Just Remember to Shut the Freezer Door, Okay?
"Sag Harbor" contains a variety of interesting and captivating scenes, though the one most memorable to me was one one with the head pat and the freezer. The analysis from the boys accompanied with the interesting and conflicting form of revenge make for a complex and challenging scene to dissect. Here I'll explain my thought process while reading it.
To start, there's the head-patting incident. If I had read that scene from an objective 3rd party lens, I don't think I would have seen much wrong with it, though clearly the boys thought otherwise. They find demeaning connotation in the gesture, and that's a very valuable perspective. While I would have read it as a father/older brother congratulating their younger counterpart in maybe-more-affectionate-than-was-called-for way, they read more meaning into it and clearly take serious offense, and that prompts the requirement for revenge from their perspective. I don't have anything particular to say about the validity of their reaction towards it. If they read it in a racist or negative way, that's reasonable and they should absolutely bring it up with their manager. During the discussion in class there was a lot of talk about the hierarchical relationship between the two in terms of their place on the corporate ladder, and I think that's an interesting take, and can certainly be part of the reason for the intense reaction the boys had.
Now, what I'm really interested in talking about is the form of revenge. I have to say I don't think it's the proper way to go about fixing a situation in the slightest. The point is, Martine doesn't realize what he did wrong, and can't fix it in the future (whether black or not, and we know he was). The leaving of the freezer doors open and the two head pats he gave his employee probably never crossed his mind as being connected, so nothing changes. There's just general negative impact on both parties. I feel that a discussion would have been much better, but I don't know if that would be a "hard" or "cool" way to go about it.
There's a lot of nuance to this incident, and there are many different ways to read it. What do you think?
I see how the issues with the head patting incident can be misunderstood or not very clear but I think especially in Benji's case, where he has been under the scrutiny of white kids at his school and experienced his afro/hair being touched due to its "foreignness", the sensitivity to this action is going to be heightened. Thus, I also really understand why this was his first reaction to the head-patting incident. I also just think in general, we as a society really only pat little kids on the head so that in itself can be seen as demeaning considering Benji's literally a teenager. I also think Benji's mode of revenge was very interesting and did not necessarily solve the issue at hand. I think a conversation/confrontation would have been much more effective, especially because Martine did not appear to know the implications of his action. However, I don't see confrontation really fitting in Benji's character because in past chapters, we've seen him as a not super reactive/intense personality and so this passive revenge fits the character we've seen throughout the book more.
ReplyDeleteI like how you quote Martine's note as the title of this post--there are so many other ways he could have phrased that request, to make him seem like more of a quintessential "bad boss," or to support the idea that he is oppressing these kids in some way. The note is not blameful, it takes the story at face value that leaving the door open was an accident ("just remember", as if someone forgot), and it definitely seems completely unaware that anyone has enacted "revenge" against him. I was expecting Benji to hear stories of how NP and Nick were yelled at by Martine, that he was angry all weekend, even that one of them might have been fired--but Martine's response is pretty cool, as bosses go. Just please remember, okay? Thanks, guys! It's really tough to see him as a villain who deserves to have his business sabotaged by Benji, and the melting ice cream reaching out to him in his imagined memory of the event always strikes me as having an aspect of guilt/conscience. Benji has tried to "do something," but he remains completely ambivalent as to the value of what he's tried to do.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you in a way since Martine never learned from his "mistakes", but I also don't think that was the point of Benji's actions. I think the point was that Benji was unsure of whether Martine was being racist, so he responded with an equally confusing punishment by melting all the ice cream with no trace of who did it. I do agree that this wasn't the best way of achieving a good outcome because Martine was never confronted, but I think that given the ambiguity of the head pat, the equally confusing action of leaving the freezer door made sense.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting post! I agree that the situation could've easily been interpreted differently depending on the perspective. In terms of leaving the freezer open, I'm not sure if it was the best form of "revenge," but it's hard for me to think of another alternative. If Benji had chose to confront Martine, he risks damaging his relationship with him and potentially jeopardizing his job. In my opinion, it seems like an indirect form of revenge was probably better, however, given that the freezer door could've been interpreted as an accident by Martine, I don't think it was the best. In the end, Martine lost quite a bit of money but probably didn't realize that one of his employees felt violated. It's a tricky situation-- and while I don't 100% support Benji's decision, I'm not against it, either.
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