When I was about 20, I submitted a paper arguing that Humbert Humbert was the protagonist in Lolita. I could still defend this argument - and would - not because I am a fan of Humbert nor that I was a victim of abuse, but because Nabokov WROTE him as the protagonist. Whether Nabokov himself was a predator, or that he was sexually abused (I believe I read that he was - which would lend to the creation of a protagonist abuser if he never got help), there is plenty of evidence in the novel that paints Humbert as the protagonist. I wish I still had that paper - I got an A.
The beginning of your post reads a bit like the angry generalizing women you speak of. There is certainly a subsect of women who publically rant about weak men and fucked up male writers from days of yore, but you leaned a little bit into some generalizations yourself. We aren't all like that. Also, I know several men who, after reading On The Road, took to it themselves. I think it's a good thing to do. One guy, a high school super jock I graduated with, ended up writing several books afterward. Not sure what he's doing now, but he does make mention of me in Chapter 1 of his first book.
Nice! And yeah you're not wrong: I did get into a bit of an angry rant. I just get frustrated that it's now acceptable for some women (I see it quite a lot actually, on both Medium and Substack) to blatantly bash men. Add in the white-bashing and I just feel like, Enough. There's going to be such a hardcore backlash to all of this, the past decade of reactionary movements, and I think that backlash will get ugly; I don't want that either. I just feel like, at a certain point, for my own integrity and self-respect, I have to speak up. That's very cool about your friend!
It's a fair response to a lot of the angry drivel writing about men of late. And I also understand women getting angry about some accepted behaviors that have gone unnoticed for so long they've become normalized. A lot of men simply don't see what women have been tucking away, letting slide, for...ever. And it's not overt shit you'd find on stats or polls, it's little things that many men are comfortable saying or doing that they 100% would not if they were saying/doing to another man. It pisses women off. And I get it. And I get your anger, too. The male-bashing does zero to change the climate, just adds to outrage, and most importantly it's largely untrue.
Great stuff! I had a sideways entree into discovering Kerouac. I saw a late night showing of The Subterraneans (George Peppard, Leslie Caron) on TV, which led me to the book. He was my literary hero throughout my adolescence. I first read Dharma Bums as a teenager, having recently begun using drugs and alcohol and loved all the accounts of the partying and revelry. The second time I read the book was in my 30’s, newly sober and loved all the accounts of the spiritual seeking. I agree, he’s not a great writer per se, definitely an acquired taste. What’s always stood out and resonated for me is his passion and aliveness of his lived experiences that jump off the page
When I was about 20, I submitted a paper arguing that Humbert Humbert was the protagonist in Lolita. I could still defend this argument - and would - not because I am a fan of Humbert nor that I was a victim of abuse, but because Nabokov WROTE him as the protagonist. Whether Nabokov himself was a predator, or that he was sexually abused (I believe I read that he was - which would lend to the creation of a protagonist abuser if he never got help), there is plenty of evidence in the novel that paints Humbert as the protagonist. I wish I still had that paper - I got an A.
The beginning of your post reads a bit like the angry generalizing women you speak of. There is certainly a subsect of women who publically rant about weak men and fucked up male writers from days of yore, but you leaned a little bit into some generalizations yourself. We aren't all like that. Also, I know several men who, after reading On The Road, took to it themselves. I think it's a good thing to do. One guy, a high school super jock I graduated with, ended up writing several books afterward. Not sure what he's doing now, but he does make mention of me in Chapter 1 of his first book.
Nice! And yeah you're not wrong: I did get into a bit of an angry rant. I just get frustrated that it's now acceptable for some women (I see it quite a lot actually, on both Medium and Substack) to blatantly bash men. Add in the white-bashing and I just feel like, Enough. There's going to be such a hardcore backlash to all of this, the past decade of reactionary movements, and I think that backlash will get ugly; I don't want that either. I just feel like, at a certain point, for my own integrity and self-respect, I have to speak up. That's very cool about your friend!
It's a fair response to a lot of the angry drivel writing about men of late. And I also understand women getting angry about some accepted behaviors that have gone unnoticed for so long they've become normalized. A lot of men simply don't see what women have been tucking away, letting slide, for...ever. And it's not overt shit you'd find on stats or polls, it's little things that many men are comfortable saying or doing that they 100% would not if they were saying/doing to another man. It pisses women off. And I get it. And I get your anger, too. The male-bashing does zero to change the climate, just adds to outrage, and most importantly it's largely untrue.
Wonderfully said. I totally accept that. I don't know what it's like to be a woman.
Great stuff! I had a sideways entree into discovering Kerouac. I saw a late night showing of The Subterraneans (George Peppard, Leslie Caron) on TV, which led me to the book. He was my literary hero throughout my adolescence. I first read Dharma Bums as a teenager, having recently begun using drugs and alcohol and loved all the accounts of the partying and revelry. The second time I read the book was in my 30’s, newly sober and loved all the accounts of the spiritual seeking. I agree, he’s not a great writer per se, definitely an acquired taste. What’s always stood out and resonated for me is his passion and aliveness of his lived experiences that jump off the page
Yes!!!! 🙌 Fellow Sober Kerouac Lover ✌️✌️