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7/25/2019 For A While There, Herbert Marcuse, I Thought You Were Maybe Right About Alienation and Eros
1/8
POINi OF
YIEW:WHO'S MINDN9
fHE
SIORE?
255
his bad marriage, although he will wander from ihat
straight and narrow
road he
saw earlier,
and
he will deny
his soul, or conscience,
wall it ofr
by
gtving
it
a separate
identity. And it
will come back
again and
again
to mock
bim.
FORA WHILETHERE,HERBERTARCUSE,
I THOUGH|
YOU WERE
MAYBE
RIGHr
ABOUTALIENAT'ON
ND
EROS
by RobinScoll
Wilson
HARLEv IAcoBs became a vteran bf Chicago
when he
hitchhiked
to that toddlin'town
in late
July,
1958,
out
of a
Drofound
sense of
Dersonal
alienation
and
because
he wai bored waiting for
-his
draft board
to summon
him;
because Senator MaCarthy
had
stimulated
his
activist's
itcb, his desire
to hook into
a cau:ie;
because
he was
cririous-with a small town
resident's
naivete-about
Hippiec and Yippies;
and because-whatever
the fortunes
of-McCarthy, tbe Democratic Convention, the Youth In'
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7/25/2019 For A While There, Herbert Marcuse, I Thought You Were Maybe Right About Alienation and Eros
2/8
2s6
IHOSE
wHo
CAN:
A SCIEN'E
F1CT1ON
EADER
Freud,
he
-appealeg
his
dilemma
to
those
he
milled
with
q_
fron
o
rhe
Hilton.
.alow,,'
he
usfeO,
"veJit
"umi"I
rrcously
lrom
tear gas,
..how
does
a
person
or"rcomE
trrs
personat
.esEangements
itbout
at
the
same
ime
com-
promrsrng
hls
commitmetrts
to
principles
of social
signif_
cance?"
"What
you,
talkin'
about,
man?"
asked
a
bearded
young
man who
might
have
sat
for
a cheap
two-cJoi
litho of Christ.
.
."I
mean,
-as
ogn
as I
begin
to
establish
a
satisfactorv
rnrc.rpersonal
-elationshr-p,
vents
compel
me to.
.
.,,
"fte
means,"
translated
another
beird,
.
he
ain,t
gettin,
any."
..
'Well,-.-hell,"
said
the
6rst
youth,
wiping
his
eyes,
"who
is?"
"But
'
protested
Harley,
.,the
requirements
of
the
wbole
man,
of total
reconciliation.
."
-
-
_jjl-ook,
man.
Wlen
you
protestin
,
protest.
When you
ballin',
.ball. _You.m.ix-'em'up
and
jour
head,s
;o;;;
get
all
fucked
uD.,'
_,
Harley
sbook-
hls
bead.
No
one
seemed
o
understand
roe
rmporhnce
of
a
simultaneous,
broad_spectrum
ure
for alienatioo. But he persevered.te *as ;b";;
"-;;
or
a
better
answer
wben
he suffered
what
manv
in'Chi-
cago
_
uffered
during
that
turbulent
*""f:,
iioril"iin
whacked
him
in
tle-groin
with
a very
targe
nie'ht
itici;-
Arrer
the
_whack,
Harley
rapidly
lost
intereit
in
both
poonrang
and
tie
politics
of
dissent.
He retumed
to
Read-
rng.,
Pennsylvania,
eeling
$eatly
depersonalized.
Doliti-
catry
m,potent,
totally
alienated,
and
sore.
And.'after
a
weet-ot.
recovery
from
his
wounds_spiritual
and
cor-
4or91l
--g
the
best
tradition
of American pragmatism.
he
ceclded
the
answer
o bis
and the
nation's-problems
must
Iie in
education,
hat
.panacea
ot progressiiisri.-ilffi.
be hought,
ecould
id
a cure
oi
hfi
o;;
otufr;ttili;
re|algg to
the
vast
overworld
of
learning.
perhaps
h
could begin,his reform of this world ne na"O -evei--maO1l
Irs.own
odyssey
out of
alienation,
by going
to
college.
All
-ytuuy,
ir
would placate
tLe
aritt
6oarO--toJl
while.
.
But it
did
not take
Harley
long
to
discover
that
col_
teges,
-too,
are
depersonalizing
nstitutions,
tbat
tbev
are
e-xceed.rngly
ine-gnnding
mills
dedicated
to
statistical
oeDntrons-
f
_tbe
good
life which
are
only
accidentallv
ano occasionalty
con-grueDt
with
the needs
of individu;l
[rmarcs.
lDus,
as a lacele ss
number
in numbered
courses
POINI
OF
YIEW:
WHO'S
MINDTNG
HE
SIORE?
257
taught
by
professon
whose
numbers,
not
names'.
ap-p-eared
oo
ine fbtvf
card
that
served
as his
i:lass
schedule,Ilarley
;il-
bl"
-fi;i-
semester
at Bangpville
-state
collegB'
Iiancsville.
Pa..
one
of
those
instant
co[eges
lnqt .Daq
;;;;G
in"the
sixties
in
the rich
humus
of
federal
il;;&
; colege
of raw'
cheap
builditrgs'
c.lq:9oml
"-",.iiC
"'itn
stirdents
named
Al br
Karen,
an
indifierent
iil'ti"tv
p-.ta
faculty,
and
a computerized
records
sys'
l;';;ity'uc ffdwiie rivaledoilv be.the^FirstAir
6etense'Co'm-dand
n expense
nd
complexity'
Such
were
educationalPriorities
in
1968'
*;il;-*
d;;nalizing,"
said
Harley
one
night,
speak'
ils
of
his
ihicago
experience
during
a rare
dorlnlory
bu-il session.
