Belonging
After taking the surfing lesson with the Saint, Heller writes, “We walked up the sidewalk crowded with spring break tourists and young surfers carrying boards and I felt like a king. I belonged. All the surf kitsch--the surfboards in the windows of beachwear stores, the boards hanging over the fronts of restaurants, the surf-scene prints on the shirts of the passing visitors--I saw it all and thought, Yeah, that’s the culture everybody wants to be a part of. My culture. Cuz I’m a surfer now” (37).
What is it that makes Heller feel like he belongs to this culture? Do you agree that he truly belongs as a member of the surfing culture at this point in the book? Why or why not?
What is it that makes Heller feel like he belongs to this culture? Do you agree that he truly belongs as a member of the surfing culture at this point in the book? Why or why not?
Heller believes that he belongs to this culture because he can physically stand up and ride a wave all by himself; also, he has all the necessary equipment, knows what all of it does and speaks and acts in the way a surfer does (at least in what he has seen in his interaction with other surfers). He talks confident; after all he says, "Cuz I'm a surfer now." He also thinks that his classes with the Saint have already made him a master surfer, which shows his overconfidence and pretentious feelings. He acts no better than the people who swear at him and call him a 'kook.' I do not believe he is a member of the surfing culture because he has not touched a wave beyond the classes with the Saint. Once he gets back to the waves he was at earlier when he was trying to learn by himself, he will realize that it isn't so easy without a teacher immediately there for support. He may have the mental attitude and wear the apparel to appear to be a surfer, but he is still truly a kook.
ReplyDeleteBeing a surfer is much more then just being able to stand on a board. It is a lifestyle. One must posses certain characteristics in order for them to fit into the surfing world. In my experience every surfer I have ever met has been like Saint determined yet relaxed. Heller displayed his determined after standing up on the board. He felt accomplished by his actions which is what caused to say "I felt like a king. I belonged". As far as I have seen in the book the main character is facing a mid life crisis and is not willing to give up his life to surf. He demonstrates this non commitment with woman as well. He displayed his "kookiness" in several aspects of his life and because of this he will never fit into surf culture.
ReplyDeleteHeller kinda constructs this surfer persona around himself after only having a taste of surfer lifestyle. He feels like he belongs within the culture because of the welcoming and relaxed vibes that everyone gives off. Although I don't really feel he is a surfer. Heller seems almost too intent on becoming a real surfer. Through his way too direct history lessons, he just isn't believable. He also isn't really that involved in the community; he still gets cussed out by fellow surfers and called a 'kook'. He still has barely ridden any decent waves aswell. Heller seems to like the idea of being a surfer, but without the commitment.
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In today’s society, the suffix that frequently flanks the word culture is appropriation, an individual borrowing unique features of a culture, like traditional dress, beauty methods, or religion, demonstrating a lack of regard for the history of the item or its importance within the culture it stems from. For Heller, the things that signal his “belonging” in the surfing community are limited to the superficial, accessible parts of surfing: the sex wax, the board, the slang, that jovial-but-focused disposition all surfers effortlessly exude. Heller’s attempts to immerse himself into surf culture are nearly appropriative–excluding his efforts in actual surfing. He’s dubbed a kook, an especially inept beginner surfer, by the skilled locals, the ones for whom surfing was a way of life, rather than a refuge from a midlife crisis. Nonetheless, Heller is paying his dues, forcibly learning the decorum of surfers, capsizing every day only to get up again the next in hopes that one day he’ll inherit the authenticity of the surfer. Until then, his wax, board shorts and keen observations of surf etiquette are the closest he’ll get to the culture.
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