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Some further thoughts about the observations I made last time:

• Lots of references to death, before any deaths actually happen.
• Richard lying about his humble upbringing in order to fit in with the other classics kids. This may be a larger thematic point, or it may only serve as minor plot point intended to give Bunny something to hold over Richard’s head (similar to the twins’ incest & Francis’s homosexuality; though to be fair those things may also turn out to do a little more than simply forward the plot)
• LOTS of references to smoking / drug-taking / drinking / dunkenness. I might be tempted to write this off as the author trying to faithfully depict the late 80s / early 90s experience, except for the level of excess. Also, I think it’s important to differentiate between the drug use of the college students in the story as a whole, and that of the classics students. There’s a lot of it that can be attributed to their dealing with the stress of the murder and subsequent investigation—but I don’t think that lets us off the hook about why. It’s also interesting to note what they drink—lots of scotch & wine. Characterization? Or something more?
• A sense of entitlement / superiority on the part of the 5 other classics kids, especially Henry, i.e., “The rules don’t apply to us.” If a rule / law / etc. is inconvenient, they don’t mind ignoring it. I think Henry says something about “They wouldn’t understand,” or something like that. When someone brought up the idea of a trial, Henry definitely said something about not being tried by “a jury of our peers.” What did he mean by that? Social class? Education? People who had to live with Bunny? There are definitely points at which some of them talk about not having any choice in the matter and having thought about every other possibility.
• Moral decay? Moral bankruptcy? Maybe? This ties in with not wanting to come clean and the whole “Above the law” mentality.
• The way Richard describes the other 5 classics kids as “citizens” of the great cultures they studied, and merely tourists in their own time, especially Henry. Some of that may have contributed to Henry’s justification for covering up the farmer’s death and murdering Bunny. I wonder if there’s some element of “The ancient Greeks thought about things like this, and modern Americans don’t get that, and that’s why we don’t have to be bothered by their laws / rules.”
• Henry’s obviously more complex relationship with Julian. The kiss on the cheek. “You must always do what is necessary.” Having a key to his office.
• Henry’s headaches.
• Henry, arguably the brightest, most talented, most devoted, & most cultured of the six is the only one (other than Richard) with a lackluster background (he’s from Missouri).
• Henry. Is. DEVIOUS. Way more than is actually ever spelled out. There’s sort of a progression to the way he’s shown to us – at first, he seems cold and inaccessible. Then, he starts to seem like the most genuine and accessible of the group. He’s a leader, proactive, seems to take care of his friends. Towards the end, though, he is gradually revealed as cold, calculating, manipulative, & ready to cut his friends loose at any moment to serve his own ends & take care of himself (which, of course, they never see coming). Part of the Greek culture mentality?

Oh, and one more–the title. The title of an artwork is important because it points to what is important. What is the significance of “The Secret History”? There are secrets being kept by pretty much everyone — that is obvious. But why history? Some tie-in with the fact that they study classics? Is Richard just kind of saying, “This is the secret history of what actually happened”? Who knows?

OK – So this is really going to be a very open and in-progress analysis rather than a polished final product. Like I said in the introduction, I really don’t know where to start, which is pretty much always the way with these sorts of things. So I’m going to start by just throwing out some observations & questions I have.

***Spoiler Alert*** If you plan on reading the book & don’t want it to be spoiled for you, you should stop reading this. Fair warning.

Things I noticed:

• Lots of references to death, before any deaths actually happen.
• Richard lying about his humble upbringing in order to fit in with the other classics kids. This may be a larger thematic point, or it may only serve as minor plot point intended to give Bunny something to hold over Richard’s head (similar to the twins’ incest & Francis’s homosexuality; though to be fair those things may also turn out to do a little more than simply forward the plot)
• LOTS of references to smoking / drug-taking / drinking / dunkenness
• A sense of entitlement / superiority on the part of the 5 other classics kids, especially Henry, i.e., “The rules don’t apply to us.” If a rule / law / etc. is inconvenient, they don’t mind ignoring it.
• Moral decay? Moral bankruptcy? Maybe?
• The way Richard describes the other 5 classics kids as “citizens” of the great cultures they studied, and merely tourists in their own time, especially Henry. Some of that may have contributed to Henry’s justification for covering up the farmer’s death and murdering Bunny.
• Henry’s obviously more complex relationship with Julian.
• Henry’s headaches.
• Henry, arguably the brightest, most talented, most devoted, & most cultured of the six is the only one (other than Richard) with a lackluster background (he’s from Missouri).
• Henry. Is. DEVIOUS. Way more than is actually ever spelled out. There’s sort of a progression to the way he’s shown to us – at first, he seems cold and inaccessible. Then, he starts to seem like the most genuine and accessible of the group. He’s a leader, proactive, seems to take care of his friends. Towards the end, though, he is gradually revealed as cold, calculating, manipulative, & ready to cut his friends loose at any moment to serve his own ends & take care of himself (which, of course, they never see coming).