I
mean,
ike
you
were
iust
a thrng
an-
not
;;;4.
And here
i's
even
worse'
Here
you aren't
even
;'dir;;;y-il;:-Jusi
a number.
guess 'd rather
be
a
thinc
than
a
number-"
"fia".4;
*ia
a
world'weary
upperclassman'
-
a
sociol'
osv
maioi
named
Group
Al.
"It
is the
i.nevrtable
esurt
oF'the ost-industrial
ociety."
--"V"t.;
said
Red
AI, a
neo-Marxist
ho.enjoyed
great
repute;mongcampus
adicals
or
having
vlslted
Tavana''citi"
"itii"tin
hd did not let it be krown that the lisit
;'"d;t
ldJ"fd
tt-
ulacring
of
an
Eastem
Air.
ines
iet on
which
he
bad
been
bound
for
a
week
wtti
s
p-ar'
;d""i*t#
-I{ffi
-nl""r'
"ttut"'
"It
is
the
inevitable
i"1it
Lr--cotooidist
oppression
by
the
fascist
Pigs
in
the
Pentason."
^
a-fr5itirU,,'
said
Dirty
Al,
the
dormitorY'9
-esident
a"ur^Ji,';ffi,io
tnui"op
t'*t"a
you in the
jewels'
acobs'
i.i *"t"o't-
"
bit
depersonalized'.
9
way.'.
mean'
bat
iii
giii. t"
""*ideied
a
act
of
intimacv'"
--ifi.f"v,
who
was
an
honest
nd
open-minded
ort'
ha'l
"oi-io"iia"."a
it
that
way
before,
and
be-
gave the
pro-
;;;ii;;"t;-;;
ihought,
tie
sroup
silent
for
a
moment'
#"iil; il;';;";til: lie
*as-m"clt
espected
s
a
chicagp
iii"t*l
"p"trt"ps
ou
are
ielrt'.
Dljv Ati:.L^Yg
"iiJi
abit.
witn
onir:
gravity'
At
least
was
not
rgnorec
the
way
we
all
are
here"'
;riilk
g"tr"".
Right "
said
Pretty
Al'
the
resident
fag,
e-ager
o
ingxatiate
himself
with
tbe
younger man'
;iio,o"i"t
painfully,
you managed
o
establisb
a
IneT'
r."iJ'
."i"fi.t-tlip'
*ith
th"
bif
potceman
while
in the
;#*#;i;i"uiof
"o*"ii6o
with
a
situation
of
li"i"r1ig.ri""""".
It-
is
these
meaningful
relationsbips
-
7/25/2019 For A While There, Herbert Marcuse, I Thought You Were Maybe Right About Alienation and Eros
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258 rHOsE
WHO CAN:
A SCIENCE
|CTON
READER
tat
countt
You must
be able to
relate
peNonally
with-
ah-someonet"
Harley
nodded.
He was flattered
by the
attention.
crate-
ful for
tbe advice
from older and
wiser
heads.
.;Mavbe
it is__like
his
plofessor
I
got
for
2722 says.
.
."
"Which
one?"
.
"403
or maybe 405.
I forget._
Anyway,
he says
you
got
to over-come
alienation
by relating
to everythGg y:oucan. . ."
"Indeed
Indeed "
said Group
Al.
."fhe
l-earvan
doc-
trine of
dropping
out
bas been
tboroughly
discredited
bv
social
psychologists.
You must seek
to
penetrarc
be
in-
stitutional infrastructure
of
society, accommodate
o
the
personal-societal
interfacel"
'uh?"
"But
at the same
time
you
dare not
compromise
with
the forces
of imperalist
reaction,"
said
Red AI.
'uh?"
"While
remembering
he
primal
value
of interpersonal
reffi;;ah-relztionships,"
said Preuy
Al.
"And
it don't
hult to turn
on now and
hen,"
saidDirty
At.
Harley
rose
to stride among
the
chromium
and vinvl
chafus and
stained
coffee cups
and intertwined
studen'B
il-tbe
sbabby
cinder-block
lounge.
It was good
of the
older men in
the dormitory
to
take
an
interesl
n
him. to
belp
him in
his search.He
would
take
their advice.
oi as
much
of it as
he could,
"All right,"
he said,
chin
up.
arms
outflung like a
young
I-enin
at the
Finland
Statio;.
..you
are all
right. I will
find a
girl
wbo
is active
in
some
so.
cially significant
endeavor directed
against
the
establish-
ment, and
perhaps
I
can relate.
to
her and
the
endeavor
simultaneously
and thus
cease
o be alienated,"
All
but Pretty
Al nodded
their
approval.
The,socially significant endeavor directed against tho
establishmeDt-a
violent
demonstration
in
supDort
of a
separate
department
of
studies n
bracero
fo&iore-was
very mucb
a success.
So was
the
girl,
at least
at
first. But
Harley
-
quickly
discovered
it
was Chicago
all over
Lgain,__Ng
ooner
did
tbe
girl
begin
to
simmer
nicely
than
Harley
found their
nights
consumed
with
crou;,
planning,
mixing
Fels
Napthi
soap flakes
with
cas:olind.
and debating
he details
of
Che
Guivara's
instruciions
oi
making
a
grenade
auncher
out of
a.410
shotgun
and a
POINI
OF
ftEW:
WltO'S
M'ND|NO
HE
SIORE?
