Zhao

Vincent Zhao
Jennifer Rodrick
Queer Studies 115
21 November 2016
A Single Identity
Life is challenging, especially when you must adapt to a hostile environment to ensure a
decent lifestyle. In Christopher Isherwoods novel, A Single Man, George had recently lost his
lover, Jim, to a car accident. The novel continues after the car accident and illustrates how
George copes with his new dreary life from day to day tasks to personal interactions. I believe
the novel was meant to teach the audience how to endure and cope with the hardships in life, to
live life to the fullest, and how to move on after someone has passed away.
As I stated previously, the novel begins with the premise of Jim taken away from
Georges life. George is in the process of recovery and contemplating suicide but knows that he
still has responsibilities to take care of. A method that George uses to cope with the death of Jim
is admiring the young looks and nature of college boys. One unexpected day, Kenny, a student of
George, asks if they can talk. Kenny springs up on him because he is curious about his professor.
Kenny bluntly asks George, Did you ever take mescaline, sir? (79). George answers truthfully
and says yes. George goes on to state the effects because Kenny is curious. Kenny wants to
personally try the drugs out because he states that one of Lois friends claimed to have seen God.
Kenny then goes on to state that if George had seen God, he probably would not have told
Kenny. George asks why he would say such a thing and Kenny replies, Its what Lois says. She
thinks youre-well, kind of cagey. (79). The conversation continues until they both reach
Kennys destination, the bookstore. Kenny planned to buy a pencil sharpener and ended up

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buying one for George because he enjoyed the talk they had together. I believe that this
unexpected conversation becomes an important one for George because for the first time since
Jims death, he has not had the chance to have a nice talk with anyone. However, George does
not realize how important this little conversation and pencil sharpener are until he becomes
infatuated with Kenny. The fact that Kenny wanted to talk to George and bought him an item
also allowed a little foreshadowing from the audiences perspective because no gesture in a novel
ever goes undone. The novel conveys that George is coping with Jims death by interacting with
the people around him. A little talk from a student or a friend can go a long way, especially if it
makes them stray from the path of suicide. I sense that George wants to reconnect with the world
after the world had severed his ties with Jim.
The initial conversation between Kenny and George sparked each others interest even
more. After dinner and a little drinking at Charleys house, George felt the need to go home.
However, he did not take his own advice and arrived at a bar that he and Jim used to frequent,
The Starboard Side. In the bar, George sat down at a table when he noticed a familiar figure at
the counter, Kenny Potter. When Kenny was approached by George, he burst out laughing
because he was there because of the professor. Kenny had explained that he wanted to see where
George hung out all the time. The pair order a scotch and move to a table to have a little more
privacy. Once the two sit down, George brings out the pencil sharpener from their last encounter.
Kenny laughs and said that he lost his already. As one thing leads to another, the
student/professor duo decide to take to the streets and skinny dip. George goes in and describes a
relieving effect because he feels like hes being purified by the water. The experience and thrill
that George felt in the water was a sort of wake-up call. It can also be portrayed as new
beginning in his life, the life without Jim. He realized that he could still have fun and live his life

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but at the time, he did not realize that he was finally living his life without Jim. It can be
proposed that George had gotten over Jim because of the intimacy shared between Kenny and
George. George finally managed to free himself from his sorrow and transferred his other
feelings towards Kenny. However, Kenny did not understand Georges motives and that created a
break in their supposed intimacy stated by George. Once the skinny dipping was finished,
George offered to let Kenny stay overnight. At this point, George was trying to open himself on a
deeper level but Kenny was not. George tried to initiate intimate moments between him and
Kenny but Kenny did not get the hint. Eventually, George drank so much that Kenny put him to
bed and left for the night. Kenny left a note about the night for George and it was plain obvious
that Kenny was not interested in the way that George was interested in Kenny. Georges mindset
in this scene is similar to Charleys mindset in the aspect that they both think they can change a
persons sexual orientation through implicit actions or just a good ol kiss. This scene may be
interpreted as a comparison between George and Charley sharing their trait of loneliness
throughout the novel and their need for companionship, or even love. "If you obey all the rules,
you miss all the fun" (Santovec). This quote relates to George and Kenny because most students
do not accompany their professor in a bar. The situation was different because George, in a
sense, broke the student/professor relation rules and connected on a personal level. He prioritized
his recovery and well-being over silly rules that would prevent him from having fun with Kenny.
All the interactions George had following Jims death were all a step on his road to
recovery. He was able to slowly step out of his period of mourning each day because small
gestures such as eyeing a hot boy or having a talk may have prevented his thoughts of suicide.
(The Little Things Matter) This video is relevant because the man in the video does little gestures
each day and the video emphasizes how each little gesture made a big difference. Georges little

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steps became bigger steps and it allowed him to express his feelings with one of his closest
friends and have a glimpse of love after Jims passing. All these factors contributed to Georges
recovery because by the time the novel was finished, George had died a happy man, the kind of
man that had gotten over his significant others death and the man that had possibly experienced
love and companionship once more before his passing. He falls asleep, still smiling (181). This
narration was stated moments before George fell asleep and succumbed to a heart attack.
Although death is not seen as happy occasion, George was happy before his death and that may
possibly be the best way to move on because the last memory will be a blissful one. During his
last moments, it was pointed out that George didnt mention Jim a single time so it can be
implied that he has finally gotten over Jims death in his own final moments. This may not be the
ideal way to move on from a loved one but he was still able to regardless.

To summarize, I have come to understand that the novel was meant to be a lesson of
sorts. I believe that it was meant to help people push through problems in life because something
good will come along eventually. The story narrates how George goes about his day and his daily
routine and how he deals with his problems, whether it be a frustrating moment or a lonely night.
He became happier throughout the novel when he was accompanied by Kenny Potter. George
had fun with Kenny and did not regret a moment because it was important on his road to
recovery. As a result, George finished his mourning for his life partner and died a happy camper.
The novel was able to create realistic situations, possible solutions, and a happy resolution for
the audience to read through.

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Works Cited
Isherwood, Christopher. A Single Man. , 1964. Print.
Ruml, Mark F. "Coping with Death." Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses, 45.3 (2016): 292308.
Santovec, Mary Lou. "Life is Long: Work Hard, Take Risks, Have Fun." Women in Higher
Education, 22.1 (2013): 1-2.
thailifechannel. "Unsung Hero" (Official HD) : TVC Thai Life Insurance 2014 :

2557. Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 3 Apr. 2014. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.