Old School by Tobias Wolff

[theDML2112 0]

I was curious if anyone here at THE FORUM is familiar with a book entitled Old School by Tobias Wolff. In short, the book is about a group of teenage student writers attending a prep school in the early 1960's. They attempt to impress some of the great authors of their time with works of their own through an essay contest. The three authors are Robert Frost, Ernest Hemingway, and Ayn Rand.

The reason I bring this up is due to a local event surrounding this novel called The Big Read. On April 23rd there is going to be a panel discussion designed to explore the lives and works of the three authors. The panel consists of Jonathan Barron, president of the Robert Frost Society; Suzanne del Gizzo, board member of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation and Society; and Jeff Britting, archivist for the Ayn Rand Institute.

The Kansas City Objectivists group is planning to attend. And I hope the novel is good...I just started reading it.

theDML2112

[Betsy Speicher 0]

I was curious if anyone here at THE FORUM is familiar with a book entitled Old School by Tobias Wolff. In short, the book is about a group of teenage student writers attending a prep school in the early 1960's. They attempt to impress some of the great authors of their time with works of their own through an essay contest. The three authors are Robert Frost, Ernest Hemingway, and Ayn Rand.

Unfortunately, there is a character named "Ayn Rand" in this book who says and does things the real Ayn Rand would never have done. The character is more like her a caricature by her enemies.

Here's an example from one character's description of Ayn Rand's lecture at the college.

He said that a bunch of Ayn Rand's followers had driven up from Boston and waited over an hour in the snow -- smoking like chimneys, dropping their butts everywhere -- so they could grab the front seats. They looked like a bunch of undertakers, Bill said, even the women, all of them silent and unsmiling in their dark clothes. During the talk they applauded at odd times and generally made a stir.

But not as much as Ayn Rand. Right away she tore into our school motto -- Give All -- and urged everyone to ignore such drivel and live for themselves alone.

Later on, there is the narrator's first-person account of "Ayn Rand"

She contemplated the fire. Yes, she said. The folks next door. If you are not prepared to be vilified as I have been, you must take those drab little lives as your subject. The lives of the people. Of your brother. Remember this: when someone calls himself your brother, he does so with one desire—that you will become his keeper, a slave to his own incapacity and idleness. Above all, save yourselves from your brother.

Now, boys, here is a question for you. What does your value derive from? She watched us as she put another cigarette in her holder and accepted the flame from an outstretched hand. She let the silence grow. I noticed that her florid red lipstick was smeared at both corners of her mouth, and that a run in one of her stockings cut a long white scar across her knee.

Very well, she finally said. Let me tell you what your value not derive from. It does not derive from the self-sacrifice of virtue, even some power, but this is worthless -- it is bondage. When your power comes from others, on approval, you are their slave. Never sacrifice yourselves -- never! Whoever urges you to self-sacrifice is worse than a common murderer, who at least cuts your throat himself, without persuading you to do it. You must revere yourselves. To revere yourselves is to live truly. And as I know only too well, to live truly is to live at war. Yes at war -- with the people and the party and the guilt-peddling Jesus industry!

[bborg 0]

To revere yourselves is to live truly. And as I know only too well, to live truly is to live at war. Yes at war -- with the people and the party and the guilt-peddling Jesus industry!

It's like Ayn Rand as presented in a malevolent universe. It isn't just a problem with the speaking style, which is not like her at all, but the focus of her speech. In reality she never granted metaphysical significance to evil, and in fact the heroes in her novels took no special notice of evil, except to stay out of its path. Obviously this author never read or refused to integrate the following exchange from The Fountainhead:

"Mr. Roark, we’re alone here. Why don’t you tell me what you think of me? In any words you wish. No one will hear us."

"But I don’t think of you."

[theDML2112 0]

Then it sounds like Mr. Britting has a task of "setting the record straight". It troubles me that Ayn Rand's life and ideas are misrepresented. Thankfully someone form ARI will be on the panel.

theDML2112

[realitycheck44 0]

Yes, a "friend" gave me this book because she said it reminded her of me. It's such a complete misrepresentation of Ayn Rand and her philosophy that I wasn't even disturbed by it. The author is such a non-entity compared to her that it really doesn't matter.

[Jim A. 0]

Sounds like Jeff Britting should pull out of this thing. I wish no one from ARI or any other potential spokesperson for Ayn Rand and Objectivism would participate in this event. To me it's like someone saying: "Oh, no, that's not the way she was at all. And that's not the way we Objectivists believe or behave."

These things are true, but to feel compelled to justify and explain yourself or your hero is, to me, like caving-in to pressure. I like what someone (John Wayne?) once said: "Never apologize, never explain." It was in the context of having to justify your character and your own thought-out actions.