25'
ffim**trj*#*ii
;*$:}igfi""$fip
ffi1ffi'$"E$$f
mruruwfflm
."s';*iiE:'rT**'l{""ilirl,r:lJ"',i,,f
','Jl*#;-"1;
has
established.th"
1:'".^1;";#;'p"ry*ooa
room
above
#i.:ilS ot:"l,fi,Tf;fi '"il 6olr'ioirop'thisesis'
*;:fl;li
fli3.*t,
a
Bryn
Mawr
eiect
lespite
er
Main
u""'"""Lti'
1Gu;lt"-Y^
ryfi"u".I.n,,,",
,itt
a
fine
viable
*#r"?*i'.*,i":rTi,,'.t'""'$*itl
this
other
shit?"
He
waves
-
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4/8
2&
7HOSE
WHO
CAN:
A
SCIENCE
TCflON
READE|
ffir#111h#""r1?*lJot
g'nlt:xd.
nd
rerks,
e
rDey
shume
past
a table
of.cards
and
take
one
each
of
white, green,
yellow,
and
blue,
as
a
sign
6ire ts]*i.i
mean,"
continues
Hartey,
.you
fe.i
lust
rif"-"oiiiil'n#
.card.
Nobody
looks
at
you-
Just
at
iour
"*d".
id;"-6;;
be^a.lhing
or
a umber
-than
a,
card,'for
ct
issaie-.i
-*-'
9g[y
sbrugs.
Her
mind
is
largety
etsewnerJ-*-'
"Ij.is
_a
strongly
dichotomorls
ituatio;;-'
"Di-x/zcromous?"
"I1s
-1
word
I learned
n
2345.
Means
all
split
in
two.,,
'oh-"
"I
T9"q
no
tnatter
what
I
do,
I
can't
seem
o
relate
to
ey.eryt.ning
t
once.
one
siae
of
'tnings
is;tt
dJil:-I\t
alienation
here,
ey
babe?
ut
Oe-.tn1i,iaJ-iiiftiX
frr:l"i'r;ol$.lP'
i
can't
elats
o all
his
"-iffitiliuiJ
,
Sally
sighs
&nd
shifts
her
swollen
anktes,
which
have
I*'1
to
bothg
her
a
good
eal
or lati.
yJadl;fr";;
w.rnt
ome
ryjgnation-
.But
maybe o"
"oa
t
-c'ouiA-u.i,i
,jS?"H.f
alienation
unelves.
"a
n"yrJ
;-tiii"T.;
.-,11fl"{
is
too
.
busy-
oniering
he
paradox
f
private
Igr:c-rry gd publicalienationo lisren-. e bol.dsr-'ai
LByJTd
a .arm's-
e^ngth
nd
ooks
"ia.
tiuor"Goi'"ut
rng..rixture
lrough
its
holes.
He
draws
he
c*J t-rt
unjil,it
touches
tinose
and
sights.ooiivl
J*"i]tLo'ili
a nole,
swmgmg
hls
head
around
until
S,ally,s
o-unC
ice
agq ong
dark
bair
are framed
n
a n-v'.d;;lS;1il
$xf"i'h::iJ"l*n:H'ff
'+:"t::r"i1li:#;
ay,"
he
says.
..Until
you
stu
a
gLc&re on a
watt,
oory
u;gnl.u".S
your
tongue'
Like
.lney
pass
a table
where
a
bored
professor
akes
the
yellow_
nd green
cards
ana
reptaces
[im-;lA
ffi;;;
.r.ed"
p
dog
not
took
up
at
ffiley
or
SaUy
;.ftd;;;
line
of
students
n
whi;h
they
aie
lintaa
in
ilft;;i
tock
step.
Harley
recognizes
i-
* ize, tl"-Irro'-i"
-nlj
lle pastsemester.or l47l-
"Life. tbrolgh
an
IBM
card
holg,"
s$rs
Harley,
sighting
gCaln,
this
time
at
his
own
reflection
n
a
gtasg
aodr.
..fi
is simpler.
Ev.erytbjr:g
as
square
edge$"-
---
Sally
says,
Harley,
I think
16
g6ing
to
get
sick.
.
Hgl"y
removes
lie
card
from
tis tice.-.Brit
irJuru"
I vo,
r rhought you
were
only
supposed
o
get
sick
in the
mornings."
POINi
OF lEW:
|HO'S
MINDING
HE
SfORE?
26'
"I
lhink
I better
go
bome.
I
think
I'm
going
to
barf"'
She
has
this worried
look
tbat
Harley
has come
o.
asso-
ciate
with
pregnancy.
Harley
peers at her
tb,rougn
.tne
IBM card,
tiltitrc
his
bead
to
bring
her
slightly
swolre-n
abdomen
nto
view.
"Okay"'he
says. Gimme
your
caros
and
I'll
get you registered."
l"ltu I""ut.
ani
Hatley
shufres
on.
The
line
is
not
""i.Jtitiri
ai.i.ithed
by
her
departue,
would
not
be
ierceititti
increased
y her
return.
It
bas
a vrPerrne
ex'
istenci of its own, many timesgreater han the sum or
its
parts.
--f*winiog
Harley
ooks
at tbrough
-his.
BM.card.takes
on a
niw
clirity
and reshness,
simplicity
and
urrty-ot
InJana
cotor.
