Author: mramel20

Binx is the main character in “The Moviegoer” yet he is constantly pushed around by his family and never really until the end gets to decide his own path. His Aunt although does play a large role in this life but disregards Binx’s opinion and decides that he should become a doctor even though he is already a stock broker. These ideas from his Aunt don’t stop there and she even tries to block the relationship between him and his future wife his Cousin Kate. His Aunt constantly belittles Kate and says things behind her back, yet Binx never stands up to her. His aunt even hired an investigator to figure out Kates location after she left for a few days, and once realizing she was with Binx she screamed at him forcing him to come back immediately. This lack of strength on Binx’s part makes his character very hard to cheer for because constantly he is being ignored and put down. Even though he eventually finds his way, it seems like he’s unbothered by his family’s consistent criticism even though I believe it should have played a larger role. In the end this makes rooting for Binx as a character very difficult as he really never stands up for himself even though he things he has the intellectual and moral high ground. 

Throughout the novel the main characters disregard love and are quite selfish in this. This is never addressed though in the book, and made it quite awkward to read. Binx for example near the beginning of the book explained how he keeps having affairs with his secretaries and how they always eventually break up with him getting bored. He knows this about himself yet later in the book becomes romantically involved with his new secretary. This is problematic for a number of reasons, first he knows that he is using her but she never really knows this, as-well as Sharon the secretary is also married. Sharon’s cheating never even plays a factor and Binx is completely fine with this. This disregard for love happens throughout, yet is really never addressed and I believe this puts a bad light onto Binx as a character. This happens again with Binx’s cousin Kate. She eventually breaks off her engagement and really messes with her past fiance by delaying the marriage, leading him on and eventually leaving him at the last second. Kate, Sharon and Binx romantically are all very selfish characters, but for some reason the book doesn’t really address this or even mention this fact. Binx even doesn’t really even seem bothered by his actions or those around him aswell.

I believe that other than the obvious motive for the killing of Willie, Vernon giving the gun to Jack is the largest factor in the eventually murder. The idea of fear of death for Jack was a large driving factor in the book and this constant theme that was almost taken away once Jack got the gun. With his original reluctancy to have the gun, eventually it gave him the confidence to eventually commit the murder. As well as it was very much a crime of passion, I believe that if Vernon didnt give the gun the murder would not have happened. Jack was a very collected character throughout he book and his actions if you had only read the first 3/4 of the book it would have come as a surprise that he committed murder. This is even shown with his humility at the end bringing the body to the nuns. With all of these factors it is clear that his new ego with owning the gun and the paranoia of the fear of death were the main factors in the murder. And if Vernon did not give him the gun, I believe the murder wouldn’t have happened.

In this long blog I will be discussing what The Moviegoer teaches us about life. I believe the main themes which can be derived from the novel can teach us tons about our everyday life. These themes I will be discussing are existentialism, religion, and finding your path. For the main character Binx, these are all important issues and throughout the novel these are discussed. And with these themes they can all play a major part of your life.

The topic of existentialism is one that talks about your meaning and your free will on the earth. This culminates in a search that Binx has for what his path and why he was put onto the earth. This involves him thinking through his own life and trying to figure out how God and religion all plays a part. He is catholic, but he is still searching and not firm in his beliefs. This puts him in a situation where he doesnt have a strong framework to why hes on the earth and this he struggles with throughout. Binx also has a unique viewpoint on this search for his path because he is also a veteran of Vietnam. This was a point in a book that for many veterans they could relate to as coming back from war you are how put into a completely different world with new challenges and procedures. Following his return from war, Binx never really found his path and is constantly second guessing his choices, which doesn’t help with his family trying to change his career. In the end though he never really comes to a clear conclusion on nearly any of the issues of his path, religion or even his meaning. This allows readers to draw there own conclusions from the book, and this can be taken many ways. For example many catholics can takeaway the religious aspects of the book, while atheists can relate to the search for true meaning of religion. This is really where you can learn and what the book can teach us.

