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Gabriel Roman
Jennifer Rodrick
QS 115
November 13, 2017

Justifying Jim and Kennys Experiment

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

precaution when it came to avoiding an open relationship with George.

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

about his ability to be a great partner.

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

the safest option for Kenny and Jim.

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

themselves the way that they might have wanted to is just.

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

have experienced discomfort in having an open homophobic relationship.

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Works Cited

Bonior, Andrea. 20 Signs Your Partner Is Controlling. Psychology Today, Sussex

Publishers, 1 June 2015, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/friendship-20/201506/20-

signs-your-partner-is-controlling. Accessed November 14, 2017.

Davis, Sid, director. Boys Beware. YouTube, uploaded by Tomorrow Always Comes, 9

Dec. 2014 / Boys Beware, Davis Productions, 1961,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NZvtvt2JqA. Accessed November 14, 2017.

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

November 14, 2017.

I Isherwood, Christopher. A Single Man. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013.