He
experiments
with
different
holes'
Alter
i-tit_.n"
-aliia*
thai
his
fevorite
it
-tg4 y
two
.holes
nunched
very
close
together
whose
divldng
srrp
or
6*at-"-a
a-hiost
disappeirs
close
o bis eye'-He
no
longer
looks
wbere
he is
going,
but
peers
at
protessors'
als'
lishts,
firc
extinguishers,
nd
the
sinuous
lne
rn rront
or
"ia-i.ti"a
him-which
can
be
made-flat
and
inear-to
c"*"
i*luotiiy
from
comer
to corner
of
the
square
of
his
vision.
Th;li";
conveys
hin
past
the
registration
stations'
He
holds bis andSally's ardsout in his left hand'and-ne s
dimlv aware
bat fiom
rime
to tfune
ards
are
removed
ano
reDl;ced
with
others.
'-fi;;
;i;"1;;s-time,
te
srows
aware
hat
someone
s
"did;;;i"c
;fi]A
voiie
releats:
"Your
blue
-fee
card'
ii"'^1.-v-3"i
uiii"-fle
card"'
ile
te-otes
the card
from
his
'eve.
It
is blue'
He
does
ot
wish
o
sunender
t;lt
coPqlo:
his
favorite
pair
of
holes.
A,large
grey lady
-m-
1ltles:
soectacles
s-looking
up
at him
from
ber
seat
Dehmo
a
ffit-f;ii;
6fu"
"i.oi.
It
is
tbe
fiIst
time
anvbodv
bas
looked
at him
since
Sally
eft. "Your
blue
ee
card'
p-lease'
i;;;;"ft.
*;,
tt"i 6n"."
wordlesslv,.co-nfused'
arlev
rhakes
bis
head.
He
smiles
pleadingly'
Uh-you
see-r
can'L
. ."
Tc";;
on, youngmanl" Tbere s -exasperation
n,th
l^tc" ;"v
dai's
v6ice.
Reflected
ight
bobsup.at nrm
fro-m
hler
pecticles.
You
can't
compleie
or'u eg$trarlon
untit
your
blue
fee
card
is
stamped
and
sent
to
tne
Bursar "
-il-".f"u
makes
a
strangled
ound
deep
n
-his
throat'
clutches'the
blue
card
tightly,
and turns
out.
ot l.be
une
rc
flee
down
the
corridor.
He
does
not
yet
qulte
qloqr:rp:
why
he
must
lee'
He
knows
only
that
tlere
rs ne
rnK'rng
-
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5/8
252
IHOSE
WHOCAN:
A SCIENCE
tCrtON
EADER
of.a
broad-spectrum
urc
for
his alienation,
and whatver
it is. it
iqvolves
he IBM
card.
Out in the
cold midafternoon
doom of tho camDus.
Harle_y riefly
halte his
flighL He
debates enrrning
to th6
Srey
lady
and
surrendering
hir
car4
behaving
ationally.
Bgt now
the idea
of
giving
up
the card is unrt'lntable,
orr
thintable
to hi4
only in-
tn-e way that
such theoretical
qlgpoqitionr
as love'and
death
ind
good
and bad aro
thinlablo. Hc is very confused,The card, suddenly o dear
to
him,
is the
obvious symbol
of the depersonali'ation
o
las
sougbt o
overcome,
and
yet-and
fet-the
view, tho
tuzzy,
squaqe iew,
the
rectilinear
organizationof
every-
tbing.
lT.n
tbrough
the,card,
s oddly
comforting, suggests
possrDruues
or new
relations
. .
- -.As
olaco
o his
confusion,
he
pers
through
the double
boles
of the
card st
the ugly
-campus,
ai the
winter-
torn
hees,at thJ
shrubbery
bright
with candy
wrappersand
brcwning
copies
of the BS
Daily Bulletin"
tt the watEr
tower high
up on
McNamane
Hill whose
elevation ro-
Quires
him
to
turtr the card
to the
horizontal so
that
the
long way
of the holer
will be
vertical
How clean and
bright
and Iogical
everything lookrt
How simple and psiti-ve nd anierstattdabie
-
Atrd
peeriry
thus, Harley
permi8
his
mind
to dlash ack
tbrough tho tangled,
ste3rnin&
imFlausible
iungles
of
memory,
and then
upward in time again to that
point
in
the registration
ine
when he has been captured
by sim-
plicity.
And
he seizes
on a splendid ne* notion: that
there
is no real distinction
between he
conglomerate f
illusions,
passions,
usts,
hopes, unescences,headachas,
infidelities,
and
gastric
upsets hat
are
Harley
lacobs and
the clean, sharpedged,
slope-cornered,
geometrically
holed,
purely
colored
perfection
of
the
IBM
cards that
are also Harley
Jacobs.Only, t\ints Harley, the cards-
Harley-despite
the disclaimeB
hey bear--+an far better
withstand being bent,
spindled, folded,
shuffied, and-
yes-4uplicated
than
can
the flesh-Harley.
Perhaps, he
thinks, perhaps he has found----eurekal-the personal.
societal
nterface,
Perhaps,having
found it, he can now
accommodate
imself
o
it. Perhaps
t
is
the end of aliena-
tion It is worth some hought.
The
campus
ull of ugly new
buildings and the
ply-
wood room
over
the wafre
shop are the loci of Harley's
life, the
pressurepoints
at
which the tourniquet
of his
alieDatioD s applied. Ultimately,
all
his troubles
come
POINI
OF
YlBt:
WHO'S
MINDNA
THE
STORE?
26t
home to
roost
in
the
plywood
room'
An'l
there
-to-o
is
;*iani
S"Uv
-o
tne
airnaty
to be
taken
to the
Was-h.'