The book teaches us through his search for his path that its never a concrete way and there are always turns, steps backwards and adjustments needed on the way. It also teaches us that we shouldn’t just listen to others opinions and take there word as truth, we should develop our own opinions and look for our own truths. This is true for religion as-well as we should look to find our own place spiritually. You should constantly think twice and you should give your own opinion. There is also constant improvement that we can make personally. Binx even though he considered himself a boring person, he was constantly trying to better himself. And finally you need to make choices for yourself even in spite of what others think and will say. Constantly in the novel Binx doesn’t really stand up to his family and they really choose a majority of his life, but eventually Binx finds some happiness in forging his own path in a career and marriage.

Overall from the novel and from Binx what you can learn about and use for your own life is following your own path and coming to your own conclusions. As the book title says you shouldnt become a “moviegoer” in your own life, you should stand up to your choices and forge your own path even if there are setbacks along the way. You shouldnt just take everything as tehy come, instead you should try to find your own meaning and this can be in all aspects of life, in your job, dating, and even relationships with family and religion.

Recently in my reading, a new theme has come up in “The Moviegoer”. This theme revolves around the main character, Binx and his relationship and expectations with his father. In the book Binx’s father was a renowned doctor and the clear leader in the city and family. But with the death of him in WW1 it leaves a gap in the family and some of these huge expectations have been put upon Binx. Even though Binx as a 30 year old is successful in his own right having been deployed to the Korean War and now is a successful stockbroker his family still looks for more. This is shown by his Aunt pushing him to go back to school to be a doctor like his father. Throughout the book the family tries to compare Binx and his father and look down upon him for not following in his footsteps. Binx tries to brush this off but has quotes in the book like “My mother and my Aunt think I’m smart because I am quiet and absent-minded, and because my Father and Grandfather were smart.” His family thinks he has the same passions and talents as his father and push him to go back to school and often tell him he is wasting his skills by not going into the sciences or research. This pressure to fill there shoes pushes Binx to have trouble finding what he really wants to do in the world. And in the second half of the book it seems will be around that topic of him minding his path and himself.

So far in the book, one of the main themes is what the main character refers to as “the Search”. The search in this novel is trying to figure out for the main character Binx Bolling his role in the world and his search for more meaning. In the book so far he hasnt said exactly what hes looking for, but you can infer that its to do with his purpose, religion and more philosophical meanings. On page 13 he says “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 very easily overlooked”. So far in the book this search is the driving factor that pushes the plot forward. So far for religion, he talks about this search as he feels many people havent looked deep enough into there own beliefs or just follow others. He does this by referring to a poll he found where it said 98% of Americans believed in God, while 2% were Atheist. He felt like this is misleading because what is the % for people who are searching, or has everyone found something he hasn’t. This is an interesting concept because although Binx is searching for something more in life, he does still say he just wants a plain life, a good job, getting married and having kids. It seems like for this book the search will be one of the major themes and the driving point for the plot. I feel like this search will also get explained deeper, and more philosophical and religious beliefs will be portrayed throughout he book.

My perception of Ed Tom Bell is that even though he’s a sheriff of a the town and seems like the good guy in the story, he’s still battling his own demons and is almost working through these in the soliloquies as well as he’s struggling to keep up in the current day and reminiscence about the past in these soliloquies. In chapter 3 and 4 it shows a bit how he is almost stuck in the past. Chapter 3 is shown where he fails to adapt to the new technology and doesn’t want it, and then says a bit how the old technology is better. He even reminisces about how the old sheriffs didn’t even have to carry guns. I think McCarthy decided to include this in the text for us to learn a bit more about how Ed Tom Bell is thinking mentally and how he’s battling to try to keep up with the Anton as well as the new times. And then this would also relate to how the title is No Country For Old Men, as the country is leaving Ed Tom Bell behind.