Why Walker Percys Literature Truly Matters :: Biography Biographies Essays

Why Walker Percys Literature Truly Matters Did you ever have iodin of those days when you just werent all there? when your body seemed to be doing your square daily routine automatically? when nothing, not even the things you love close to could engage you? I know I have. Walker Percy refers to this disengaged state as sunk in everydayness and as dead in deportment (The Moviegoer 10). In his novels, Percy relates his fears that many of us are living in this automaton state perpetually without realizing it. He warns us that until we cure ourselves of this disease, our souls, our truest selves, impart remain in bondage. Walker Percy began his conduct growing up in the South, and after finishing med. school, he interned to become a psychiatrist. Then a bout with tuberculosis drove Percy to marry his wife, convert to Catholicism, and give up his practice in pursuit of penning. After a writing essays for a time, Percy published his first novel, The Moviegoer, in 1961. Percys h eritage shaped his literature from the beginning. As a Southerner, Percy understands the South better than other geographies and sets most of his scenes there. As a psychiatrist, Percy knows intimately what goes on in the minds of others, extremely valuable knowledge in character development. As a scientist, Percy understands the physical world well and notices things in nature that other authors would miss. As a Catholic, Percy wants to spread his faith to others, to assign the joy he gets from his religion. All these experiences go into the mix in Percys writing and give his novels a unique, masterful style. Percys protagonists are all questing after an block off to the everydayness of their old lives. They are leaving behind a life they see as a living death, and they all use polar approaches to escaping it. In The Moviegoer, Binx Bolling goes on a search to find himself, his place in society, and what he believes. allow Barrett goes on a similar search in The Last Gentleman , a search to find his place in the world. Binx and Will are both in their twenties and their searches are fitting for their ages. Percys by and by books use older characters and their search differ from the others accordingly. In The Second Coming, we tinct Will Barrett again, but this time he is searching to find the virtue about his past, prove the existence of God, and find a new note worthy of his time.