6-fi;;;;;i"T"tt"*
ftom
pirents and
notices
top-his
i";A-t;td
;d
noie-s
tom'his
landlady
and r.emin-d:rs
from
GMAC
and
duns
from
the
doctor
and
tlrat
orner
iSM
""tA
bearing
he
dismal
record
of
his
first
semestr
lrades.
-ivhiie
sally
is busy
n
the
batbroom
hrowing--up.supper:
Harlev ponders the contrast betweencards-Hafleyanq
non-ff"il"v.
He
likes
Sally,
be
likes
the
plywood room,
he likes e6ing
to
collegp,
he
even
likes
the
idea or
tDe
Iiofi.it
"fr"tl"v
Sallv
i
'working
on with
such assiduity'
Wiat
he
doesnt
like
are
grades
and
beir:g
b ok9
+d
8pt-
tinc
drafted
and
leaving
the
comfortable'
ggly
tittre
cam'
pG
antt
the snug,
warm,
synrp-smelling
plywood room'
Like,
ever.
a"i'"p"tt
from
the
draft,
he
does
nDt
want somedsy
o
caatuate'and
become
an
Accountant,
Advedising.
lr'Ian,
iirlines
Representative,
Chemist,
Comptroller
(wlttr or
without
the^
voiced
"p"),
Designer,
Engl-n9er,
nsuranco
$"ry.'h#f,
":,qi""'"#'Jr,wil:5'v#"'T'*,ri'fr'
f6itv noursa weekdoing
one
thing
in
one
place
and-bu;
bonls
tbrough
the Payroll SavingsPlan-and..st.ung
:T
line
to screw
he comPtometer
operator
(no
slenl
'?
,
at Christmas
parties
and
grow old
and
retfie
wlt[
a
golc
*"i"t
tn"t
sa:ys
Forty
Years
Service
Award"'
"
i.A
.o
Hailey
sits
-at
his
packing-crate
desk Dionne
Warwick
bitching
about
her
and some
man out
or the
iuaio.
tte
sound-of
Sally
busy
at
her-
pregnancy.in he
bathroom,
and
decides
he
nature
ot
lie
current
crvEron
Jf tutot
and
responsibility
etween
BM
card-Harley
i-rC [*i-tt-t"y
ii oot
reatiy
in
his
best
nter$ts,
that
if
tl"
"**
*iU
iust
tale
on
-that
part
-of
Harley
.so
vul-
nerable o.
so
alienated
rom,
parents,bant$
crcolt
com'
panies,
andladies,
raft boards,
nd
college-8'h.inlstratoF,
ihe other
part
will
be
happy
to
handle,,au
lne
-r9-mainingbusliness,ill be quirccontent,andully related o
the
uglt little
campus
and
the
sweet
plywood
room
aDove
the wafre
shoP.
At midnight,
Harley
is
outside
the sdmiristration
hifAine Di"ftni
the ldk
with
a
papet clip and
tbe flat'
tened
ub;
of
tBiC
baU-point
pen.
t
is
an-art
he learned
from
tbe
older
brother
of
one
of
his
colleagues
n soy
S.ow
ftoop
502,
which
met
sporadically
n
the basement
-
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6/8
ilr
264
IHOSE
WHO
CAN:
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IC\\ON
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:l *,,Ii."
Lutheran
Church
of.Reading,
pa.,
for
sessions
i,i"il5tl
X:il:"1?::fl'*
nd
rab-aii
"ii"e
-".r"/J
._
Inside,
Harley
cirecks
to
make
sure
there
are
no
iani_
ors_
bout
and goes
to
work,
on
th"
R"d;;u;;
ni;.];;
.;fflfiW'li.:'i,1'*"J"1'J"f.:t:'_,ru:*:,:l':f
tor
Master
Machine
iloom
Control
fle.
v"irb*
.""rd-i"r-
.9:Tyt",,i":GradeRecord,lue ardu iJ"r,
"rO
"a-"ili
Ior
Student
Deferment
fi le.
Du
pucecard-rors,,;;;;E;;l;yJ"f
t"fl
,:?f
ff
J"",;j,f
r11
I 'ersgnal.Hisjory
ndex,
nd
brown
aid
;
Sr"o."ilir"i,r]
ncatlon
"amx
picture
n
uDor
ll -:,."pr:r.i"ti*,""t"ir;fi
t
lgl:-lil$:iji""'j"1"",l"j
::l.l l"":,bjr
study
and
skutks
across
campus
to-
h;;;;
walchtut
tor
campus
rent_a_cops.
__
b",,n"xt
night
he
retums
and
begins
his
work
in
ear_
,o_":t.
-1"
regisrers_
imself
tol^,
b"J"l,
;;";;;";:;;;
toad;
stamps,
is
fee
card
pArrJ
anc
slgns
t
with
an
il -
ifl
"i_+lr:"J;.1.,T;::,ii"?1111i:?i?;T:::,"
j:;
and
.mak-es
Xerox
copy
of
it- to-
enciose
"
i-l"li.i
.'r]
tensibly
rom_the
Dean
of
Instruction ddresseJ';.i";;
.Boardo.47,Reading,
a.,"
wrricri-e"frui""
r,l.i
"iiii#
:P.31i._,::
Jacobs,
Hailey,
were
rn
eror: grants
himself
fl
fiii;'?:,1"",?H['",:?-"iTBH"1"_'.i"'c;;;;iil;;
*:::.'r:'il..r'il?;Ji
i
:,'Y#Ji::;l';ilf
:Hlr
planment
.145,"
woDdering
s
he
does
o
*r,"i
l p""#it
ll l l
"ul
P";.a.nd
ites
a
-power-or-atrorney
direcrins
ha r
bothJcholarship
and
payrolt
checks
be
."it
""i"rn"il""ii,j
i:
""_
*i:l?.1T"
t
T*t,i;:
".'n,
tll,l
:
,
On
rhe
third
night,
hi
is
bur
bar-point
er
ar
vei
;iln;:'L
y.t,l"l::,1:iil',fl"",:1
sertlthe
ards
n-the.
