A Single Man

In what ways does "A Single Man" help articulate LA in relation to the individual?

A Single Man is a novel that tackles the theme of the individual's struggle in coping to live in an ever changing environment, in this particular case George in opposition with LA. This essay will investigate two important issues present in the novel. Firstly, I shall partake in a close analysis of the character George and how the changing city affects him emotionally and socially. Secondly, a study of how Isherwood depicts LA, geographically and culturally will be explored in detail also.

Here, Isherwood's writing style is extremely intimate and this level of intimacy is further enhanced by the fact that this book is set just in one day. Addressing the reader directly ("Think of two people.") and breaking the fourth wall, A Single Man uses these literacy devices in order to establish a familiar relationship between the reader and George. The book is written like a diary, with its informal tone detailing George's personal thoughts in an intimate and meticulous manner. This can create humour thus allowing the reader to sympathise more with George, often encouraged to see George as more of a close friend or companion, rather than merely a distanced fictional character. After the death of George's lover Jim, George shuts himself outside of the social circles of LA and lives much of his life in seclusion. Throughout the novel, the character Jim is used as a symbol of the past, a past in which George is so accustomed to, thus often looks back in nostalgia with fond memories of Jim and him. One could argue that due to the intimate nature of George's thoughts in the novel, the "voice and narrative" not only speaks to the reader, but also to Jim, since Jim would be the only person George would share these thoughts with if he was ever going to "open up".

George is a lonely character, one who is judgemental and closed up. In the novel, it is mentioned that George uses books to overcome his issues of loneliness since they provide him with a voice. Isherwood depicts his house as being small, one that is cosy and slightly claustrophobic so that he doesn't feel lonely. One could argue that George takes on the old American Isolationism sensibility. He describes his house as "As good as being on our own island", highlighting his belief in individualism rather than thinking of the collective good. It could be understood that after the death of George's lover Jim, George takes on a pessimistic view on life, always cautious and suspicious of people's behaviour and motives. This is illustrated right at the beginning of the novel when George rejects Charley's (a close friend of George) company, favouring to be on his own for the upcoming evening instead.

The cause for George's loneliness and pessimism is partly due to the social construct that is of LA. Living on Camphor Tree Lane, George's neighbourhood is that of a typical simplistic Southern Californian suburb. Originally established as being a "bohemian utopia" things were never the same after the Great Change, or the Baby Boom as it is formerly known. Instead of being inhabited by heavy drinking and tolerant free artists, coke drinking, television watching, family orientated war veterans reigned supreme in the area instead. Children started to appear in abundance and before long, the physicality of the environment began to change, leaving "sinister" signs around the neighbourhood such as "CHILDREN AT PLAY".

Camphor Tree Lane as George explains is a place where routine and sameness ensures. George knows the routines of his neighbourhood and how different groups of people have their "hour" of dominance in the neighbourhood. For example, "the hour of the mother" will last from the morning until mid afternoon, by which time, power will be passed onto the older school boys returning from school. Balls will land in yards and when cars venture down the street, they must stop and wait for them to get past, for boys know their rights during this hour.

This Post-war suburb is typical and complies with what Kenneth T. Jackson argues in "The Baby Boom and the Age of Subdivisions." Indeed there is a sense of sameness that occurs in Camphor Tree Lane and this sense of routine is evident in Jackson's article also. In Camphor Tree Lane, there is no mixing or integration with outsiders, nor a huge mix of ethnic backgrounds. People in this neighbourhood all have the same social status thus that could be partly why George regards them as mundane and boring. In some ways, Camphor Tree Lane could be argued as being similar to that of Levittown mentioned in Jackson's article. This modernist housing suited for families is recurrent in both cases. However, although there are some architectural differences in Camphor Tree Lane unlike in Levittown, the social construct of the two places are undeniably similar, rotating around white middle class families and routine.

What George despises about his neighbourhood is not the actual physical environment itself, but the attitude and beliefs its inhabitants possess (in particular, Mrs Strunk). In this tightly knitted community, George plays the outsider. One could argue that it is inevitable that George plays the outsider due to his English background and gay sexual orientation. The fact that he lives alone and is now relatively old are also factors that contribute to the difficultness for one to approach him, since residents of Camphor Tree Lane are understandably intimidated by those who are different to them. Kids seem to fear and mock him whilst adults are indifferent to him. The novel suggests that it is difficult for those who are outside of Californian social circles to integrate in due to its habit of being rigid.

A Single Man poses the interesting issue of George's confused identity. Thoroughly observant of others and self analytical, George often philosophises whether or not his actions are really his. In other words, whether he is merely role playing or not. In the novel, George is labelled as the "mean old scary storybook monster" by the neighbourhood kids. This is due to his dark and imposing house and George's general demeanour. It is confusing for him, at times to know for sure whether he is actually a violent grumpy old man or if he is merely play acting for the kids, fulfilling a role and personality. Surely it is better to have the role of a villain and be recognised than to have nothing at all? It is not just in the neighbourhood that George play acts, but this is evident on university campus as well. George has an entirely authoritative teacher persona that combines humour with confidence. To him, playing the role of the professor is no different than the job of an actor. Using humour as a tool to ease tension and making the students like him, George always keeps his authority in check by sternly explaining with confidence his teachings on poetry.

