A New Understanding

When I first finished July, July, I was still lost as to its meaning.  Two lines in the last few chapters stood out to me as important.  The first was that "love, Dorothy thought, was plainly not all you needed" (273).  She goes on to list other necessities to life including the surgeries and medicine that she has needed to survive.  To me this quote was a reflection on the characters' obsession with love.  Dorothy is realizing that love is not the only important aspect of a well lived life. Another impactful passage was the one at the very end of the book.  The narration switches back and forth between characters every sentence or two showing the moments that got them to where they are now.

"'Baby,' Spook said, and Harmon Osterberg kicked a cantaloupe at Ellie Abbot, and Billy Burned his draft card, and Karen burns eyed a newly hired professor of sociology.  It was 3:11 A.M., Sunday Morning, July 9, 2000, but over the bleak, flaming grasslands it was July now, July, always"(322).

This passage reviles the idea that live moves on yet always stays the same.  Things are as they always will be.  It shows a sad yet content tone towards the characters' lives.  

After thinking about the ending for a bit I still felt that I was missing a few key aspects to the book so I found a few interviews with Tim O'Brien about the book to see what he had to say about it.  July, July is a reflection on the baby boomer generation.  The characters graduated college in 1969.  This was a year when many important changes were happening in the world.  There were civil rights movements, The Vietnam war and the moon landing to name a few.  The class of '69 graduated full of hope and expectations for their future.  Then as they grew older, reality hit them, important life-altering events happened to them and they changed.  By the end of the reunion they are beginning to accept their lives more and are content with them.

In my previous posts I said that the characters were static, but now I think that, on the contrary they are very dynamic.  Before, I had overlooked what they were like immediately after graduating college.  I didn't realize that the stories about each character explained the events changed them.  For example, being in the war changed David Todd, breast cancer changed Dorothy Stier, dodging the draft changed Billy McMann and being caught stealing changed Paulette Haslo.  Right before these events the characters were their happy-go-lucky selves like they were in college.  Then they changed into their unhappy older selves.  The reunion brings them all back together and brings back the memories from the past.  They start hoping again.  They try to find love.  They wonder what would have happened if one choice they had made was different: if they hadn't told that one lie, or lost their leg, or stayed in America.  In the end they realize that they are content with their lives.  The last two sentences of the book are "'Follow me, sweetheart.  We're golden'"(322).  This line shows that they are going to leave their past lives behind and move forward.  Another piece of evidence showing this is how all of them decide that they will not go to any more reunions.  During the reunion they got lost in their pasts and they don't want that to happen again.

Another statement that I made in earlier posts was that the characters were very unlikable.  I do not think that the characters are so disagreeable anymore. Now I agree with a statement that Tim O'Brien made in a interview with Texas Monthly about one story, but I think it applies to all of them.  He said that "the story is partly funny, partly infuriating, and partly pitiful".  I think that this is a perfect description of the book.  It explains why I was very frustrated with the characters, but also felt bad for them.  Some of the decisions that the characters make are bad, but it is hard not to feel bad for them given the life that they have found themselves in.  Earlier in the book I thought that Tim O'Brien was being critical of the characters and the time but now I think that he is using the characters to convey the truth about growing old.  This makes the novel a coming of age story for adults.

After finishing July, July and reading Tim O'Brien's notes on the book I feel like I understand the meaning of the book better but in no way understand all of it.  This is the type of book that would be helpful to reread when I am older.  I am sure I would have a very different reaction if I read this when I was fifty.


Cox, Tom. "Overlooked Classics: July, July by Tim O'Brien." The Gardian. The Gardian, 18 Apr. 2012. Web. 27 Jan. 2015.

"Interview with Tim O'Brien." ReadersRead.com. Writers Write, n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2015.

Varty, Nora. "A Q&A With Tim O'Brien." Texas Monthly. N.p., Nov. 2002. Web. 27 Jan. 2015.