Not Feeling Like the Man of Feeling

I also found myself thinking about how Harley was different from the contemporary standard of the ideal man. Today, these men are portrayed as the "strong silent type." Strength is in not being affected by the unfairness of the world, in not crying, even for one's own grief, let alone those of other people.

Harley is drawn towards marginalized people, he is unafraid of feeling strong emotions and is constantly making himself vulnerable to them. One of my favorite quotes in this novel is when he says “[T]o calculate the chances of deception is too tedious a business for the life of man ” (P.41) I connected with Harley in this moment (one of very few I have to admit) because I know what it's like to feel frustrated because you just want to live your life instead of worrying about who you should trust and who you shouldn't. For Harley, feeling is easier, and more natural than forcing himself not to feel. Harley gives so much of himself that he does so at a loss to himself. It's his unwavering kindness and almost complete disregard for himself that gets him so sick.

I don't think Mackenzie did a very good job of making me as a reader to want to be like Harley. For the one thing, it was difficult for me to really identify with all of the crying. It's true that if I was in those situations and I met these people, I'd probably cry. Maybe if this was a well made movie and I could better imagine these people, I might be more moved to tears. But aside from the emotional effect, while I admire Harley, I'm not moved to be like him because of the book. Mackenzie didn't really show me a benefit of being like Harley. I feel a religious obligation to be somewhat like Harley, but that had nothing to do with this book.