In Ian McEwan’s “Saturday” the reader is allowed a glimpse in to Mr. Perowne’s well-adjusted and comfortable life. Early on in the book we mainly get a feel for Mr. Perowne’s regimented life as a neurosurgeon and how he take pride in his ability to effortlessly perform delicate procedures for hours on end without it wearing on him. Additionally there is a hint of arrogance about his confidence in his skills. This was to an observation of Talese’s review of “Saturday”. Typically a Saturday is a reprieve from Perowne’s daily grind, while not a day of mindless waste, he fills the time with activities that work his body such as running and his weekly morning Squash match with Strauss, and a member of Perowne’s firm. Like his week, Perowne’s Saturdays seem to be routine and this routine offers him a veiled sense of comfort and security. Another interesting observation is Perowne’s obsession with analyzing events that seem to be out of his control in an attempt to somehow interject himself, thus allowing him a modicum of control. The most obvious example, early in the book, was of course the fiery plane streaking across the early morning sky. Another example details an interaction between a young couple in the square viewed from his bedroom window. Here Perowne stands and watches the interaction for several minutes seeing that the girl is visibly upset and scorning the repeated attempts of consoling from her apparent boyfriend. Perowne’s perceptive eye for detail picks up the fact that as he states “ Repeatedly, her left hand wanders behind her back, to dig under her T-shirt and scratch hard. She does this compulsively, even as she’s crying and half-heartedly shoving her boyfriend away.” Perowne immediately determines that the girl is a heroin addict. While watching this, his mind wonders a bit; however, as he sees the couple walking away, he surmises that the girl is new to use of heroin and would benefit from an opioid antagonist such as naloxone to counter the effects, and entertains the idea of running after her to provide her with a prescription. This again shows how Perowne tries to maintain some resemblance of control over his world, which offers him his sense of security.
2 comments:
Perowne did obsess and analyzed just about everything within sight. Rightfully so, he did this because he feared another attack similar to 9/11. According to the book, 9/11 was still fresh since it had occurred three years ago. In Perowne's time, America was making a case to bomb Saddam Hussein who was believed to be concealing weapons of mass destruction and conspiring with Al-Qaeda.
These events were the cause of Henry's obsession and feelings of insecurity. Despite Henry's concerns for war and terrorism, the events that transpired later on were much smaller in comparison. I really could not figure out how such an intellectual could not see that three bullies with no education nor morals would take the blame for the broken winged mirror.
It was very obvious that they had the advantage from the moment they stepped out of the BMW. Henry should have played along with their story and given them whatever money he possessed at the time or written them a check. The bullies would have went on their way and Henry could have alerted the police afterwards.
It really irked me that he had been analyzing every situation before that moment so brilliantly but could not adequately get out of a simple vehicle accident. I guess the author had to dumb him down a little to get the story rolling.
Henry's unease, caused by the impending march against British involvement in the war in Iraq, is carefully racketed up throughout the day. Remember, he once held a seat in the Lords, but it was taken away by the very people who are marching in the streets. Further, the one thing he immediately notices about Baxter is that his medical condition, unknown to Baxter himself, is terminal and also lethal to those around him because he has irrational fits. The scene in the house with Daisy is a good example. Perowne, wealthy, well educated, powerful in his position T the hospital, cannot even protect his family. Is the author making a connection between Baxter and world leaders such as Sadaam Hussein and Geoege Busg?
Post a Comment