The ending of Sag Harbor makes me think this novel isn't really a coming-of-age novel. He has learned something about his community and his place in it; that much is true. In that sense he has gained a clearer sense of his identity. He has realized that the passing of Sag Harbor from generation to generation is in fact a cycle. He has taken the place of someone of the previous generation. Some kid will eventually take Benji's place. But I don't think he has come of age. And I don't think this novel was meant to be a coming-of-age-novel. Not too much happens plot-wise. Most of the novel is giving the reader descriptions of Sag Harbor, the people in it, and the culture. It's like Whitehead wants to show us the essence of Sag Harbor. But through showing how Benji describes the essence of Sag Harbor, Whitehead is able to capture the teenage spirit in one summer. This book is really more like a memoir. Whitehead uses just one summer to convey his point. Just like Benji describes the essence of Sag Harbor, I think Whitehead is trying to show the essence of being a teenager. And he does that very well.
All the growing and adapting that Benji does over that summer doesn't culminate to a coming-of-age. Rather, it is an example of teenage life, as teenagers are always growing (mentally and physically) and as they become more aware of their surroundings they must change.
Because this novel's purpose is broader than a demonstration of coming-of-age, I think more people can relate to it. Teens can look at it and see similarities in their current life. Adults can read it and remember what it was like being a teenager. In some ways, this dynamic is similar to that between the adults and kids in Sag Harbor. Both groups are part of the same cycle. One group takes over one stage while the other group moves on to the next stage.
I agree. Sag Harbor belongs in a Memoirs of Teenage Years class rather than a Coming-of-Age Novel class because we don't see enough development in Benji. We do see the contrast between narrator Ben and character Benji, but it is all between the lines. There are better ways to slice the novel, such as Benji's struggle for self-identification between cultures, including Sag Harbor blacks, rich white schoolkids, and nerds.
ReplyDeleteIf we measure what counts as a CoA novel by whether the protagonist becomes a fully formed adult (whatever that is) by the end, then of course _Sag_ doesn't qualify (nor does _Catcher_ or _Bell Jar_ or _Housekeeping_ or _BSG_). It's a story about the complex back-and-forth process of coming of age, not an allegory of its completion. We see Benji struggling to navigate his identity, to find a way to "embrace the paradox." He makes some small steps in this direction (which is how I'd argue these things usually happen)--but how is a 15-year-olds "struggle for self-identification" (to use Evan's words) not relevant to the coming-of-age context?
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