Throughout the novel Less, the titular Arthur Less faces a series of less-than-stellar situations and interactions as he tries to escape the reality of his life. After being invited to his ex-lover, Freddy Pelu’s, wedding, Less decides to go on a world tour to avoid said wedding, but he also uses it as an opportunity to sort of make up for lost time as he nears and passes his 50th birthday. This journey consists of a speaking event in Mexico, a surprise award in Italy, a teaching stint in Germany, a trek through Morocco, a (Christian) writing retreat in India, and a food writing gig in Japan. After seeing all of the stress that every decision causes Less and watching him make misstep after misstep, it is hard to understand how Freddy Pelu called Less, “the bravest person I know” (Greer 44). This bravery is different than that of a traditional protagonist. This is a kind of relative bravery. Less is brave because he is afraid of everything. He cannot order a drink or attend an award ceremony without feeling the sort of anxiety that makes you crawl back deep into your own skull. He is too afraid to face his own age or even consider his own feelings because of what their repercussions might be. He ran halfway across the world to avoid a few awkward conversations at a wedding, but none of this diminishes his bravery. Less is brave because he keeps moving forward. He lives every day afraid of thousands of possible things, yet he still lives. He does not let these fears hold him back. As the book goes on and he makes many blunders (speaking poor German, misunderstanding customs, awkward conversations, etc.), he also makes impressive strides in coming into his own person. He wins an award for his novel, he has his own moment of genius when he teaches a class, he comes to terms with his age in the middle of the desert, and he admits to himself that he is in love. He pushes past all of his fears to grow as a person and to learn how to truly appreciate himself and his own emotions. Less is brave because he can push past the all-too-common fears of aging, of living without love, and of never achieving anything tangible to leave behind.
Your post is very similar to the discussion we had in class the other day. I completely agree with the idea that since Less is scared of everything in his life, yet he still works through his terror, he is a brave man. It is one thing to be brave when the obstacle that lies ahead isn’t that daunting, but for Less, every single task he does is terrifying and it requires a significant amount of bravery.
ReplyDeleteIn the chapter Mexican, Less is faced with the dilemma that he will be speaking with Marian Brownburn, his ex-lover Robert's wife. Just as Less is scared of everything, the thought of having to see her again terrifies him. When Less finds out this new information he thinks, “Less tries to assemble the wayward congress of his mind. Marian. The last words she ever said to him were Take care of my Robert. But she had not known then that he would take him from her” (Greer, 62). Less is utterly terrified of how their reconnection will go. When the time comes, she is actually not able to attend the talk, which takes away Less’s worry, but even then, he was ready to face the consequences of his past actions.
Less is nervous about almost everything he does in life, and to make it through a life like that, it requires him to be a very brave man.
At the start of reading this book we were asked if he is a hero and if he is brave, and the initial answer was no. He seemed to just be an average guy, and filled with an immense amount of fear. It is hard to notice the bravery in someone like that. You have it right though, he is brave. It is important to acknowledge the bravery it takes to do the things you are afraid of, no matter how mundane. In response to Freddy’s claim the narrator says, “Name a day, name an hour, in which Arthur Less was not afraid. Of ordering a cocktail, taking a taxi, teaching a class, writing a book. Afraid of these and almost everything else in the world” (45). He is afraid of all of these things, and yet he does all of them throughout the novel. He overthinks every moment and beats himself up, but he does it all. Not only that, but he does it well. He teaches an amazing class, where students learned to not only love language, but also to love him. He writes a book, and proceeds to win an award for it. He took a trip, yes out of fear of having to face the world around him, but he traveled the world alone and on a whim. His bravery is astonishing, especially when you know how afraid he is deep down.
ReplyDeleteI really like this concept of “bravery” that you talk about in your blog post. This definition of bravery is very unconventional and peculiar, just like Arthur Less himself. I think it is very interesting how in the novel he avoids smaller things, such as attending his ex’s wedding, by going off to do bigger things, such as travelling the world. He even declined the wedding invitation first and then crafted an excuse later. “My apologies, but I will be out of the country” (Greer 18). After deciding that leaving the country is his reason for being unable to attend, he then validates that excuse by making it come to life. He is venturing into the unknown in order to avoid a part of his life that he is all too familiar with. When most people are afraid or nervous, they do not proceed to then avoid that fear by tackling something bigger and scarier. I think this type of bravery is very ironic. However, it perfectly fits Less’s awkward, anxious personality. I think it is very interesting how Greer juxtaposes how “scared” Less is with the actions he pursues, such as trying to speak at a German convention. Less’s bravery provides a very important lesson to the reader that thinking out of the box, exploring the unknown, and opening yourself to new opportunities and challenges is very brave, even if it is because you are running from something in the first place. Bravery is a very diverse attribute, and it does not always have to include directly facing your fear. Less is brave because he spends a lot of time running, and in the end, he ends up accepting the changes in his life.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned the “blunders” he made throughout the novel, but I interpreted them as a satirical representation of how he is a harsh critic of his own work. When we were discussing this section in class on Wednesday, my group and I connected his self depreciation to how we behave as students. Whenever we complete a difficult task, we often criticize our own work harder than we need to. It's in our nature to constantly better ourselves and Arthur’s portrayal exemplifies this tendency. When Less wins his award in Italy, Andrew Greer emphasizes that the harsh criticisms we place on ourselves are not always warranted. Despite him being left thinking his novel was horrible, he still won the award, magnifying that the harshness we place on ourselves is often excessive, and our self deprecating tendencies are often unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your idea that Less is afraid of everything. This is something that we spoke about in class. This idea goes back to the anxiety that Less experiences throughout the book. We also discussed how this could be mistaken for bravery because he is afraid of everything equally, so doing things like traveling the world is as scary to him as buying a packet of gum at the store. I also like how you discussed how he is a genius in his own way. He has frequently come off as insecure many times and thinks that a lot of people do not like him. The reality is that everyone is flawed and Less has a lot going for him. He has won awards and teaches as a class that everyone enjoys. I believe that this is the authors way of explaining to the audience that everyone is really hard on themselves even when there is no reason to be. In today's society it is extremely difficult to feel like you are enough because there are so many factors putting us down. For Less, being gay has been one of the factors because people have placed him in a certain box where they feel like he needs to be a certain way. This is demonstrated when he was criticized for his writing because people didn't think it was an accurate representation of living as a gay person even though everyone has their own unique experiences.
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