During June, I finished:
- The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
- Lord of the Flies, William Golding*
- The Call of the Wild, Jack London
- Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison
- The Naked and the Dead, Norman Mailer*
Common Themes in a Diverse Selection of Books
Although I picked these books as randomly as possible, I noticed some common themes in them. The Catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Flies, Invisible Man, and The Naked and the Dead are all, to some extent, about young men confronted with a reality that they did not expect.
Holden gets abandoned by his mother and father, who ship him to boarding schools after his younger brother dies.
All of the children in Lord of the Flies face madness, responsibility, tribalism, threats of death, and actual death in a few cases.
The soldiers in The Naked and the Dead have been thrust into a war that has nothing to do with them. They spend most days sweating in intense heat. At night, the huddle against each other for warmth in chilling rain. Like Lord of the Flies, there’s also the responsibility, tribalism, madness, and just loads upon loads of death.
Invisible Man, I think, is primarily about change. The book’s beauty comes from Ellison’s uses every opportunity to add a new voice. You get the voice of a young black man in college; the voice of that same man as he struggles to make his way in Harlem; yet another voice from that man as he finds authority; and another voice from the man once he embraces his invisibility. He couldn’t have anticipated any of the events that happen to him, but he adjusts to the changing realities as they come.
Let’s Add the Dog, Too, Because He Deserves It
If you accept Buck as a young man instead of a dog, then you can find the same themes in Call of the Wild. I can’t imagine denying that Buck has the same level of consciousness as humans. London gives Buck such a wonderful capacity for thought, cunning, strength, and emotion that you could easily mistake the narrative as one from a person.
On to Month Three
I don’t plan to write much here about the books I read, but I will comment on some things that strike me. What I mean to say is that you shouldn’t expect any book reports from me. Then again, I don’t want post lists without any context or content.
Seeing as how we’re already a week into July, I’ve started month three’s books. So far, I’ve finished 1984 and piked up The Age of Innocense and Women in Love. More on that in a few weeks.
Until then, keep reading.
*Indicates the first time I’ve read the book.
Matthew Allen Thompson 