Quarter 3 Post 1

My book for this quarter is titled The English Major by Jim Harrison. It is the story of a man who, after being left by his wife, takes off across the country on a state-by-state road trip. As he leaves each state, Cliff (the main character) tosses a puzzle piece of that state out the window, or leaves it behind in one way or another. Even though it's early on, I'm getting the feeling that these puzzle pieces, which are from a puzzle from Cliff's childhood, are a type of motif. As if the description of each one being tossed away is representative of Cliff's experiences in that state, or of what is yet to come. For example, when Cliff enters North Dakota he throws the Minnesota piece into a river (by the way, the Minnesota chapter was really not all that interesting and I was quite disappointed). This passage reads, "We stood on the bridge and waved good-bye to the Minnesota piece bobbing south on the roiling current" (25). The description of the agitated water signifies troubles that will soon come, presumably between the 'we,' which is Cliff and Marybelle. Marybelle is an old student of Cliff's (who used to be a teacher) that he has kept in touch with, and is now in a semi-relationship with. All troubles aside, the image of Cliff and Marybelle waving away the puzzle piece could show that they are letting go of their pasts in favor of a fresh future.

As I've only read about one fifth of the book, I can't quite pick out themes yet. However, some apparent topics are human loyalty, escapism and satisfaction with one's life. Human loyalty comes in through most of the characters. Cliff was left by his wife (Vivian) for another man, who she had already been seeing for a while. In a sort of rebound, Cliff sets off on his journey only to pick up Marybelle along they way. Marybelle has a husband, but enters a relationship with Cliff anyhow. Cliff, meanwhile, likes Marybelle's company most of the time, but still thinks about his ex-wife pretty often. It's like a slow-paced adult soap opera. Another thing I've noticed about this book is the writing style. Jim Harrison has a dry sense of humor, if you can even call it humor. It's more like the kind of thing where you acknowledge it's funniness (if that's a word...) but you don't really laugh at it. Also, he's very blunt and doesn't tiptoe around topics like sex and attraction or drinking. Instead, he'll discuss them easily, even in a train of thought that includes farming and his car. A quote that embodies basically everything in this paragraph can be found in the South Dakota chapter, when Cliff is reflecting on his relationship with Marybelle. He says, "I had been hardly paying attention to the varying landscape that I had counted on lifting my spirits after losing Vivian. Instead I had become "pussy blind" as young men call it" (36). Cliff acknowledges that he still thinks of Vivian although he is using Marybelle to distract himself, mostly through sex. In his straightforward and sometimes vulgar way, Harrison kind of reminds me of Charles Bukowski, although there isn't nearly as much swearing and harsh language as there is in Bukowski's work.

Harrison, Jim. The English Major. New York: Grove Press, 2008.