(The Mezzanine) Howie's Child-Adult Duality
Howie's Child-Adult Duality
Howie exhibits traits of both a child and an adult in The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker, showcasing both maturity and immaturity at times. On page 8, Howie first reveals his self-consciousness as he talks about his present childish habits, saying, "I liked other people to see me as a guy in a tie yet carefree and casual enough to be doing what kids do when they drag a stick over the black uprights of a cast-iron fence. I especially liked doing one thing: I liked walking past a parking meter so close that it seemed as if my hand would slam into it, and at the last minute lifting my arm out just enough so that the meter passed underneath my armpit" (Baker 8). In this quote, Howie describes his parking meter and arm flailing habits that persist today, highlighting immature actions he still does. He also prefers to complete these childish acts publicly because he "liked other people to see [him] as a guy in a tie yet carefree and casual enough to be doing what kids do." Through this self-conscious motivation, Howie publicly displays his immature games with parking meters; his childish expression enabled by his self-consciousness.
Howie shows other instances of immaturity throughout The Mezzanine. On page 83, Howie dies from laughter as his fart interrupts his co-workers' bathroom conversation, narrating, "Unfortunately, the grotesque intrusion of my fart struck me as funny, and I sat on the toilet containing my laughter with the back of my palate—this pressure of containment forced a further, smaller fart. Silently I pounded my knee, squinting and maroon-colored from suppressed hysteria" (Baker 83). In this quote, Howie laughs intensely at his fart, expressing immaturity. However, he also suppresses his laughter, likely out of self-consciousness and an effort to conceal his immaturity. Unlike his public parking meter shenanigans, Howie keeps this instance of fart immaturity to himself (I would too as it may disgust others); his childish expression restricted by his self-consciousness.
Despite his immature actions, Howie also seems mature and diligent. Without mature and diligent qualities, he could not persist and continue his boring office worker job. Without maturity and discipline, Howie could not live independently, yet he shows us that he is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. Thus, we can conclude that Howie is not a man-child but exhibits this child-adult duality, allowing him to show a fun-yet-responsible-guy persona to the public. He does not show all his childlike qualities though. He conceals the overly immature and amusing parts to himself while portraying a persona that he wants other people to believe is his true self. As a result, Howie does not seen to be truly intimate with anyone except L. and us readers. Perhaps, this unique intimacy is Baker's strategy to engage the reader and keep us hooked; Howie even seems to directly address us at times using metanarrative. Nevertheless, Howie's childish and adult qualities convey a lot about his character and intimate relationships, and may explain his wild yet mundane digressions as well.
- Max Bolton
I think that the immaturity is true but the blog post lacks a lot about the maturity and adultness. Although the idea in this blog post I find quite Agreeable.
ReplyDeleteI think your examples are really illustrative of the point you make in this post. It's interesting to see how different sides of Howie present themselves to us as the book progresses. The parking meter passage comes earlier in the book while the other passages come later, revealing Howie's complexity. This is an important aspect of Howie's character.
ReplyDeleteHowie's childlike behavior is a commentary on the child within us all. His pure, starry-eyed fascination with everyday objects and his sense of accomplishment when tying his shoes properly is what you'd expect from a toddler or young child. There's a strong contrast between Howie's childish inner self and the mature, fast-paced world he's forced to be a part of. I think you made a good point about giving readers a sense of "intimacy", but I also think it's worth mentioning that the child inside Howie is what makes him special. The fact that he hasn't lost the curiosity and fascination with the world that he had as a child is what keeps him from becoming as banal and gray as the rest of his coworkers.
ReplyDeleteHey, nice post, Max! The points you made about how childish some of Howie's thoughts can be are very interesting. I feel like all of us, at one point or another, have thoughts that can be tied up to thoughts to that of a child. Speaking of those kinds of thoughts, he does flash back to his childhood a lot, which I see myself doing a lot, too. We all go through certain things in our day-to-day lives that can remind us about things that happen in the past; not just in our childhood, but in our past in general. Once again, nice blog post.
ReplyDeleteI suppose I am glad that someone cited the scene in which Howie is doubled over on the toilet, bursting with the urge to laugh after farting audibly and causing an awkward pause in the conversation he's pretending not to overhear--it sure is a good example of his somewhat juvenile sense of humor! His descriptions of the corporate restroom often evoke elementary school for me--that period where we're all learning how to navigate the exigencies of the public restroom every day. But also a setting where fart jokes abound.
ReplyDeleteThe passage you cite, where Baker admits to "wanting to be seen by others" as a carefree kind of adult, both represents his "childlike" side AND is distinctively adult in its self-consciousness. I would suggest that the kid who likes to move his arms around the parking meters as he walks down the street generally does so unself-consciously--he might not even be aware he's doing it, and he's certainly not doing it for any "reason," or because he wants to be seen as a carefree kind of kid. Baker captures here the unavoidable paradox of being an adult (inhabiting an adult body, dressing like the cultural definition of an adult, having an adult kind of job, renting an apartment), when you still feel deeply connected to the kid you once were. It seems like a *good* thing to hold on to some aspect of that "inner child," pop psychology teaches us--and yet we try so hard to act like we're not really just confused and awkward kids doing our best to play-act as grown-ups.
And yet, complicating the picture further, Howie DOES seem genuinely kid-like in lots of ways: he is supremely unworried about seemingly any significant aspect of his job, his finances, his romantic life. He does seem "happy-go-lucky." He is easily distracted. He makes goofy jokes to himself, and still finds a badly timed fart to be uproariously funny. And I would say that his general lack of "seriousness" is what makes this book so fun to read--I don't know that I'd like to be privy to the private thoughts and associations of a super-serious fully mature grown-up working in Howie's job. I probably wouldn't find it as "interesting" as his discourse on escalator etiquette.
Nice post Max! I found your examples to be excellent support to your claims. I truly appreciate how you gave examples from throughout the novel to show how this is an issue Howie consistently grapples with. It seems to me that Howie wants the world to perceive him as “normal,” approachable, and somewhat childlike, despite his insistence on being a grown up with “grown up thoughts.” I liked how you highlighted his more ‘kid-like’ aspects and made the distinction between him having a kid-adult duality rather than being a man-child.
ReplyDeleteNice post! You gave clear examples that portrayed the idea that Howie can be immature at times. I also like thoughts about how Howie also has the necessary qualities in order to be an adult in the work place.
ReplyDeleteHis childish behavior is certainly unique and is part of what makes the book interesting. On one hand, I kind of envy the way he acts as a child. I think that must be part of why he seems so untroubled by literally everything else to the point all he has to worry about is how to tie his shoes in VERY specific detail. As a child, I had very similar fixations such as obsessing over how to hold my pencil.
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