Barajas1

Samantha Barajas

Professor Rodrick

Queer Studies 115

Georges Way of Shaping His Identity

In the novel written by Christopher Isherwood A Single Man there were many

characters introduced throughout the story whom all have a different identity. Though many

characters are mentioned throughout the novel it is hard to be able to see many of the characters

identities. In the novel it seemed like there was a lot of negativity in society of how they viewed

people from the queer identity. There were many people who were queer throughout the time and

had to hide what they felt and be in a secret relationship with someone from their own sex.

George the main character hide his identity and was in a secret relationship with someone he

loved and then that person later died. In the novel A Single Man ,the main character George

shaped his identity by hiding his feelings and relationships in order to conform to society.

George had to hide his sexuality which built up a lot of hatred within him because society

saw people from the LGBTQ differently and they opposed them. Throughout the novel it was

seen people of higher power were spreading homophobia through newspaper articles. There was

so much hate that George was building up because of what a newspaper editor was saying about

people who are queer. There was a scene in the novel that said, A local newspaper editor has

started a campaign sex deviates (by which he means people like George). They are everywhere,

he says; you cant go into a bar anymore, or a mens room, or a public library without seeing

hideous sights.(Isherwood,36) All this began to build all the hatred that George had its how he

started to shape his identity. Many people referred people as the queer as criminals which is

something that George opposed. Since George saw that there was being a spread of homophobia
 Barajas2

he wanted to find a way to stop it, so he began to hide his feelings. All this began to build up

thoughts in Georges mind about hurting the newspaper editor and all the people that were

associated with him. That is why he began to tense up when he was in the car. Not having the

support that they need from society is what sometimes leads people from the queer think like

that.

Another example of someone who was influenced by the society norms was the short

story in The Full Spectrum My Diary: Documented,Done. by L. Canale. Whom wrote about

the time that her dad found out that she is gay, she wrote So i start crying and he walks in and

says all this stuff about how its just a mortal sin to be gay, how I am just confused, how I dont

know anything . How I am too young to understand, how Ive never dated before.(Canale,42)

This is an example of how what society has their own perspectives and own beliefs,they do not

try to understand what others are feeling. It is hard for them to be able to say whom they are if

they feel like they are being judged for being who they are. These actions can lead to depression

because sometimes people from the queer feel like they have no one on their side. This connects

to George because it is an example of why he chose to hide. If he ended up saying who he was he

was not going to have any support the only support he would have is from Charley. On the other

hand, if George would have spoke out he would have broughten out awareness and he would

have felt relieved which would have made him happier because he could be happy. The fact that

he is not able to say anything because of society norms is what brought him down. Another

example is from the Ted talk by Morgana Bailey, where she admitted that she spent 16 years

hiding who she was. She said,I became the opposite of who I thought I once was, I stayed in my

room instead of socializing, stopped engaging in clubs,leadership This is an example of how

 Barajas3

someone changes and hides who they are instead of confronting the problem, just like how

George hated the newspaper editor for what he was saying,yet he did not do anything about it.

George ended up falling in love with someone named Jim. He seemed to be in love with him

though Jim seemed to be experimenting, it seemed and he was not taking the relationship as

serious as George was. They both had to hide their relationship because of the norms of society.

It is also an example of when George went to the market and was buying food for more than one

person even if he was a lone. He was not being himself and wanted to believe that Jim was still

with him. In a way that shaped their identity because though they were in a relationship George

began to think if no one knew was it really a relationship. Then what really threw him off was

that Jim had an affair with Doris in Mexico, which made George grow more hate. He hated

Dorris, but he also hated Jim. For he hated Jim too, nearly as much as her, while they were

away together in Mexico. That has been the bond between him and Doris. And now it is broken.

And one more bit of Jim is lost to him forever.(Isherwood,102) This demonstrates how he hated

both of them because he felt betrayed. He actually loved Jim and it took him so long to grieve

him because the love he had for him was real even though he may have just been an experiment

for him. Jims affair with Dorris affected his identity.

 Barajas4

In addition, George lost so many people in his life and he had

no one to talk to. The person he loved,trusted, and cared

for ended up having an affair with a woman and ended up

dying. After Jims death George was lonely which made him

turn to Charley. The fact that the society disagreed with who

the people of the queer were is what made turn back to

Charley. He felt that he had no one to talk to. The only way he was able to shape his identity

was by hiding his feelings and relationships.