ropei
nt"..
tt"t
"pp.ori.i",i'".""1i.r rhenewcard_Harleyeproperly irriii,"iJd
"rnoni
-rr"
Eursar,
-R-egistrar,
ean
of
'Insirucii.",
o"r"
"i'S.a?"i.]
""J
oj
lib:lll
Arts.
rhe
Houstne
ffice,l;^,ilO"#::;
oI
Student
Aids.
And
of
cours
ll:-
yrj"
v*r.i
u""r,in"-i;"*
;;Lf
::::1"1r".t":ll
lljfylns.snirtt
of
the
new
Hartey,
musi
u"-."1"r,,'ily
rr_
erred
rn
the
long
skinny
fi le
cr
cricking,
igr,t-uri;r.i; ."'^"Jr;::.jffji"jill,lr'::?";'f
ll:
asement
f
Hubris
Hall_
POINiOF
lEWr \4HO'S
MINUN9
tHE SIORf?
265
As
each card
nestles n
its appropriale
ile, Harley
feels
a
progressive
ightening
of his
spirits, a burgeoning
sense
of communion
with the
once-hostile
world.
He has re-
written,
tailored,
shaped
the
vulnerable, external,
IBM
card-Harley
into something
fine and
brave and
solvent,
something
mmune
to the tbrusts
of niSht
sticks: and
he
has filed
its manifold
presences into the manifold
file
drawers
in which
it belongs
as
surely as
cell belongs
to
flesh,
neuron
to thougbt, passion o spirit. For the next
semestet
at least,
he Harley-cards
will operate
n intimate
electro-mechanical
armony
with
one another,
with the
draft
board.
with tbe bank,
and
with the college
adminis'
tration.
And the flesh-Harley
will be
free to enioy
the
ugly little
campus
and the
sweet
plyrood
room'
And freely enioy
he does,
at
first.
'Initially, he is fully
satisfied
with the results
of the
nonaggression
act he has
so slvlv
neqotiated
with
the harsher
realities of
life,
the
pub[i
Sourdes
f his alienation.
He attends
bis classes,
nd
because
be in now
unconcerned
about
grades,
he learns
a creat
deal.
He
pays
his back
rent and resumes
is
monthly
re-mittances
o tire'finance
company.
The
draft board
re-
stores his 2-S classifcation, and he finds bimself hon-
orably
mentioned
on the
Dean's
list, which
brings
an
illiterate but
enthusiastic
etter from
home enclosing
mod'
est check.
For
the first
time,
Harley
ffnds the
whole
man
integrated harmoniously
with
all aspects
of its
exist-
ence;
io
jaring
alienation
from
anything:
Peace,
com-
fort,
pleaslre
eieryrvhere;
every
hole in the
siren
flute
of
desire
s stopped.
He tries to-
explain
his
satisfaction'
bis accomplishment,
to Sallv.
He
waf,ts ber to
know of
his remarkable
achieve-
ment,
but
she is
totally intent
on her
own
thing, and
only
nods
sweetly,
a
little
iacantly,
and says,
"That's
real
nice,
babv."
Wben
she thinks
of
Harley at
all, it
is
of
a future
Hariev. a
father-Harlev,
She
is
not much
interested
n
IBM iird-Harley and frnds flesh-Harleycomfortably less
imDortunate
n bed,
whicb
she mistakenly
ascribes
o
her
altired figure
and wbich
she confidently
oresees
will end;
she has
io doubt
tbat an ardent
Harley
and
a flat
belly
will
retum with
the simultaneity
and necessity
of
apple
blossoms
and bees.
The
disinterestedness
f a
preoccupiedSally
triggers-
does not
originate-an
odd
new dissatisfaction
in llarley.
Tbe necessarily
sectet nature
of
his treaty
with society_has
rendered
him
an
unperson
as surely
as any sscret
East
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7/8
il
266
IHOSE
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ON
READER
P,H9p"q.
gqrge.; be-
dare
not participate
in
campus
po-
ruca-I.
activities
les.t
be
draw
o;.
hims;U
i"*J ;.ti";;
i;
_r*T.qop
accomplisbments,
uch
as
tbey
*".
ir"-ii"i"l
cended.
y.
-rhe
cards
n
the
ftes.
AnA
of
Lir.
il ;fi;;
Featy
itself
must
remain
secre
admmistration-
t,
at
least
from
the
college
,^li,:l::t
- "l.qowing
discontent,
Harley
visits
bis
old
g9n-nttoly to
flirt
with
the
revelation
of
,his
s;hem;.-;;
display
his
cakn
mastery
of
his own f"te in fron;;-f ;;;;:one.
_-:l-IT_q
"f
took your.
dvice,
.
Group
n1,,
he
says
n-
rauatmgty
o
the
sociotogy
ajor.
,And
it
wo.Iili
frt
reat."
"Advice?
What
advice?'
"I9y.tnoy.
