Chapter 18 & 19; Final post

When Garp and his family begin to accept the loss of their loved ones they then deal with what was left to them; namely, Dog’s Head Harbor.  They decide to keep Jenny’s refuge for women running, naming it ‘The Jenny Fields Foundation’.  Along with running the foundation Garp decides to take up Ernie’s position as wrestling coach at Steering Academy, and Helen accepts a teaching position.  These chapters mostly describe the general lives of Garp, Helen, Roberta, Ellen, and Duncan.  Garp would run often, Roberta would sometimes join him.  One day while running an Ellen Jamesian tried to kill him, a hit and run attempt.  Garp was lucky enough to dodge this.  He then changed.  Garp began writing again.  He and John Wolf re-published The Pension Grillparzer with pictures painted by Duncan.  Garp seemed to be happier, as though he realized his mortality and this cheered him up.  When I read this it reminded me of The Life of Pi, because just like Pi, Garp seemed happier when he realized his mortality.

            Garp’s life was a good one until one day at wrestling practice.  A woman in a nurse uniform walked into the wrestling room, drew a gun, and shot Garp.  Garp died before they could move him from the wrestling room.  The book is a summary of the lives of everyone Garp knew; they all ended in death, mostly very sad deaths.  It would seem that this is a fitting ending, seeing how death was such a huge part of his life.  The book is ironic in that way; death is a part of life.  And so, the book ends, in a very fitting statement: “In the world according to Garp, we are all terminal cases.”

Chapter 16 & 17

Two events happen in the beginning of these chapters: Helen gives birth to a baby girl, Jenny Garp, and Garp decides he wants to publish the book.  His editor, John Wolf, reluctantly agrees to publish it, but because he knows how controversial the book will be, he suggests the Garps leave the country for a few months.  He does so.  At this point in the book, controversy has become a huge theme.  Almost everything Garp does is controversial.  Garp’s family goes to Vienna, where Garp spent his early life.  It is while he is here that he receives a phone call from Roberta Mouldoon; his mother has been assassinated.  Garp catches the first flight home.  It is odd to see that a child who was so serious and showed little emotion now has a life filled with nothing but emotion.  This theme of emotion continues when Garp finds out he cannot even go to his mothers funeral.  The reason being that Jenny’s is to be “a feminist funeral”, which infuriates Garp.

            Garp feels it is his right to go to his mothers funeral, so he decides to go, regardless of what kind of funeral it is.  Roberta, however, convinces him to go in disguise.  While at his mothers funeral he is discovered, by his childhood friend’s little sister, Bainbridge ‘Pooh’ Percy.  When she points him out there is an uproar, and the women immediately force him out of the funeral rather violently.  Garp, very angrily, leaves the funeral, only to be greeted on his plane home by the Ellen James.  It is ironic that a man who hates the society built around her could be so supportive of the real person.  Garp essentially adopts Ellen (who is now 19 years old), and invites her to come stay with his family.  However when Garp arrives home he does not find his wife waiting for him, but Dean Bodger, his mothers old friend.  He tells her that Ernie Holms, Helen’s father, had died only days earlier.

            It seems that death is now one of the biggest themes in the novel.  Garp has now experienced the death of his son, his mother, his father-in-law, and his favorite teacher, Mr. Tinch.  Garp’s life seems dismal.

Chapter 14 & 15

This chapter begins in a similar way to the book.  Jenny Fields becomes a nurse once again.  Garp’s car crashed into Michael Milton’s car which was parked in the driveway.  Irving describes the injuries: Duncan loses his right eye, Garp breaks his jaw, Michael loses ¾ of his penis only to get the remaining ¼ amputated, Helen breaks her collar bone and needs stitches in her tongue.  The chapter continues describing the recovery of family under the watch of Jenny fields at Dog’s Head Harbor.  However the reader gets a sense of loss.  It feels as though something is missing from the book.  The reader ultimately realizes that Irving has not mentioned Garp’s youngest son since the crash.  Eventually the reader realizes; Walt died in the crash.  Again Irving communicates emotion very expertly, making the reader feel upset over this loss.

            The family recovers at Dog’s Head Harbor, his mother’s refuge for damaged women.  The irony of Garp’s injury is realized while he is here; he is now just like those who he despises: the Ellen Jamesians.  Because he broke his jaw, he cannot speak, so he must communicate through notes.  While at Dog’s Head Harbor it is not only physical healing, but emotional.  Garp and Helen would barely speak after the crash.  They would not even sleep in the same room.  It takes some time before they recover from this, and they decide to have another child.

            Garp feels that to completely forgive Helen he must write.  Garp feels such turmoil during this time though, and it is reflected in his writing.  Garp writes “The World According to Bensenhaver”, which is truly a disgusting story.  The novel is about a woman who gets raped.  This woman kills her rapist and in order to feel safe, hires the man who found her after her rape to protect her.  However, her protector goes senile and kills her husband while she is having an affair.  The story is truly disturbing, and shows that Garp is having some disturbing thoughts during this time.