This image is a representation of how George felt he felt trapped. He felt like he had no

one to go to and that why he was seeking love with people he knew he could not have

like,Kenny. There was only so little he can say about his relationship with Jim and a limited

amount of people who he could vent to. That is why when Jim died it took him so long to grieve

him, and that is why he started to find things that reminded him and were able to give him a

connection to Jim.

George ended up falling in love with someone named Jim. He seemed to be in love with

him though Jim seemed to be experimenting, it seemed and he was not taking the relationship as

serious as George was. They both had to hide their relationship because of the norms of society.

In a way that shaped their identity because though they were in a relationship George began to

think if no one knew was it really a relationship. Then what really threw him off was that Jim

had an affair with Doris in Mexico, which made George grow more hate. He hated Dorris, but he

also hated Jim. For he hated Jim too, nearly as much as her, while they were away together in

Mexico. That has been the bond between him and Doris. And now it is broken. And one more bit

of Jim is lost to him forever.(Isherwood,102) This demonstrates how he hated both of them
 Barajas5

because he felt betrayed. He actually loved Jim and it took him so long to grieve him because the

love he had for him was real even though he may have just been an experiment for him. Jims

affair with Dorris affected his identity.

When George found out about the affair he began to grow more hate. It coincided with

the idea of LGBTQ because he thought that for once he had found someone he can be

with,someone that he loved. Then Jims death added on to the situation where he realized that he

had no one and that he was alone that is why he decided to call Charley again because he was

lonely. And at once Geo and Charley are once linked, are yet another of this evening's lucky

pairs, amidst all of its lonely wanderers.(Isherwood,114) This is significant because many

people from the queer sometimes do not have anyone to go to just like George the only person he

could go to was Charley because she knew about their relationship. Another significant thing is

that he thought it was hard to find someone and that is why he began to see hope with Kenny. He

took so long grieving for Jim and finding people who reminded him of Jim. There is that point

where he realized there was hope like in the scene with Kenny, but it seems like what they have

is out of reach because he is one of Georges students and has girlfriend. Something significant

about that is that it seems as sometimes in a relationship of people of the same sex it seems like

there is the person that is actually committed to the relationship and then theres the person who

is experimenting because George has been the one who actually developed feelings for Jim and

Kenny but they both were with someone else.

He spent so much time hiding who he was because he was not so sure if the relationships

he had were real. Throughout everything he ended up getting hurt in some way and was alone.

The loneliness was created by society because people of the queer were not able to be open about

their sexuality that is why George was not open about it. Though, he opposed what the
 Barajas6

newspaper editor said about people like him he did nothing about it he did not defend himself

nor the people all he did was grow hate for him because of the way they considered people from

the queer community.

George shaped his identity based on what the people thought. In a way he always knew

who he was he just did not want others to find out because it was seen as something wrong.

Hiding his relationship with Jim ended up having an effect on him once he died because he

realized that he was not able to talk to anyone about his relationship with him. That also made

him think if what he had with Jim was real. He felt lonely and trapped because he could not vent

and say what he felt out loud. He felt limited because there was only so much he was able to say.

He shaped his identity by saving and keeping everything to himself when it was killing him

inside. Once he realized that there was much more to live for he died. That is why the society

shaped his identity he was too afraid to speak out and was very lonely in the inside that he did

not live to be happy. Society limited him and what he was able to say because of their

homophobia.
 Barajas7

Work Cited

Bailey, Morgana. The Danger of Hiding Who You Are | Morgana Bailey. YouTube, YouTube,

23 Jan. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2gbcVaZ448.

Canale, L. My Diary: Documented. Done. The Full Spectrum: a New Generation of Writing

about Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Other Identities, edited by

David Levithan and Billy Merrell, Alfred A. Knopf, 2006, pp. 4154.

Celis, Vanessa CelisVanessa, and Tneelytneely. Vanessa CelisVanessa Celis. HealthyPlace,

www.healthyplace.com/blogs/category/thelifelgbt/depression-the-life-lgbt/.

Isherwood, Christopher. A Single Man. New York, Lancer Books, 1965.pp.36-114