Professional Documents
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Georges Misery
Georges Misery
Gabriel Roman
Jennifer Rodrick
QS 115
November 13, 2017
Although many members of the LGBTQI community struggle with coming to terms with
their sexuality, the homosexual protagonist George from the book A Single Man has his battle
revolve around maintaining a relationship. George lives his life in a community where his sexual
orientation is known by few. Although George is not forced to hide his identity he chooses not to
be open about his sexuality, however he still seeks for a partner. The partners that George has
deemed as suitable mates to have a relationship with are authors of misery in Georges life. Jim
and Kenny are two young men who both have distinct relationships with George, but they both
ultimately choose that they do not want to be involved with romantically with George. By
making the choice to avoid a relationship with George, readers can make the assumption that
George is the victim of misfortune and Jim and Kenny simply used George as an experiment for
their sexuality. In short, Jim and Kenny are portrayed as terrible young men for not committing
to a long-term relationship with George, their deeds can be looked at as evil and cruel. However,
it can be argued that Kenny and Jim not committing to a full-time relationship with George was
not an evil deed because humans should be allowed to be able to explore different sexualities and
George showed symptoms of being an obsessive partner. Kenny and Jim also took a safety
No person should ever be tied down and forced to engage in an action that makes them
unhappy. If one feels the need to go out and change their routine because that brings them
happiness, then one should feel free to do that. Jim and Kenny are two young men, who
apparently are not sure of their sexual preference. An example for Jim being open with his
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sexuality can be seen when George visits Doris at the hospital. George says By urging him to
satisfy all his curiosity and flattered vanity and lust (vanity, mostly) on the gamble that he would
return (as he did) saying, shes disgusting, saying, never again (Isherwood 96). In this scene
George describes the trip that Jim took with Doris to Mexico, George seems delusional and
seems to hint at the fact that Jim may in fact be leaving him for good. George attempts to
convince himself that Doris is simply a phase for Jim and that Jim should only be happy when he
is with George. Kennys sexuality being open can be seen when George seems to scold Kenny he
says, Never mind. Forget it. Here am I. Here are you-in that damned blanket. Why dont you
take it right off for Christs sake? (Isherwood 175). In this scene Kenny and George have spent
the night drinking together and are now lying naked with one another, it should be noted that
Kenny does have a girlfriend. Despite having a girlfriend, Kenny still seems to be mildly
interested in George, but the two men do not engage in any other activity besides drinking and
lying naked. At the time that Jim was with George and the time that Kenny spent with George it
can be said that Jim and Kenny were exploring their sexuality. According to the Washington
Post, the number of Americans experiencing with members of the same sex has been rising
drastically in recent years. Rachel Feltman of the Washington Post writes The percentage of
men who have had sex with at least one man increased from 4.5 percent to 8.2 percent between
1990 and 2014 (Feltman). This shows that in recent years it has become more acceptable to
experiment with members of the opposite sex. Jim and Kenny ultimately leaving George, Jim by
having the affair with Doris and Kenny by not having intercourse with George, is just because
maybe they both decided that ultimately being with the opposite sex was not for them. Leaving
George because they have found their true identity is a positive, because now Jim and Kenny
know their preferred sexuality. Not staying with George may be seen as a double positive,
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because throughout A Single Man George says and has thoughts that raise a couple of questions
It is simple to skip over important portions in scenes throughout A Single Man where the
language is subjective and only subtly hints at certain topics. This is especially true when reading
about how George goes about handling his personal relationships. When relationships and
dealing with others is in play George wants to have undivided attention, and if George doesnt
get that attention he shows slight symptoms of a strange obsession with the people he interacts
with. Georges need to have undivided attention and developing slight obsession with others is
developed with both Jim and Kenny, he wants to control the decisions that Jim and Kenny make
so that they end up with him. When it comes to obsessing and not being a great partner to Jim we
can revisit the scene in which George visits Doris at the hospital. George is pretending that he is
speaking to Jim and says I know something, Jim. I feel certain of it. Youd refuse absolutely to
visit her here. You wouldnt be able to fore yourself to do it (Isherwood 96). This shows an
obsession with Jim in various ways, the first being the fact that George actually went to visit the
woman who Jim had cheated on George with. When examining morality reasons, Georges visit
to Doris is slightly clarified, but still eerie. Georges choice of language and deriving pleasure
from Jims lover no longer being suitable for Jim is sickening. George searches for a reason to
once again be the only romantic interest in Jims life. When it comes to Kenny, it is important to
once again revisit the scene in which George and Kenny have gone back to Georges place.
