Sag Harbor is Perfect...Right?
Everything’s perfect in Sag Harbor. The community, the homes, everything. Except it isn’t. Summer is so idealized in this book, both by Benji and the other perennials of Sag. There’s also another problem: nobody talks about why it’s not perfect in Sag Harbor. The unspoken secrets people harbor just fester, leading to a facade of happiness in the summer, especially in Benji’s family. The names of people who ‘don’t come out anymore’ are whispered shamefully, and people close their windows to shut out the possibility of people seeing what their families are like when they think no one’s watching. Still, people go on pretending that summer heals all wounds, even though it doesn’t, at least not in Sag Harbor.
Benji’s familial relationships are a large focus of the novel, especially as the summer comes to an end. Ben tells us more about how his father abuses the rest of his family and everyone who isn’t on the attacking end turns a blind eye to cope. Benji often fears that other people will find out about this burden on his family, so he does what he can to hide it. He closes the window to make sure no one can hear the yelling, which is fueled by this desire to keep Sag Harbor a happy place. On page 227, Benji considers that he “could close the windows and try to contain it, but it was an Azurest Afternoon. Everyone was out” (Whitehead). He’s so afraid of people noticing something is amiss at his house, but he can’t do anything that will seem suspicious, especially considering the value of perfection and happiness in Sag Harbor. Any and all of his efforts to keep the inside from getting out stem from the island’s collective desire to keep up appearances, even if that means ignoring his father’s abuse.
While there are serious issues that are covered up in Sag Harbor, some issues only really affect people’s social relationships. The ‘people who don’t come out anymore’ are one example of how the social aspect of the town’s summer standards have affected people. They’ve left Sag Harbor prematurely or have developed circumstances that deem them unfit to live at Sag, all because of the pressure to be perfect. Of course, some of these families the novel mentions have had some serious problems, but a lot of the people, like Uncle Nelson, just aren’t welcome because they are made to feel like they don’t fit in (Whitehead 266). Sag Harbor’s identity as a warm and friendly beach town really contrasts how characters like Uncle Nelson have felt rejected by this specific community. To top it off, the fact that these people are so secretly talked about makes residents feel like they must be perfect in order to continue being accepted during their summer stays.
Work Cited:
Whitehead, Colson. Sag Harbor. Anchor Books, 2009.
Hi Citlali, great post. I like your point that because Sag Harbor is supposed to be this perfect summer, the environment ends up far worse than it could be. Instead of just letting things go as they should, people try to make everything perfect, and with such high expectations something is bound to go wrong. This effect feels similar to some holidays. In some people, for example, since Christmas is supposed to be so perfect, they end up making it way worse with high emotions and expectations.
ReplyDeleteHiya Citlali!! Secrecy was such an interesting aspect to so much of how Sag Harbor was maintained (I feel like it's idealistic qualities are incredibly important in making it appealing and the "perfect" way to spend summer.), and I'm glad you broke it down! Everybody tries to cover up Sag Harbor's faults in an attempt to keep it's reputation pristine, and it leads to a culture where people who don't live up to that same standard feel as though they don't belong. Great blog!!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this post, you did a great job unpacking the hidden tension beneath Sag Harbor’s picture-perfect surface. I liked how you connected Benji’s efforts to hide his family’s issues with the larger theme of maintaining appearances in the community. Your point about how even people like Uncle Nelson are quietly pushed out because they don’t “fit” was really sharp it really shows how much the town’s social pressure shapes who stays and who leaves. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Citlali! The way that everyone, especially Benji's family, seems to be performing and trying to keep up appearances so hard in Sag Harbor is really interesting. Even when he's faced with something serious like abuse, Benji is still focused on making sure no one else notices. Great post!
ReplyDeleteOne implication that is never made explicit in the novel is that Ben (the adult telling the story) has become one of those who "don't come out anymore." He doesn't elaborate on what happened with his family's relationship to the Sag community in the years after 1985, but Elena gives us one model--"get out while you can, go to college, find your tribe, don't look back." There are occasional mentions in the narrative of the author returning to Sag for the first time in years to confirm his memories. There are two houses in the community that were owned by Benji's family, and it sure doesn't sound like the adult Ben is going to any of them anymore. We don't know if 1985 is actually Benji's FINAL summer in Sag Harbor, but it is strongly implied that there aren't many after this. By the time he's writing this book, he hasn't been out there in years. (Remember what I said in class about nostalgia representing a longing for a time AND place, both of which no longer exist.)
ReplyDeleteI think it's really interesting how you note that the people who don't come out anymore are whispered about shamefully. I think it really adds to the idea that Sag Harbor is idealized and the idea that people have been shunned from the community or have chosen not to return is scandalous.
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