Well, in this case, I think it is possible to explain yourself out of existence. It is possible to blur the personhood you hope to maintain simply by justifying it. If part of the mental attitude upheld by Objectivism is to think and act based on reality, without concern for what others think, then to explain yourself, in this context, means to be becoming dependent on the opinion of others. And if the audience of this "Big Read" panel are mostly second-handers, anyway, nothing you say in defense of Ayn Rand or her philosophy will make any difference. As a matter-of-fact, by being on the defense, you only confirm the impression Objectivism's antagonists already have of Objectivists: that of being concerned with how others see them, with how good they look--which is the antagonists' definition of "ego".

I like Jeff Britting, but I do wish he would refuse to defend Ayn Rand to people who are probably not seriously interested in her or her philosophy, and that no other Objectivist would step up to take his place. Plus, I fear that in the discussions he will be "ganged-up" on, as often happens with people who are antagonistic to individualism. (I remember how film critic Richard Schickel responded to Britting when they were both part of a panel discussion televised on C-Span a few years ago; there may a whole crowd of Schickel mentalities at this book event.)

[darren 0]

I just came back from this event, and Jeff Britting did a great job. When it was his turn to speak about Ayn Rand's character in "Old School" by Tobias Wolff, he nailed it. Britting started by stating that Wolff's presentation of Ayn Rand was a "total distortion," among other words, and then went on in detail to explain who she was, the themes of her four fiction books, and a little bit of her philosophy. Near the end of his presentation he compared Wolff's "character that shares Ayn Rand's name" with the actual Ayn Rand and showed a few specific cases where the two are polar opposites. He also asked the audience to not take his presentation or Wolff's presentation of Ayn Rand on faith by reading Rand's books for themselves.

Britting's presentation of Ayn Rand was everything Wolff's was not. While Wolff presentation Ayn Rand as a mean, dismissive, and rude woman that no rational person would want to be around (except for her dark-clothes-wearing acolytes), Britting presented an intelligent woman who took ideas and her writing seriously. And he did it in a way that would leave someone who knew little about her with a desire to want to know more.

The panel also included a speaker for Robert Frost and a speaker for Ernest Hemingway, and both got a fair amount of time. I think Ayn Rand was the focus of the evening, however. Perhaps I'm a little biased in making that judgement, but the majority of the questions were about Ayn Rand and the more interesting responses seemed to come from Britting.

The surprise of the evening for me was a student who read a few passages from Atlas Shrugged. Before each speaker a student came on stage and read a few passages from that particular writer. The student who was tasked with Ayn Rand's work came up with three great passages: one from Dagny's first ride on the John Galt Line, one from the Francico's money speech, and another from John Galt's speech. The passages she picked were just perfect, and it was heartening to see them read to the audience.

The panel was taped with two cameras, and one of the camera operaters told me after the event that there might be a chance the video could be released online. I'll keep my eye out and see what happens.

Overall, it was a great night! Thanks to Jeff Britting for making the trip all the way out to Kansas City. We don't get events like this very often!

[RayK 0]

Thank you for the synopsis, Darren.

[Mindy Newton 0]

I just came back from this event, and Jeff Britting did a great job. When it was his turn to speak about Ayn Rand's character in "Old School" by Tobias Wolff, he nailed it. Britting started by stating that Wolff's presentation of Ayn Rand was a "total distortion," among other words, and then went on in detail to explain who she was, the themes of her four fiction books, and a little bit of her philosophy. Near the end of his presentation he compared Wolff's "character that shares Ayn Rand's name" with the actual Ayn Rand and showed a few specific cases where the two are polar opposites. He also asked the audience to not take his presentation or Wolff's presentation of Ayn Rand on faith by reading Rand's books for themselves.

Britting's presentation of Ayn Rand was everything Wolff's was not. While Wolff presentation Ayn Rand as a mean, dismissive, and rude woman that no rational person would want to be around (except for her dark-clothes-wearing acolytes), Britting presented an intelligent woman who took ideas and her writing seriously. And he did it in a way that would leave someone who knew little about her with a desire to want to know more.

The panel also included a speaker for Robert Frost and a speaker for Ernest Hemingway, and both got a fair amount of time. I think Ayn Rand was the focus of the evening, however. Perhaps I'm a little biased in making that judgement, but the majority of the questions were about Ayn Rand and the more interesting responses seemed to come from Britting.

The surprise of the evening for me was a student who read a few passages from Atlas Shrugged. Before each speaker a student came on stage and read a few passages from that particular writer. The student who was tasked with Ayn Rand's work came up with three great passages: one from Dagny's first ride on the John Galt Line, one from the Francico's money speech, and another from John Galt's speech. The passages she picked were just perfect, and it was heartening to see them read to the audience.

The panel was taped with two cameras, and one of the camera operaters told me after the event that there might be a chance the video could be released online. I'll keep my eye out and see what happens.

Overall, it was a great night! Thanks to Jeff Britting for making the trip all the way out to Kansas City. We don't get events like this very often!

Thanks very much for this report!

Mindy