Questions:

• Bunny knew about a) Richard’s lying about his background, b) the twins’ incest, & c) Francis’s homosexuality. They were all sensitive, private issues that he used to subtly (or, depending on how you look at it, not-so-subtly) pick at the others and that made it all that much easier for them to go along with Henry’s plan to murder Bunny. Did he have anything analogous on Henry? If not, that is quite, quite interesting, given Henry’s centrality to the plot.
• What is *up* with Camilla? At the beginning, Richard notes that she’s supposed to be Francis’s girlfriend. Then we find out that Francis is gay. Then we find out that Camilla’s been sleeping with her brother. Then we find out (or it’s implied, at least) that she’s been sleeping with Henry! Dude.
• When did Henry cease to be in control of the situation? How? Because of who?

I often think about things in terms of opportunity cost. And I guess that’s because there are so many things that I have wanted to do that have been mutually exclusive (at least in my perception). The fact is that I think there are many things I could have done, and could still do, that I would be quite happy doing.

One of those things is studying literature. It was my eleventh grade English teacher that really got me interested in books and reading, not in terms of recreation but in terms of scholarly reading – reading for meaning and clarity. At one point I actually considered in majoring in English or literature or something of that ilk, which I think I would have liked and been good at. Anyway, that was the first time I realized that one of the main ways that a piece of lit can be good is by having an interesting structure. It was the first time I ever had the sensation of reading something and thinking, “Wow. This is great, and I have no idea why!” That is, I knew why; but it is one thing to recognize that there is rich, complex structure at work, and another altogether to see what the structure is and why it works.

Hence analysis. [Disclaimer: Just as with music, I’m not saying that I think that academic analysis is always right, necessary, helpful, absolute, or by any stretch of the imagination the only way of accessing or understanding a literary work. Just that it can be useful in getting to the heart of a work, if that’s how you roll.] I thought I’d hate analyzing literary works but funnily enough I came to enjoy it and got a lot out of it. It was hard work, though, and I got used to that feeling (not every time, but often) upon reading a new book or story or poem or whatever: “Oh, man. There is so much here, and I don’t have an effing clue what it is!”

It’s been a long time since I read something for fun that gave me that feeling, but the book I just finished reading, The Secret History by Donna Tartt (1992, I think?), did. I can tell it’s rich and complex and well-structured, but I don’t know why yet. Not a clue. I’m going to try to has some of it out though, which may take a while but eh. I’m on summer vacay.

Hee hee; the day-job is over & I’m finally freeeeeee! At least relatively speaking. What this means is that I woke up at 10 today & stayed in bed for another 3 hours reading & drinking root beer, without feeling the slightest bit of pressure to Get Up and Do Something Productive.

Which brings me to the reason for this post. The book I’m reading is called The Secret History, by Donna Tartt, & though theoretically I’ve been reading it for like a week, it was only today that I’ve been able to make real progress on it. It’s one of the best fiction books I’ve read in a while, & as soon as I finish it I’m going to try & review it. Which, given my lack of obligations right now, could be as early as tomorrow.

Rock. On.

(c) 2002 - 2003 Seth White

http://www.sethwhite.org/palmer%20scenery.htm

What is it that is so alluring about the remote places of the world? I can’t decide whether it’s the scenery or the aloneness. Either way, it’s almost heartbreaking. He describes standing in the snow in Antarctica, watching a nearly-full moon rising over the glacier. “No wind, no machinery…nothing except the sound of our breath and footsteps.” Can you imagine?

I would go to Antarctica, if I had the chance.