Moviegoer Analysis

From the beginning of The Moviegoer, it seemed to me that Binx was a cynical, closed-off sort of fellow. When he mentioned that he was on a search, on page 13, I did not think that it would come to bear much fruit. If one is easily displeased or cynical about everything that comes his way, what can one expect to find in a search? A search is nothing new to people like Binx, because they will always look for something to break the cynicism, something to bring them out of their disappointment with the world. Binx wants to find something that will bring him out of the "everydayness of his own life" (13).

Binx says, "To become aware of the possibility of the search is to be onto something. Not to be onto something is to sink into despair" (13). I think Binx really did want to find something and he was excited that maybe he would. However, the problem is, if the answer were staring him in the face, I did not think he would notice, or accept the answer if he did know it. Throughout the whole novel, he is looking for something extraordinary to happen, but he always ends up disappointed. Sometimes we think he is coming onto something, for example, the fact that he started to faithfully listen to This I believe, because he felt bad for mocking it. However he remained cynical to the beliefs of the people on the show, calling them "peas in a pod" (109). Maybe he does not believe in the uniqueness of the individual as they do. Maybe if he did, he might not need the search or might more readily find the answer?

Near the end of the novel, Binx still has not seemed to find an answer. His aunt asks him "What do you love? What do you live by?" and he cannot answer her. He remains silent because he still hasn't found the meaning of his life (226). On page 228 he is obviously frustrated with the fruitlessness of his search. He says that his "only talent is smelling merde from every corner," (at least he finally admits this fact about himself) and he calls everyone "shit." The world is a "shithouse of scientific humanism where needs are satisfied, everyone becomes an anyone…--on this my thirtieth birthday, I know nothing and there is nothing to do but fall prey to desire" (228). This seems to be the end to his search, the conclusion he comes to. However, this is not the end of the book.

Kate, besides his Aunt Emily, is the one woman that Binx seems to truly respect and care for. He feels a connection with her, because he recognizes that they are so alike. Kate is afraid of the world and of not knowing herself, but she says that when she is with Binx, she cannot be frightened (234). Kate needs to cling to Binx to feel secure, and though Binx seems to not even need Kate or anyone for that matter, I believe that he needs her just as much. Together they might come to some sort of revelation about life, and so they get married.

Binx concedes to go to medical school just as his aunt wanted. He feels so unsure that he thinks if he goes to medical school and is married to Kate, he might find some sense of purpose to life. From this point on, he seems to be happier now that he has actually decided to take some sort of path in life. As for his search, he has "not the inclination to say much on the subject" (237). He seems to have come to the conclusion that there is nothing to do but "plant a foot in the right place as the opportunity presents itself" (237). As far as religion goes, this was something that he could not rule out of his search (146). Now he realizes that he did not necessarily need religion. He is naturally shy, as well as suspicious of it (237). It seems by the end of the book that Binx did not really find a specific answer to his quest, but in admitting that he hasn't, he has. His answer perhaps is that there is no specific answer and that one must live his own life and come to his own conclusions.