Existentialism and Kierkegaard's Influence

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The Moviegoer is Percy’s most intentional and cohesive attempt to bring Kierkegaard's existential ideas to life, depicting a solitary person trying to discover his own direction. The novel opens with an epigraph from Kierkegaard's The Sickness Unto Death: ". . . the specific character of despair is precisely this: it is unaware of being despair." Yet, Binx Boiling is keenly conscious of his own despair, acknowledging that his life has lost its fulfillment. He sets out on a journey that "anyone would undertake if he were not sunk in the every-dayness of his own life." Binx's quest incorporates Kierkegaard's philosophical techniques to escape monotony—"rotation" and "repetition"—but as a novelist, Percy transforms these ideas into concrete actions. In essence, Binx engages in close relationships with his secretaries and frequently goes to the movies.

Christian and Catholic Themes

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Aligned with his Christian existentialist perspective, Percy leads his readers to the resolution of Binx's quest. In an interview, Percy mentioned that by the novel's conclusion, "Binx jumps from [Kierkegaard's] aesthetic [stage] directly over the ethical [stage] to the religious [stage]." However, the Christian—and specifically Catholic—elements are more subtly integrated into the story compared to the Kierkegaardian themes. By the end of the novel, Binx "returns to his mother's religion." The Moviegoer is arguably the most accessible of Percy's novels for those who connect with his existentialist outlook, even if they don't share his Catholic beliefs.

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