George says instead of fucking, if you'll pardon my coarseness. All any of you ever do is flirt,
and wear your blankets off one shoulder, and complain about motels. And miss the one thing that
might really--and, Kenneth, I do not say this casually--transform your entire life (Isherwood
176). This scene shows Georges attempt to seduce Kenny, George is speaking of flirting and
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never going beyond that which is clearly what is going on with Kenny and George. Kenny has
discreetly made it clear that it is not going beyond tucking each other in, but George is subtly
trying to convince Kenny to change his mind. George is attempting to pressure Kenny, and is not
taking no as an answer. Psychology Today, posted an article by author Andrea Bonior in which
she writes about 20 Signs Your Partner is Controlling. In the article Bonior discusses two signs
that fit the behavior of George. Bonior writes, Many controlling people are skilled manipulators
at making their partner's own emotions work in the controlling person's favor (Bonior). Bonior
also writes When it becomes more intense, however, it can be scary and possessive (Bonior).
The first quotation can be connected to George attempting to sway Kenny into doing more than
flirting with him, and the second quotation can be connected because it is in regards to being
dramatically jealous. Being dramatically jealous can be seen in Georges need to visit the woman
who Jim was with meanwhile still being in a relationship with George. Although George does
show symptoms of being a horrific partner, maybe avoiding an open homosexual in general was
A Single Man takes place in 1962 Los Angeles, a city known to be progressive except
that back in the 1960s being progressive was not the main priority for society. On the contrary,
the 1960s are a time where being progressive was beginning to occur with the Civil Rights
movement, but to dive into that movement is to digress. In the 1960s it was not uncommon to
see propaganda such as the short film directed by Sid Davis, Boys Beware. The video is anti-
homosexual propaganda made for the Inglewood Police Department and was released in 1961,
keep in mind that A Single Man takes place in Los Angeles a year after the ten-minute short film
was released. The video portrays homosexual men as men on the verge of reaching the status of
being stalkers and pedophiles that attempt to get close to young boys. This ultimately paints them
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as threats to society. By knowing that short films such as Boys Beware Kenny and Jim might
have been afraid to be openly gay, and since they knew that George seemed to want to have an
open relationship by leaving his side they opened up an opportunity for someone else to
appreciate George. Even now difficulties for people to identify as a member of the LGBTQI
community still exist. So empathizing with Jim and Kenny for not being able to openly express
Ultimately, with deeper analysis of Jim and Kennys actions it is easier to understand
their actions when it came to their treatment of George. Jim and Kenny had every right to
attempt a relationship with George, and if they did not feel the need to proceed with that
relationship then it was fair of them to end it. It is a right for humans to be able to choose who
they will spend their time with, and if George was delusional enough to believe that he could
engage in a relationship with a student or with a partner that openly let him know of his affair
then George is to blame. George also showed the tendencies of being a bad partner, by analyzing
Georges obsession with Doris one can make the assumption that the obsession George showed
after Jims death may have been alive during his relationship with Jim. As mentioned previously,
it is not easy to come out as a homosexual in todays society which is the most accepting society
there has ever been, so one should not blame Jim and Kenny for being afraid to show their true
selves. In short, Jim and Kenny were not in the wrong by not committing to a full-on relationship
with George, because they might have found their true sexuality along the way or they might
Works Cited
Davis, Sid, director. Boys Beware. YouTube, uploaded by Tomorrow Always Comes, 9
Feltman, Rachel. Study: Same-Sex experiences are on the rise, and Americans are
increasingly chill about it. The Washington Post, WP Company, 1 June 2016,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/06/01/study-same-
sex-experiences-are-on-the-rise-and-americans-are-increasingly-chill-about-it. Accessed