About
accommodating
to
the
personal-
socie_tal
nterface,
or
wbatever.
t
wor6.,,
"ttow
about
that.',
savs
Group
AI,
fngering
bis
new
beard.
"Tell
me
about
it.;'
"Well, I
can't
say
too
mucb,
but
what
I
did
was.
. .,,
'T advised
ou'
to
accommoaui"
io
iil"'iiti,r'.r-
societal
.oterface.
huh?"
:;_. t.
Yes,
and what
I
did
was.
. .,,
_
-'r
nat
s very
rnteresting
and
I,m
glad
it
worked
for
vott.The thing is, there,sa t6t of n
lidity
of
personal
ntegration.
.ew
evidenceabout &e
va'
ji. .nft
let.
me tell you
you
see
what
I did
was.
. .,
.
-'"Tte
thing
is, sociometrists
haue
determtiJ
t,
i" *,_
isfdcrion
rhat
tbe
real
inrelect""t
i;
A;-;;;
'J"f,;
has.been
forced
into
internat
emigiatio;
o;1,
,taii;ii
rbinkers
nd
cutrural
hilistine,
"un-
oo
Ta"iuli
il:J.
::.t.I.P."g
upon
psychic
-nd
material
Oomiout'ion.
.ro"*
you
take your problem.
."
."But-I
doDt
have
any
problem
now
l,ve got
it
whipped.
. ."
",
. .You'll
find
the
solution,
as,I
have,
n group
ther-
3py..
Thre's
a bunch
of
us
meet
in the
baserient.oi-l-he
Methodist
Church,
and you'll
be
,".f.orn"
it-V*'*iot'tJ
come along tonigbt."
.
"Well-ah-tbanks.
I
guess
not
tonighl,,
Harley
is
deeply
disappoinred
n
Cr6uo
Al.
.
"Okay,-
Jacobs.
But
anytime
you
want
to.
, ,,,
He
leaves,
a beatific
smile
flashing
here
uoA
ttlreiiouoa
itJ
lounge.
* To. h..
neo-Marxist,
Harley
says,
.I
took
your
advice.
Red.ll.
I tbink
rve
found
a
wiy
tri
ixptoit
ttl
6ipLiiJrr.;i'
"Did I advise you
to
do
thit?"
POTNT
F
ftEW:
|4HO'S
MINDING
HE
SIORE?
?61
"Yes.
and
I figured
out
a
way'
You
see,
what
I
did
",ur'i"'uri-ri
me
"tascist-imperatisi
establisbment
like
you
;;iqd"{:";'"1Tr:3,1:rl"elil'"b;.*'.reethe..rieht
track.
Like
this
stuff
bere.
You
know wbal
lt
rsr"
-iNo.
But
let
me
tell
You
about'
"'
"ii-i.l
piep
sbeet
or
the.Foreign
Service
Enhanco
s;.d"ti"i.
I m
going o
take
t tomorrow"'
-;fri"r
stt whai
I
iant
to
tell
you
is'
'
.''
'itt
o -to"gn .*u-, but professor321 thinks I standI
gooJ
"uuo""
i""tuse
of
my
knowledge
of the
Cuban
situ'
ation."
'"'i6.".
er,
good. r hope
you
do..
kay
otr
it' But
there's
*:#m:Lt".ff."fr1o*iL'ti"o
put
n
a
gootr
oril
for vou
in
Washitrgton
You'll
be
a senior
n a
coupre-
t
ii'"i,
ira
vijt
t"tgT,t
want
to
-ind
of aim
for
the Foreigtr
ir."iit
Ci""t
buich
of
people here"'
Red
Al
returns
to
his Drep
sheel
el"ii
aiJipp"inted,
Harley
says,
"One
last
thing
Red
Al.
I-s
PrettY
Al
still
around?"
--R.ed
At
lools
up
from
his
papers' "lVhy,
-no'-l{.arleY'
Td-i";ky
-;itff
pissed the
eiam
tast
month'
He's
al'
readv in Washington."
'"h.i
in"
pJ-mu'n,
lturtev
savs,
esignqqig.g
o
his
voice'
'c-inme
a^
nickel
6ag,
wiiil
you Dirty
Al?"
As
the
spring
semester
nd.
Sally
ripen
toward
tbeir
re'
ro"&*
-io-io"ement
exercises,.iTariel.
$nks
hl
l-tll
li-i"tn"tgl"
He
finds
it
almost
imoossible
o
commum-
"it"-*itn"i*
fellow
students,
who
aie
intere'ste4.
fter
all
il;e;-r,;d.i"i"trative
repression'
-1obs-'
d
sirls'
.nory
il inl"n'"ni"t
Harley
in
tbe
least'
He
feels
a new
bore-
io-,
"-."ti"tio"
with
peace'
He
spends
more
and
more
il1;';
;;;;;'ing-ttioueu
the
doles
n
bis-blue
BM
card.
now
w6m
and
fuzzy'
But
even-the-card
easesJo
fr"- ni-
nru"u
solace'
There
is
nothing
h:
:ag ?ut 1t11
f,tii* oo.
"r
nrst. He remains convinccd
that
he
-hag
eiilil;d
6;
bil
"i
all
possible
worlds' and he-wonders
ilil'H:";;;
it"v
oot
tt6t
from
something
amiss
n
his
f,fi]Ii?*J
t"i
let
oc"ur
to
him
that
he
has
eaten
oo
much
otus.
---lqod
th"o
fune
comes.
