Walker Percys The Moviegoer Essay -- Walker Percy Moviegoer Essays

Walker Percy's The Moviegoer Walker Percy is the author of The Moviegoer, which is written about a young man named John Binkerson Bolling otherwise known as Binx. He is the main character who grows up in New Orleans. He is a moviegoer who is on a search but the object of his search is not clear. The people he encounters help him along the way, especially his stepbrother Lonnie and an African American man. The Moviegoer takes place during Mardi Gras when Binx discovers that something more is needed in his life. The story begins with Binx receiving a letter from his Aunt Emily saying that they need to have a talk. This talk is about his cousin Kate who Aunt Emily is worried about. She has been â€Å"moping around the house† ever since her fiancà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s death and Aunt Emily wants Binx to cheer her up (28). She wants him to treat Kate as he did before and joke around with her to make her laugh and smile. She has been staying inside and has not interacted with people in a while. On Binx’s way to his aunt’s house, â€Å"the idea of a search occurs to† him (13). â€Å"The search is what anyone would undertake if he were not sunk in the everydayness of his own life. To become aware of the possibility of the search is to be onto something† (13). But what exactly is Binx onto? Binx doesn’t know and doesn’t reveal the purpose of his search because he fears â€Å"exposing (his) own ignorance† (14). Is this search about God? Binx â€Å"hesitates to answer, since all other Americans have settled the matter for themselves and to give such an answer would amount to setting himself a goal which everyone else has reached – and therefore raising a question in which no one has the slightest interest. For, as everyone knows, the polls report that 98% of Americans believe in God and the remaining 2% are atheists and agnostics – which leaves not a single percentage point for a seeker† (13, 14). Binx’s search continues through his attraction to the movies that â€Å"are onto the search, but throw him further from the truth. The search always ends in despair† (13). The movies are a way for him to fill the emptiness in his life. They give him incite into others lives and into his own life. â€Å"Before I see a movie it is necessary for me to learn about something about the theater or the people who operate it, to touch base before going inside† (74). This helps him learn more about how others live and lear... ... wants with his life. He does not need to be as religious as Lonnie but he has choices. Lonnie is willing to fast even though he is very sick and this gives Binx faith that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Even on Lonnie’s deathbed, he is content. After his â€Å"half-brother Lonnie Smith died of a massive virus infection which was never positively identified,† he is asked what will happen to Lonnie (237). The children ask Binx, â€Å"When Our Lord raises us up on the last day, will Lonnie still be in a wheelchair or will he be like us?† and he responds with, â€Å"he’ll be like you† (240). This he may not act in a religious way but at least he does not deny the Lord. So even though he is not all religious, he has taken the faith of Lonnie and directed it into his life. Lonnie’s belief in the long run affects Binx and helps him so many times in his search. He started as a moviegoer, living his life through the movies and now he realizes he can live his life through his actions. He was inspired by one he knew very well and by others everyday actions. He was inspired for the better and hopefully his new profession and wife will fill the void that he’s been feeling for so long.