remember is the time John Wayne killed three men with a carbine as he was falling to the dusty street in Stagecoach..." Looking back at the conversation between Binx and his aunt that you mentioned, I feel like his faith in the movies is represented beautifully here. He comes across to me as someone who is willing to let life happen to him (akin to the movies he worships) instead of forging a path for himself. So as Jarely put it, I think he is clearly deceiving himself into believing that his story will be made great by being docile in his own life. He kind of lets his aunt play director it seems.
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