Harley
makes
a
midnight
trip
t"'
iili
'i"d;t[i;s
-omce-
o
eiter
his
sp-rins.
emester
srad'es.
{
fEw
days
ater
Sally
brings
forth
Harley'
Jr''
in
[ain
anc
triumPh.
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8/8
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THOSE
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,,^l:9 _rFgl
July
comes
nd
Salty,s
elly
flartens
nd
she
iilffir"',r,,i,:
q"J"ff:.{,:,"."
ew
ense
,r
ui-*r,.ii
i""i
rt ts
not
now
a
matter
bf
damage
rom
a
night
stick.
_
SaUy
questions.
Harlev
o
iift";-"flHbU".ittit"i:Ll"ifi
t;:'J[imft?
:1.?,,,.1".
u.
dele.sated
oo
mirch,-r.bat
i.
tiignti"Lif,tl
aoruty rs_ sycbological,a oan
o"d
;u1ii'in-;;i;f'#
ffl:
Xi,ll:eermiasma
r boredom
.oy
August
he
is
near
desnair;
Sally
is
morose
and
un-
ommunicative.
Can
it
be,
ire
wondeis,
that
he
bas-oil-
::L::d
peace
at_roo
dear
i
rate?
Are
tfi"
tw"
,ia&*of"ili,
atYe,
the public
card_Harley
and
the
pri;;;
;;:
afley
now
themselves
alienaied-
oo"
fro,i--d;-oitit
ff*ilr'i"i|il;rT:[:::';f
J"?:,*t't"i'rii-:'ivriiinl']li
",_l?t'"L
cannot
be
sure.
He
thinks
back
to
Chicapo.
o
ls
_chaotic
irst
semester
t
Bangsville
S:
C.
:;Ti;;;:t:;
ne
says
o
Sally
one
nisht
aft,
1'p;,gg;"ti'..;;:1""'f,i:ill:'"",3$i,"'iyy"lf#t":T'
ilfi"'''..1"#'.3,ii:1ll"iiff,;l'il3
"T:
,iTUlT
pti*':l:ti"",:,f.T'i';',i:Pt'*vorlris.timesreveared
il"':iifi
"tl;
,t:"r
*l
i":itruii*f*
o.,magrcal.motds
and
miracutous
nor""ui ,
nli""ii'lil
fl:ll?l"ou.ly
zap
he
virus
or
iroruiion,-ii"'i"l,nilJ
,i
iifi
T;Hx,:"4,1"'{,H:i,i'":",::Jiil*";}:t
tt
rs
-no
small
boon.
Dlowly,
not
without
considerable
-pain,
sitting
at
his
ifi$.st]i1'"-'""'1l',""ff.iTJii:"y;l*l"l*ti**ii
}l::j.'f
liitilitf
:n.,,tJ';l|.:Ti{;tlilil1'J'':
orated,
ubsequently
otded
""a
-"r"iii"i"ii*il"-
#j
#rfr,i
to
tbe
plywood
loor,
and
u*r"flo*?ui"iiro'iir
*llj"l4,k lid',,J:,ilnif
i,n"ll",li.o",l",io"#Sil:
rades
lone:
even
tlough
th-ey
have
not
U"eo-assiinij
i
POINiOFY\EW:
(HO'S
M,NDING
HE
gtORE?
26t
him bv bis orofessors,
e
believes
e
has earned
hem'
the
ernd.cep'enne
of
IsMery,
minus
the C's,
Dls,
and
R's.
But the
paper
employmeht
n Department
45
goes'
So does
the
scholarship.
o
does
the
twenty-one'nour
course
oad: with
professors o
Please
nd a
living
to
geL
he
will
need more
time.
-riG
tn"i
G'-t,
afiir a
splendid
exhibition
of the
stim'
ututinipo*ers
-of
alienatiod,
Harley
ies
smoking
a
ciga'
rette and tries to understand.
--;ilt
".iU
mean
that man
from GMAC
will
be
around
bugging
s. And tbe
landlady."
"Um,"
saysSallY.
"fir"iu
dean
tdat I'll
be uptigbt
a
lot
of
the
time'"
'Um."
"Ii
means
hat
I
am
incapable
of
achieving.
meaning'
ful
relationships
with
society-as
a whole
and
with
iou
at
the
same ime."
'Um.'
"li
meuns
hat
I
will be
full of
ups
and
downs'
I
will-
be hard
on
you.
I may
sometimes
eat
ittle
Harley'
.,1
mav beat vou.
I will
be a
mess
ot contradlcuons.
wur
b" iot""ut
rIot"
or
lesshung
up,
andwhen
am
not hung
up I will bedisgustingly traightand conformistandsquare'
nia
t
"ilt
proSably
fways
-be
alienated
o everything
but
you
and litite
Harl-eyand
tbe
plywood room, wherever
we
wind uo having
our
plvwood
oom."
;0.i'
."vi-sull,y.
r'Mais
il
laut
cuhiver
notre
atilin'"
"What?"
."It's
French,
Number
5904.
Professor
175. It
mean's
'never
mina, baby,
lefs
us
cultivate
the
old
garden
again.'
POINIOF
rtEl(:
THE
QUICK-CHANGE
ARTISTN THETYPEWRITER
bY
Robin
Scott
Wilsoq
TtcRE
Is no way
a story
can be
presented-to a
percepiive
reader in such
a way that
the f,and
of
the
author
does
not
show, Whatever
point
of view
the
author
emPloys-
omdscient,
detached, first
or third
person'
narrator
n-
or outside
story-the
simple
fact
that
someone
has
s?"