The Field of Vision: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Field of Vision: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricate dynamics among a group of interconnected characters who grapple with themes of nostalgia, identity, and the struggle for authenticity. Central to the narrative is Walter McKee, a businessman reflecting on his past relationships, particularly with his childhood friend Gordon Boyd, whose charisma once overshadowed him. McKee's life is marked by a sense of inadequacy, especially as he confronts the stark contrast between his mundane existence and the vibrant lives around him, highlighted during a bullfight in Mexico. Boyd, despite his early potential, becomes a drifter haunted by his past, manipulating those around him, including McKee and his family.
Lois McKee, Walter's wife, embodies the conflict between desire and duty, having suppressed her own ambitions due to fear and societal expectations. The story also features Leopold Lehmann, a psychologist who provides an outsider's perspective on the family's struggles, and Tom Scanlon, Lois's eccentric father, who connects with the younger generation through stories of his past. Together, these characters navigate a landscape filled with disillusionment and the pursuit of meaning, revealing the complexities of human relationships and the weight of unfulfilled dreams. The analysis invites readers to reflect on the characters' journeys and their implications for understanding personal and collective identities.
The Field of Vision: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Wright Morris
First published: 1956
Genre: Novel
Locale: a small Mexican town
Plot: Psychological symbolism
Time: Mid-twentieth century
Walter McKee, a successful businessman from Lincoln, Nebraska. On vacation in Mexico with his wife, grandson, and father-in-law, McKee spends his time reminiscing about his boyhood exploits with Gordon Boyd. McKee had witnessed Boyd's charisma and great potential and had been sorely shaken to find Boyd down and out in New York. McKee's obsession with, and absorption into, his friend's life has left him unable to understand the direction and nature of his own life. At a bullfight, McKee is thrilled by the sense of community and daring of the matadors but saddened by the tedium of his own life in comparison. During the bullfight, his wife is appalled by the gore and forces him to take her to the car. In the process, McKee loses sight of his grandson, Gordon. Fearful that this will solidify his wife's contempt, McKee searches for the boy and finds him in the ring. Saddened by the fact that his family witnessed his incompetence, McKee resolves to go on because he lacks the courage to change.
Gordon Boyd, McKee's childhood friend, who has been in competition with him since that time. Boyd essentially exploited McKee's naïve love and turned him into an adoring fan. Boyd effectively directed McKee's life, choosing his wife for him while also making known his love for her. Although Boyd wrote and produced a successful play, he was unable to follow up his potential and collapsed into a paralyzing nostalgia. Unlike McKee, however, Boyd became a compulsive drifter and layman philosopher, seeing through and mocking conventional morality. Boyd has nothing with which to replace it and, like McKee, is trapped in his own past. At the bullfight, Boyd exploits McKee's inadequacies by stealing the attention of his grandson and luring the child into the bullring. Despite his antics, Boyd fails to dishearten McKee or prod Lois into accepting his romantic attention.
Lois McKee, who accepts her life with McKee because he is a provider. Although Lois recognized the early competition between Boyd and her husband, she lacked the courage to fulfill her desire to elope with Boyd. In fact, Boyd's simple seduction terrified Lois into a life of suffocating self-control with McKee. She has succeeded in repressing almost everything in her personality. Mexico, the bullfight, and the close proximity of Boyd scare her into nervous collapse and a hasty retreat to the hotel.
Leopold Lehmann, Boyd's psychologist. He is strictly an observer of the McKee family drama, lending a tolerant understanding of conflicting human passions. As an Austrian immigrant, he holds an outsider position that is the perfect vantage point on American psychological culture. Lehmann is accompanied by his strange transsexual partner, Paula Kahler, and is fascinated by her ability to transform her identity completely from man to woman. Although Lehmann is a tragically lonely figure, he has learned to tolerate difference as the only real defense against loneliness.
Tom Scanlon, Lois' father, who is both eccentric and bordering on senility. Shaped by a harsh life on the plains, he has a furious independence. Scanlon usually chooses not to speak and directs most of his attention to his great-grandson. By im- parting frontier anecdotes to the boy, Scanlon hopes to win him into his nineteenth century world.