Paul Auster, The Brooklyn Follies An unexpected encounter "I lost contact" "happy and rich"

Résumé du document

This text is an extract from the novel Brooklyn Follies, written by Paul Auster and published in 2005. Earlier in the novel, we discovered the main character, Nathan Glass, a 60 years old man in remission from cancer. He was looking for a quiet place to die. In fact, someone recommended him Brooklyn. However, after a moment he changed his mind and started thinking in a more optimistic way. We are going to see in what ways the passage is representative of the whole novel. In the beginning of the passage, we also discover Nathan's family. He had a sister, June, who died of a stroke at 49. June had 2 children: Tom Wood and Aurora. Aurora has got one daughter, Lucy. Because of June's death, Nathan does not keep in touch with his family and he loses sight of his nephew, Tom. It was something we can call a "Family Diaspora" until Nathan met Tom in Harry Brightman's bookstore.

Extraits

[...] So, in this passage, Tom and Nathan are eating and drinking wine, the atmosphere is very cosy and relaxed. They are chilling out and talking about Tom's thesis. The title of the thesis is: “Imaginary edens: The life of the mind in the pre civil war America”. Tom is Nathan's favourite as he says l.3-4. He is called hero” l.4. He was a successful student: person meant to achieve great things” l.30-31. Both Nathan and Tom have a passion with literature, in fact, it was Nathan who “introduced him to as he says l30. [...]

[...] He tells us that all those machines which were supposed to make us rich and happy are destructing our society and our lifestyle. We all have some objects and stuff we do not really need, that's a consequence of the excess of the rise of technology and I think that is what Tom and Nathan try to escape by reading and writing. They feel secured when they are wrapped up in literature. So, as a conclusion we can say that they all wanted out. [...]

[...] Indeed, through all the times, men tried to escape their existence, their society because they though the world is going to be crazy:”both men believed that America had gone to hell, that it was being crushed to death by an ever-growing mountain of machines and money” lines 98-100. So in spite of all their differences, they agreed on one point, they wanted out. They didn't feel secure in the period they lived in, they had lost their faith in humanity. [...]

[...] Paul Auster, The Brooklyn Follies An unexpected encounter lost contact” “happy and rich” This text is an extract from the novel Brooklyn Follies, written by Paul Auster and published in 2005. Earlier in the novel, we discovered the main character, Nathan Glass, a 60 years old man in remission from cancer. He was looking for a quiet place to die. In fact, someone recommended him Brooklyn. However, after a moment he changed his mind and started thinking in a more optimistic way. [...]

[...] It creates a link between the 19th century and the 21st century which shows that the situation has not change. America's problems are still there. In the end, we can say that Tom and Nathan criticise a part of our modern society and define the world as a black hole (Tom says that in the chapter night of Eating and drinking”). We find the main themes of decadence of modern civilisation”, the relationship between Nathan and Tom . So it is in that way that the passage is significant of the whole novel. [...]