Benji meets Ben
Two characters narrate Sag Harbor: Benji and Ben. While they may be the same person--just at two different points in their coming of age journey--Benji and Ben are so different that they can hardly recognize each other. Ben consisently expresses puzzlement at Benji's behaviour throughout his narration. In the ending chapter, Benji even explains that he wouldn't be able to recognize a put-together future version of himself, because he doubts he could develop into one. Ben often criticizes Benji's behaviour, even seeming ashamed or dumbfounded at how he could have once been Benji. Ben goes far to distance himself from his past self. He looks back, not through the the rosy lens of nostalgia, but with the microscopic lens of objectivity. He takes a third person perspective, addressing Benji as "the other boy". Yet even with Ben's attempts to seperate from Benji, Ben is kept connected to Benji from several chains through time.
In "If I could Pay You Less I would", Benji works at Jonni Waffle, an ice cream shop. The unlimited free ice cream, a tantalizing perk to Benji, becomes a curse for Ben. After working gruelling hours at Jonni Waffle, often surviving on only ice cream, Benji develops an aversion to ice cream so strong that Ben can't even smell a sweet treat without wretching.
In the following adventure, "Gangsters", Benji and his friends discover the alluring power provided by guns. Even though they only have BB guns, Benji's gang slowly escalate from shooting targets to fullscale warfare as their confidence grows. When Benji's friend decides to pump his gun to the max, he lodges a BB into Benji's eye, leaving Ben with a permanent reminder of his past self.
Ben seems so confused when recalling Benji's life, that without the permanent marks that Benji left on himself, Ben might not even believe Benji's adventures ever happened. Throughout most of the book, Ben and Benji's relationship is one-sided, with Ben examining, reflecting, and criticising Benji. But in the final chapter, Benji contemplates the possible Bens. I love Benji's thinking in the final chapter, because it reflects Ben. While Ben still can't recognize Benji, and Benji believes he coudn't develop into a put together Ben, in the final chapter, I see Benji's development into Ben.
Benji recognizes himself in a little boy about to run the annual footrace. Benji knows the boy won't win the race but will still try his hardest regardless. Seeing the boy opens Benji to thinking about all the past and future versions of himself and those around him. Everyone in Sag Harbor has a younger version coming to replace them and a future version they are slowly moving towards. For the first time, Benji imagines possible Bens. He wonders if Ben could recognize him. He wonders if Ben would be one of the put together adults around him or one of the miserable people that he pitied as he passed. By this point, Benji's thinking has changed--he's become much more mature. And although its impossible for our two narrators to meet, in the final chapter I see Ben emerging in Benji, even if Ben himself can't.
Hi Kyle, I think that Benji and Ben at this point can be considered completely separate characters. I really liked how you interpreted the annual footrace and Benji seeing himself as one of the boys about to run. I think that's a useful analogy to how Ben writes and sees Benji.
ReplyDeleteHey Kyle, I like how you contrast Ben and Benji. I too noticed that they are each different characters. I really liked the ending, where Ben and Benji almost have a conversation, when he thinks about him the future. Great Post!
ReplyDeleteThe example you use of the BB gun scene is a great one, and one that I brought up in my blog as well. It's a clear turning point and also a reminder of the past for Benji's older self, Ben. It's also a single step out of many that came before and after in the journey of Benji and his friends, which you did a nice job pointing out.
ReplyDeleteHi Kyle!! I like how you talked about Ben and Benji as two separate entities, because honestly as the book goes it becomes clear that Ben and Benji are practically two different people. I really liked how you made these connections, especially using the BB gun event. Great job!!!
ReplyDeleteI find the difference between Ben and Benji so interesting because it really shapes the story. This book frames them even more differently than Fun Home framed Alison and Bechdel. I think it's especially apparent in my reading of the final few lines of the book, where Benji is talking and then Ben butts in. Great post!
ReplyDeleteKyle, I really like your comparison between the "rosy lens of nostalgia" and the "microscopic lens of objectivity." It accompanies the comparison between the two manifestations of Ben very well. Your mention of the race at the end of the novel is a perfect example of the transition that Benji goes through during the novel. The "real" Benji is the little kid in the race and Ben is the successful adult that writes the book. The Benji we see who watches on as little Clive and the others fill the gap they left on is someone in between.
ReplyDeleteHi Kyle! I really enjoyed your post and how clearly you explained the differences between Ben and Benji. I thought your point about Benji imagining future versions of himself was really interesting. It really shows how much he’s grown by the end of the book, even if Ben doesn’t fully realize it. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI mentioned it in class, but I always love reading that last chapter, when Ben ponders what his younger self might have to "tell" him (as his actual younger self is pondering the younger-younger self who is "replacing" him), but he reflects that this young guy "can't hear a word I say." It's so basic, but so profound--the coming-of-age dynamic can only work in one direction, and in all of these novels, there's the sense that the experience can only be fully grasped in retrospect. You don't necessarily know when you're having a life-changing epiphany. A lot of this stuff seems stupid and random when it actually happens--but something like the UTFO concert takes on a different meaning years later than it had at the time. Ben contemplating how Benji is so unaware of his presence sort of encapsulates the entire coming-of-age dynamic in a nutshell.
ReplyDeleteI think the specific summer in the book had such a drastic effect on Benji that Ben feels entirely disconnected from his former self, almost disbelieving that he was once this kid. Recalling that summer is like a sensory flashbang and causes Ben to feel that weird sense of vague connection that he can't completely get a hold on.
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