Independent Reading: The Moviegoer by Walker Percy

The Moviegoer
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The Moviegoer by Walker Percy
In life, people tend to go through various experiences, both challenging and trying in different measure. During such experiences, most people usually bank on belief, the trust that things will just work out for the better. Belief is the state in which one has faith in something with little or no reason at all as to why he or she does so. It’s also the act of having a positive attitude without necessarily seeing the action, having a strong inner conviction that something is indeed bound to work. For example, some people believe that there is a God who exists and yet there is nothing that can prove that the God’s existence. Belief and faith tend to be correlational. The faith that an individual usually has, is what helps to generate the belief, which in turn brings about hope. Others believe that when a person dies, he or she goes to live with the angels. Still, there is no living being who has any proof on the existence of angels, or even afterlife itself. In some cases, it might just be a creation of the movies. Walker Percy used the novel Moviegoer to try and generate interest among its audience towards the underlying fact that there is indeed a living God who is to be served and worshipped.
Initially, the book, which was his first novel, did not attract a lot of readers. As usual, it’s difficult to attract more readers in case the issues being discussed are philosophical, religious or both. Critics argued that the novel contained matters that are were grave, mysterious and hence tough to fathom, while his supporters believe it to be one of his finest works. The setting of the novel is ordinary as it talks about Binx Bolling, who is a realtor living in New Orleans. He is disassociated with his aunt Emily, and he tries everything to ensure that he looks for new signals so as to get a meaning of his day to day activities.
After reading Percy novel, it can be felt that all through his novel, God was using him to convey different messages of faith, belief and hope to the people, so that they can have faith in God. He writes about the things that happen in the daily lives of people, which most are signs from God that help people to strengthen their faith in Him. One excerpt of the novel is when Binx’s cousin, who is the stepdaughter of his aunt Emily, unsuccessfully attempts suicide. It’s after the unsuccessful suicide attempt, that she realizes life is a choice. With this scenario, Percy uses it to explain that no matter the challenges one faces in life, one should have faith that everything will be fine because it’s only God who can decide about one’s future and destiny.
Percy uses the element of humor to narrate the whole failed suicide attempt through the character of Binx’s cousin, by referring to the suicide as ex-suicide, which makes it have some humor. He says that the ex-suicide opens...