In class, we talked in depth about Stephen’s
fascination with sin. However, what struck me the most is his conviction that
he is the only person ever to have
such horrible thoughts (A teenage boy? Thinking about sex? The unimaginable
horror!). Having grown up in modern liberal America, this idea is strangely
funny to me. We constantly hear about “raging teenage hormones” and “sex-positivity”
and the like, and we hear about this stuff from friends, from culture/the
internet, and from adults. In Stephen’s world, not only is the subject much
more taboo but he rarely seems to take interest in what others could say to
him.
We get such little insight into
Stephen’s peers’ interactions. Do they experience a similar sense of isolation?
After the “hellfire” sermon in chapter
3, they seem to be much less affected than Stephen. Of course, they may not
have as much reason to feel guilty as he does, but still the sermon seems to reach
him in a much deeper way. His classmates shrug it off by joking with each
other, but Stephen has no one to joke with. This kind of friendly conversation
serves as a way for classmates to keep each other grounded, to remind each
other to lighten up – exactly the kind of thing Stephen has trouble grasping.
My question is this: Does Stephen stay away from his
classmates because he feels superior to them, or is it the other way around: does
he only think he’s so special because
he’s never gotten close enough to anyone to find out otherwise? It’s definitely
clear that Stephen is different from
his peers to some degree. He’s certainly more serious. Still, his self-imposed
isolation seems to reinforce this difference, making it a vicious cycle.
