Sag Harbor and Benji's Coming of Age
Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead is what I can only describe as an aesthetic and nostalgic novel. With the setting on the beach, and frequent references to Benji’s childhood and the history of Sag Harbor, along with the looming concepts of a rite of passage and the fact that Benji’s time in Sag is fleeting, there is plenty of nostalgia spread throughout the narrative.
Undoubtedly, there is a lot that isn’t glamorous about Sag Harbor. First and foremost, Benji’s family dynamics are an underlying stressor throughout the book. With Reggie always spending weekends at work as to avoid their dad who, as seen on a Saturday morning, says “‘Where’s shithead?’ … We were a few months into When Dad Called Reggie Shithead for a Year,” (Whitehead, 193). Benji’s explanation is emblematic of how uncomfortable the home was when his dad was there, and that Ben thought he was overreacting by keeping this behavior up for a whole year because of a few bad grades. Benji explains his habit of laying in bed on Saturdays and listening to the noises of the house, keeping track of where everyone is. He is relaxing when “I heard it, a sound the normal person would never notice. Poomp… meant the liquor cabinet had been depleted. Poomp meant it had started,” (Whitehead, 201). This observation is clearly one he’s made many times prior. He seems to diligently monitor his father’s drinking throughout the day, and strategizes how he can avoid being caught in the crossfire of his drunk father. This is clearly a less than ideal home life, and shows that Benji doesn’t have proper guidance or a good role model throughout his childhood.
Despite this, nostalgia still runs deep throughout the story. Benji’s frequent discussion of growing up. It’s almost like every summer spent at Sag is a check in with where you are in the process, because the kids return annually at completely different stages of their lives. Benji talks about the changing activities of kids at Sag Harbor as they grow older, saying “That summer we switched from a Kid with the Pool-based hanging out economy to a Kid with the Empty House-based hanging out economy,” (Whitehead, 49). It’s framed as almost a rite of passage- that eventually when you reach a certain age, you change around your activities in light of being more mature. Throughout the novel, Benji observes various younger kids doing things he used to do and reflects fondly on his memories of playing tag and running around outside.
The change is undeniable, though. Coming of age is almost forced upon Benji and Reggie in the beginning of the summer when their father confronts them saying, “You’re men now… you can take care of yourselves,” (Whitehead, 50). While it’s definitely a reach to say that 15 year old Benji had achieved peak maturity, that conversation with their father did grant Benji and Reggie newfound freedom. “Now that we had a free house, what did we do with it? Sit around and talk shit,” Benji narrates, showing that they weren’t anywhere near adults. The lack of supervision changed the dynamics of this group of kids in Sag, and highlighted what their priorities might be.
Another example of the theme of growing up in Sag Harbor is Benji’s sister, Elena. When he bumps into her at the movies, she says “You know how it can be in that house… just do me a favor, Benji, and get out when you can,” explaining why she didn’t stop by to visit her family despite being in town, (Whitehead, 285). Reading this scene almost supplies a commentary about how small Benji’s worldview was back in the summer of 1985. His inability to understand his sister not wanting to associate with the parents anymore is emblematic of him not realizing how he shouldn’t have to deal with his dad’s behavior.
All in all, this novel is somewhat written through rose-colored glasses of the nostalgia of growing up, but this positivity is tainted by the ever-present issues of Benji’s family and immaturity. Unpacking it and reading between the lines to understand what present-day Ben has realized that 15-year-old Benji hasn’t is revealing of a broader understanding of the bittersweetness of his coming of age.
Hi Violet!! I found the part about how returning to Sag Harbor is like a check in on the stages of growing up particularly striking! I think that's a really great analysis. I also like how you mentioned Benji is like taking advantage of the bliss he has, something that Ben is trying to warn him of. Great blog!
ReplyDeleteI wrote about something similar in my blog, and I completely agree with you. This book is packed with nostalgia, but not in the way we typically think of it. A lot of Benji's childhood is overshadowed by bigger, scarier things that make it hard for his older self to separate the good from the bad which is so interesting to analyze. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Violet, I like how you described Benji's nostalgia as prevalent even with the clear trauma he had to endure and the efforts by people like Elena to convince him to move on from this stage of his life. Clearly Ben still remembers Sag Harbor and has been shaped by it, and in some ways he looks back with fondness even though the memories weren't all too great. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHiya Violet!! I think your description of Ben's past being written through rose-tinted glasses encapsulates it perfectly. There were so many mishaps (For me, notably the very gross BB gun stuff), but it's always depicted so calmly and longingly. His nostalgia aims to reach for what he once was, no matter if it wasn't ideal, and I think it made me sort of desensitized to what he went through while reading. I think knowing that he looked at his experiences fondly (even if bad) made me not realize their gravity until discussed more literally in class, and I think that puts into perspective the effect of his rose-tinted glasses. Great post!!
ReplyDeleteHi Violet! I really agree with what you said about coming of age almost being forced onto Benji by different circumstances and events in his life. You're right about the bittersweetness of this novel, and how there can be multiple sides to nostalgia. Great post!
ReplyDeleteWhen this novel was first published, I remember seeing a commentary by the novelist Jonathan Lethem, who is roughly the same age as Whitehead, and he describes it as a kind of "time capsule" for readers of a certain age--the frequent pop-culture references evoke an era that has past, and it's hard not to feel some kind of pang when you are unexpectedly reminded of New Coke, or UTFO and the Roxanne Wars, or the Cosby Show, or Asteroids video games in convenience stores. And as I tried to articulate in class--and this post articulates very nicely--nostalgia doesn't necessarily mean that the era being evoked and remembered is necessarily *good*. There's just something profound about it being *past*, and being able to see yourself to some extent as "the other kid": Benji would not want to "go back" to 1985 in any way, and throughout the novel we get the sense that adult Ben feels very little connection to the kid he used to be. In terms of culture, fashion, general aesthetics, 1985 was one of the worst years on record--it was peak '80s cheese, and Ben gives a survey of this context when Benji makes it into the night club for the UTFO show--there's no sense in which this is an "important" or significant live performance in any way. But there's still some magic in re-creating the experience of getting into the club, of being among these freaks, and putting the reader into the moment by shifting into the present tense.
ReplyDeleteI think Sag Harbor is a really interesting mix of nostalgia and whatever the opposite of nostalgia is (the act of looking back on something with a more matured and jaded lense than when you first experienced it). This was really interesting to me when reading the book, and I think it gave the entire novel a sort of melancholy feel, especially considering the imminent threat of growing up that looms over Benji.
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