Chapter 12 & 13

In these chapters the theme of lust is accentuated through a character other than Garp.  In these chapters it is Helen who feels lust for a man other than Garp.  Helen is attracted to one of her students, Michael Milton, whom is very “popular” with the girls at his university.  Helen goes so far as to sleep with Michael, cheating on Garp.  Helen tries to rationalize what she is doing.  She tells Michael that she loves Garp, and would never do anything to hurt him, so he can’t find out.  This is how she makes it all better; “he can’t find out”.  It is a terrible justification for her actions, and as a reader I felt infuriated.  When conversing with other who have read the book they too express how infuriating this point in the book is.  As an author, John Irving has done an excellent job of communicating emotion to the reader.

Helen begins to feel guilt when she is with Garp, but Garp is so obsessed with his writing he barely notices.  It is only when one of Michael’s other lovers comes to Garp with a note explaining that his wife is “involved with Michael Milton” (Irving, 348) that Garp realizes what is happening.  Garp feels very hurt by this, and decides to take the children to the movies while Helen calls Michael, to tell him that they cannot see each other any more.  However while Garp is gone, Michael comes to the house to try and convince Helen otherwise.  Michael begins to get his way.  Helen comes out to Michael’s car which is parked in Garp’s driveway.  Helen begins to have oral sex with Michael, but Garp is on his way home.  The chapter ends ominously.  As Garp is coming up the driveway he cuts the engine and the lights and drifts up the driveway.  This entertains the children, however, it is night and Garp does not know there is anyone else in the driveway.  The chapter ends on a crash course.

Chapter 9, 10, & 11

It is during these chapters that Garp shows how very abnormal he is.  Garp and Helen’s roles are reversed compared to the average couple.  Not including the support of Jenny, Garp’s wife Helen is the bread-winner of the family and Garp is the housewife.  These chapters make the point of showing the role reversal between the two.  Garp does the shopping, cooking, cleaning, looks after the children, and carries out other miscellaneous jobs around the house.  Garp delegates where and when his children can go out and in this chapter he allows his son Duncan to go to his friend Ralph’s house.  Garp, however feels uneasy when he meets Ralph’s mother how was speeding past his house.  She has a breakdown when Garp catches her and Garp feels quite nervous about letting his son stay the night at Ralph’s house.  These chapters start to show Garp’s protective nature.  While Duncan is at Ralph’s house Garp tries to overcompensate by watching Walt from the minute he falls asleep.  Garp’s protective instincts eventually get the better of him and he decides to go to Ralph’s house to check on Duncan.  After a minor confrontation with a naked young man found in Mrs. Ralph’s room, Mrs. Ralph once again breaks down and she then tries to seduce Garp.  The topic of sex and lust is reintroduced in this way.  Garp, however, shows great personal growth when he finds himself attracted to Mrs. Ralph but still rejects her proposal.  He then gets Duncan and carries him home.

Chapter 7 & 8

            Chapter 7 begins with the marriage of Garp and Helen.  Garp moves back to America where he and Jenny get there books published (Jenny’s A Sexual Suspect; the life story of Jenny Fields, and Garps The Pension Grillparzer).  The publication of A sexual Suspect made Jenny Fields a feminist leader.  Much of the following chapters deal with feminism, such as the introduction of the Ellen James Society (A group of women who cut out their tongues in support of a 5 year old girl who was raped and had her tongue cut out of her mouth), and of Roberta Mouldoon (A man who received a sex change to become a woman, and an ex-tight end of the Philadelphia Eagles).  Garp is unsupportive of the feminist movement but he does befriend Roberta Mouldoon. 

             Garp and Helen have two children, the older named Duncan and the younger named Walt.  While Helen is at work at the university where she teaches and Garp is out running errands or jogging they get a baby sitter.  This is when the topic of sex is re-introduced.  Garp sleeps with one of the baby sitters when he drives her home, which Helen does not find out about for a while.  Garp also sleeps with Helen’s best friend’s wife, and Helen sleeps with her co-worker from the university.  The story demonstrates how unfaithful lovers can be, and how weak the marital bond can be as well.

            The topic of sex is not only discussed in a positive way, but also in a negative way.  When the Ellen James society is introduced it introduces rape, and when Garp and Helen cheat on each other it introduces disloyalty in sex, and there is another time when rape is discussed.  When Garp is running through the park he comes across a young girl who is raped and saves her, then chases down the rapist.  Life According to Garp discusses sex in many regards and is a major topic discussed in the novel.

Chapter 5 & 6

After graduating from Steering Academy, Garp and his mother move to Vienna where Garp starts his writing career.  Before starting his writing Garp wants to tour around, but is unaccompanied by his mother, who, like Garp, has decided to start a career in writing.  While Garp is touring he makes his first true friend in Vienna; a hooker named Charlotte.  Again this is ironic that the son of a woman who is opposed to having sex has befriended a woman who has sex for a living.  This is when Garp begins to write.  He starts writing a short story called The Pension Grillparzer, but does not finish.  He does not finish because he does not want to force the story.  Garp shows more contrast with his mother by this.  As Jenny writes her novel she will not stop writing, where as Garp takes a break when he feels his quality of writing is jeopardized.

            The theme of sex is brought upon again when he sleeps with Charlotte, her coworkers, and some Americans who are touring Europe.  Comically, Garp catches gonorrhea from one of the Americans rather than one of the hookers.

            Garp is dealt an emotional blow when he finds that Charlotte is terminally ill.  He visits her every day until her death.  She left him with one final gift: two free “sessions” with her coworkers.  After this upsetting time Garp once again begins to write, finishing The Pension Grillparzer.