When people are talking about describing each other in one sentence, normally it's describing that person in good light. In Less by Andrew Sean Greer, Arthur and Freddy are lovers, yet in this situation Arthur says something rude about Freddy to him. Instead of being angry and saying something equally as rude back, Freddy says "'Arthur Less is the bravest person I know'" (Greer 44). From what Arthur describes about himself he seems to be the least brave person, so why would Freddy say this? Greer could be suggesting that Arthur has a different idea of who he is than others.
From the reader's perspective Arthur is scared and worried about everything. He goes on this trip around the world just so he doesn't have to confront Freddy or his other friends at the wedding. Arthur admits there isn't a time when he isn't scared of anything, but everything is equally as scary (Greer 44). Because the reader only receives Arthur's point of view, one can see that he fears everything even though he still does everything. From another person's perspective, Arthur does everything without knowing he fears everything. To Arthur everything he does gives him the same magnitude of fear and anxiety so no matter what he does, it is all the same to him, making him brave.
Another example of Arthur having a different idea of who he is, is in the Chapter German. In this chapter, Arthur thinks he is "boring people to death" (Greer 126). He creates a cause-and-effect relationship between who he is and a mysterious sickness and comes to the conclusion that he is the root of the sickness. In reality Arthur is not "boring people to death", he even receives a call telling him "how grateful your students were for the little class" (Greer 127). His students adored Arthur even though he had terrible German. Maybe Arthur's issue is that he has low self-esteem so he is blind to how he comes off as.
Arthur isn't only blind to how he comes off as, he's also blind to how well he writes. The first half of the book has just been Arthur shaming his own writing, saying it's mediocre at best and that he's a minor novelist. Again, these are all Arthur's thoughts and they are proven wrong when he wins an award against other major novelists. At the party in the Chapter France, a drunk successful gay writer says that Arthur is not "... a bad writer.' ...'It's that you're a bad gay'" (Greer 144). Even though this is a backhanded compliment, Arthur is still getting praised for his writing. There have been so many instances where he is complimented on his writing and even wins an award for it, suggesting that Arthur is a good writer.
These are only some of the situations where Arthur has thought one thing about himself when other people have said the exact opposite about him. Maybe starting out in the beginning of the book with the brave comment was to slowly unravel Arthur's true character. At the beginning one sees Arthur as a mediocre writing who is too scared to have any real goal in life. As the story progresses and elements arise contradicting Arthur, the reader understands that he may just be suffering from a terrible anxiety and very low self-esteem and is a different person than he makes himself out to be.
I think it is very important how you brought up Arthur's lack of confidence and recognition in his abilities when it comes to his competence as a writer. However, I think it is also important to understand that this lack of self confidence is apparent in other areas of his life as well, because of the fact that for the majority of the novel he doesn't know who he himself is, or how to find happiness within himself. The novel discusses how even as a grown man Arthur Less has instances where he acts like a child, and on the opposite end of the spectrum when he still was in his youth he aspired to act much older. Greer writes “Less knows so well the pleasures of youth - danger, excitement, losing oneself in a dark club with a pill, a shot a stranger's mouth- and with Robert and his friends, the pleasures of age- comfort and ease, beauty and taste, old friends and old stories” (112). Arthur seems to just mold what brings him joy based on what those around him find content in. When he is in a relationship with someone older such as Robert he aspires to act much older and when he is with someone younger he attempts to hold onto his youth such as his short time lover Bastian in Germany. Through seeking validation in his relationships Arthur fails to recognize the importance of self satisfaction for the majority of the novel. As the novel concludes and we find out that Freddy has been the narrator, he runs through all Less has done during his travels and expresses how much Arthur has experienced. Greer writes “I have never been to Japan. I have never been to India, or to Morocco, or to Germany, or to most of the places Arthur Less has traveled to over the past few months” (260). I found it interesting how although Freddy is running through what Arthur has done in his life, the only rearson Arthur has gained all these experiences because of avoiding Freddy. The only reason Arthur went to all these different places throughout the novel was because he was coping with Freddy getting married to someone else rather than just to gain the experiences because of his own desires.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog about Freddy’s response to Arthur’s negative comment. I agree with the idea that usually when describing someone you tend to bring light and positivity to them, so the person that you are talking to has a positive perception of them. Furthermore, I believe that because we did not know that Less was written from the perspective of Freddy until almost the end of the story, your point regarding Greer’s intentions is true.
ReplyDeleteLess felt as if he was the imposter even though he was an award winning novelist. Because Less is so anxious about every little move he makes, he is strongly hard on himself which makes him grow as a person. Less’s mental health definitely has an impact on his work and social life. An example that you mentioned was how Less decided to travel the world in hopes of avoiding his ex-boyfriend. This action was clearly taken as the most precautious option possible.
I also liked your point regarding how he feels as if he is "boring people to death" (Greer 126). Obviously to the reader this comes off as dramatic but due to Arthur’s mental health it is difficult for him to understand that he has no control over when people pass out. Overall nice job on highlighting key points as to why Greer made the decision to write Arthur as a depressing character.