Protagonists in Two Stories

This study will compare and contrast the young protagonists in Neil Bartlett's Ready to Catch Him Should He Fall and Edmund White's A Boy's Own Story. The study will consider the growth of the two characters, the realism of their experiences, and the roles their lovers play in their growth.

The process of growth portrayed in White's book is far more sophisticated, profound and realistic than that portrayed in Bartlett's book. This is due to the greater sophistication of the writing in White, to the fact that the protagonist in White is himself a more profound thinker and observer of psychological and emotional states and details, and because in White we are allowed to see more of the internal workings of the protagonist through the first-person perspective. Bartlett's story is by far the more romantic of the two stories. To fairly assess the two books, however, we should keep in mind that the authors have quite different goals in mind: White is trying to show the reader the subtleties of the protagonist's growth process, while Bartlett is trying to paint a broader, more romanticized, and more tragic version of homosexual love.

From beginning to end of White's story, the young protagonist displays a fine mind for the kind of details which allow the reader to feel as if he knows the character well. He describes sex-related events in such a way that the his sexuality is seen as only a part---though a powerful part---of his entire experience and growth. For example, the boy and

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change---which may be a kind of growth---is that Boy and his lovers are worn down by the violence, disappointment and tragedies in and around their lives. Boy's lovers, despite their ages, seem to be as stunted emotionally, psychologically, spiritually and sexually as Boy himself. We are made privy to the life and sexuality of gay men, but we do not come to know these men or boys as individual characters with unique traits and minds. Without such knowledge, it is difficult to see or appreciate the growth that Boy or any of his lovers and friends experience. Edmund White, on the other hand, offers the reader a far more fulfilling experience, both in terms of the quality of his writing and the realistic nature of the portrayal of the protagonist and his growth process. Moving directly from Bartlett to White, this reader feels as if he had moved from a dark, murky pond into clear daylight. Almost any sentence from White tells us more about his protagonist's mind and emotions and character than the entire book by Bartlett tells us about Boy. Without such knowledge of a character, it is difficult to perceive or assess the changes and growth that that character experiences. For example, we read the final pages of Bartlett and are left

Category: Literature - P