Georg Simmel articulates in "The Metropolis and Mental Life" how the metropolis can have an effect on an individual's mind and personality. He remarks that people in cities tend to be more reserved and indifferent from that of people from the country. He describes that people from the country would naturally know most of the people he meets, since they would have more of a personal interaction with one another due to smaller space and fewer people. The reserve nature of the city people can not only cause indifference but can also in close contact, break out into hatred or conflict. The money and economic relationship in the city undoubtedly has an effect on the individual. Commerce and exchange is channelled through the middle man thus the producers never know exactly who their purchasers are nowadays. This is unlike more primitive modes of production where production was for the customer who ordered the product so that the producer and customer knew each other. This matter of factness dominates the metropolis' psyche and has a profound effect on the individual's too. This could be the reason accounting for people's indifference in cities. People treat their relationship towards one another in the same matter of factness as they do with money. The large city alienates them, they only know small number of people compared to the city as a whole and the only thing they have in common with strangers is the common denominator of money. Although not originally from America, an interesting question to pose would be who is more American, George or his students? His students may have lived in and possibly never left LA before but George has lived in the country longer, wiser about the country's culture and history. One of the most prominent sections in the book is when George visits his old friend Charley. She is slightly emotional after her lover Buddy left her for another woman. She seeks to George for comfort and contemplates leaving LA and going back to England. Charley, like George, feels lonely and has feelings of nostalgia when looking back at her memories in England. She is the female equivalent of George, bearing the same feelings for the past and same sense of isolationism. She is better liked in her neighbourhood than George but as she explains, her neighbourhood doesn't "need her". She describes that none of them "will make her feel guilty about leaving them". This sense of insignificance is felt by George also towards the end of the novel, for he imagines if he dies that very second, "he shall be none other than the cousin of the garbage container on the back porch". The feeling of insignificance in a large metropolis is a recurrent theme in many modern literary texts today and highlights the problem of indifference in cities today.

George has a definite dislike of anything that is ungenuine, especially feelings. He lies to his neighbour Mrs Strunk about Jim's death, saying that he has left town and decided to live elsewhere instead. George does not seek pity from her and refuses to be labelled. He seeks emotional independence and autonomy and does not wish to shame Jim by turning him into a "sob story". Mrs Strunk is, in the eyes of George, the epitome of American falsehood and symbolism. She is trapped in a role that is or may not be her and that is the role of the "all good mother". George knows very well that she does not care for Jim and would simply give meaningless false sympathy to George if he was to open up. He describes her as "How dearly Mrs Strunk would enjoy being sad about Jim!" To reinforce that notion of emotional autonomy George keeps his sexual orientation a near secret. He does not wish people to look past him as a person and simply label his identity as "queer". The gym is one of the only places where George can feel truly at ease in the novel. The gym does not lie and shows people's imperfections, and that is the reason for George's relief. Even the most outrageous poses in the mirror are present in the gym, because here vanity is real and applies to everyone thus should not be suppressed like elsewhere.

However, there is a section in the novel that illustrates George being guilty of false sympathy and feelings as well. In the section taking place in the hospital, George visits Jim's other past lover, Doris. Here, Doris is suffering from a terminal disease thus George goes there to comfort her. The two despise each other and now George feels pity for her because she is lying helplessly on the bed, bloated and sick. In this segment of the book, Isherwood suggests that all humans are social creatures at heart and nobody wants to be alone. George holds Doris' hand to comfort her but there is no affection in it. His hand there is merely something for her to grip and that is all. When the nurse arrives, Doris no longer needs George. When George leaves, he feeling puzzled and philosophises about his visit and whether it did any good. Did his visit really make much of a difference, or was it a waste of time since the two don't really care much for each other anyway? Maybe company without affections or genuine feelings may be beneficial after all, since, at times, most humans need comfort from another's company, simply just for the sake of not being alone.

George describes San Tomas State College as being a "modernist factory". This constitutes both the building's architecture and the college's atmosphere and thinking. Students in their thousands will be processed here, like a big factory for consumer products, packaged and ready to function in the real world. The building is composed of bricks, glass and big windows and is described as being "finished in a hysterical hurry". The canteen itself is not very appetising being described as "an anti-restaurant, much too clean with its chromium and plastic tables; much too tidy, embarrassed and self-conscious". However, George feels pessimism in regard to the young students' future. He wants to tell them that it is all a lie and that they are wasting their time, for only a few of them will make it in the real world. Most people in his class are only there to get the grades to outdo their competitors. They are playing the "teacher's game", always there guessing and thinking what the teacher wants them to say just for the end result of grades. George looks down on this utilitarian approach for surely the process of learning should be applied for its own right and not simply there to beat competition?