Julia Casiano

Rodrick
Queer Studies 115
11/20/16
Georges Identity

Everyone has their own identity, and the process on how ones identity is expressed is
solely up to the person. In the book, A Single Man, written by Christopher Isherwood is told in
the point of view of George, and it shows his actions and interactions of the day. George, the
main character, correlates with the struggles that LGBTQ community members face everyday.
Georges struggles are shown through his isolation, the roles he plays, and the fact that no one
truly knows him.
As stated above, isolation is a huge role in Georges life. Georges significant other died
unexpectedly in a car crash, and the current home George lives in is one that they both picked
together. Their home is a constant reminder that George is alone, and the houses location even
sets him further in seclusion. The houses location is best summed up by the author when he
says, They loved it because you could only get to it by the bridge across the creek; the
surrounding trees and the steep bushy cliff behind shut it in like a house in a forest
clearing,(Isherwood 20). Even when Jim (Georges significant other) was alive, they craved
isolation. I believe they did this because back in their time, the 1960s, to be anything other than
heterosexual was looked down upon, and the unspoken rule, was if not asked do not say. This
can also be found in the world today but in a different way. Morgana Bailey spoke in a Ted Talk
about how she had changed in her semester abroad and how that changed her outward
personality; she realized she was a lesbian. Morgana Bailey also isolated herself in the way

George did. However, when she did, it was because she did not want to stand out or be different.
She did not want her sexual preference to be the reason people saw her differently.This exact line
from her ted talk on her situation best describes how she felt: I became the opposite of who I
thought I once was. I stayed in my room instead of socializing. I stopped engaging in clubs and
leadership activities. I didn't want to stand out in the crowd anymore, (Bailey 0:45). The way
she had isolated herself was less of a physical thing and more of a social thing. George isolated
himself physically as well as socially; this is seen when Charley, his best friend, invites him over
and he declines. Another example is when his coworker Grant asks him to join him for a rally,
Various other times, in the same half-serious tone, Grant has suggested that they go and heckle a
John Birch Society meeting, smoke pot in Watts with the best unknown poet in America, meet
someone high up in the Black Muslim movement, (Isherwood 86). Therefore, not once but on
multiple occasions George neglects to go places with his fellow coworkers and even his friends.
Along the same lines of isolation, George also plays different roles in his daily life.
George acts as a professor, friend, colleague, and his personal depression which is seen through
his thoughts. In the beginning of the book George even takes himself out of the physical aspect
of being himself; like a lucid dream. The last few lines of the first section of the book are, It
knows its name. It is called George, (Isherwood 11). This means that every day, he needs to
make sure he feels as though he is truly person before starting his day. He does not just wake up
as George, but rather he has to prepare to be a person. At work he states many times that he
forces a smile and feels obligated to give kind remarks to everyone that he is supposed to be kind
to. I am not the only one who states that he takes himself out of the community in which he lives
in, and that this trait correlates with the struggle of queer identities. In an article by Octavio R.
Gonzalez, he discusses many of Isherwoods works and how they correlate with the LGBTQ

community,as well as how Isherwoods work should be seen as great readings for the queer
community. In the article, Gonzalez states, Another register of queer impersonality is the escape
from the personal, as opposed to the cultural, self, (Gonzalez). This quote just further explains
that members of the LGBTQ community do try to take their true selves out of situations because
they fear being in the moment. I think his ever changing role relates to the fact that Jim did die
suddenly, and without him, George does not know how to go on. Instead he just puts on a face
and continues his days the same.
Due to his isolation and his ever changing roles, no one truly knows the real George.
However, later in the book, it is hinted that Charley may know him a bit more than most. This is
expressed in the following situation: And then, at least five minute later George had put down
the phone, when the first shock wave hit, when the meaningless news suddenly meant exactly
what it said, his blundering gasping run up the hill in the dark, his bling stumbling on the steps,
banging at Charleys door, crying blubbering howling on her shoulder, in her lap, all over
her,(Isherwood 126). When he needed support, he ran to Charley, who is his oldest and closest
friend. However, before that moment everyone else, did not really know the true George or even
the fact that George was with Jim. This aspect of Georges personality is also found in everyday
life when members of the LGBTQ community decide to not tell their loved ones how they are
feeling because they are afraid of rejection. In regards to rejection, I believe both George and
members of the LGBTQ community should not be afraid of it because then they are neglecting
who they truly are. I am not the only person to agree with this. James Berg wrote an article all
about Isherwood and his many books and even his life. In the article, this is what Berg had to say
about this book: For nearly the first time in American or English literature, the character's
homosexuality is not presented as either a psychological problem or a criminal tendency. It is just

who George is, and this is what makes A Single Man revolutionary as a novel, (Berg). Berg and
I both agree that Georges sexuality does not effect the man that George is, but that still does not
change the fact that George is not comfortable sharing his true self with everyone.
To conclude, in the book A Single Man, written by Christopher Isherwood, George is
struggling with the death of a loved one while trying to live his daily life. The book introduces
his co-workers, his best friend, and possible another lover. However, throughout the book,
George isolates himself. This is also seen in the lives of many of the members of the LGBTQ
communitys. He does this by physical isolation, playing different roles in his daily life, and not
letting anyone know who he truly is. I believe everyone should express their own identity and be
who they truly are.

Work cited
Bailey, Morgana. The Danger of Hiding Who You Are. Morgana Bailey:. Ted Talk, Nov.
2014. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
Berg, James. "Revolution of a Single Man: Christopher Isherwood at 100." Lambda Book
Report, 13.1/2 (2004): 10-11.
Gonzalez, Octavio R. "Isherwood's Impersonality: Ascetic Self-divestiture and Queer
Relationality in 'A Single Man.'." Modern Fiction Studies, 59.4 (2013): 758-783.
Isherwood, Christopher. A Single Man. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota, 2001. Print.