The reference to "asskicking" is interesting in light of Percy's declaration
to Caroline Gordon in a letter (quoted in the Tolson biography) that his
writing was an exercise in "asskicking for Jesus' sake."
>Clearly, this is a much different Binx than Binx at the end of Chapter 5.
>Query: what happens inside Binx to produce Binx of the Epilogue? Why
>does WP bypass any narrating of that transformation? Why does he require
>the reader to "write" across that space?
>
As Percy often mentioned, Binx has undergone a conversion, whether the
reader notices it, accepts it, or believes it. In Percy's view, he could
not write about this because of his contention that the language of religion
has been used up.
>
>Finally, I think the transformation of Binx bears importantly on the
>issue of essential versus created "self" that has been a recent topic on
>the list.
I agree. I think in the Epilogue we find the "essential Binx" coming
through. He has moved past the futility of trying to create his "self" (my
grandmother always told me not to say "hisself," but I suppose this is only
an infraction audibly) based on consumerism, sexual exploits, or his place
in the Bolling family and the New Orleans social structure.
>
>Marcus Smith
>Department of English
>Loyola University
>New Orleans, Louisiana 70118
>Office: 504-865-2481; Fax 504-866-1966
>