Frank Conroy’s memoir Stop Time is supposedly a coming of age story about fitting into the American male canon. It’s a recollection of Conroy’s life marbled with events that, in some cases, shock the reader with how revealing the novel is. Throughout the novel, it appears Conroy is “evolving” as a person, and the character Frank is maturing. However, I argue that despite all that happens in the stories Conroy tells, he has not grown much at all, and shows very little maturity; specifically, he shows this through his unending disregard of consequences. I define “maturity” as taking experiences from one’s past and learning from them in a constructive manner. Conroy, to me, does not show that he gained anything from the bulk of his memoir, which
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This bit takes place roughly ten years after the last chapter of the book; and again, he’s presumably drunk, driving through the villages littering England. To summarize what happens, he nearly slams into a stone fountain, but as the universe would have it, he survives through a freak occurrence. But all along throughout this incident, he welcomed the possibility of death, and egged fate on:
As the fountain grew larger I felt myself relax. I leaned toward the door. Let it come. Let it come as hard and as fast as it can. Touch the wheel, make an adjustment so it will strike right beside me. Here it comes! Here it comes! (Conroy, p. 284).
Conroy, despite being in a presumably perilous predicament, remains in a tone that mocks death. He toys with fate, and despite surviving the ordeal, he laughs afterwards. To me, this isn’t Conroy having a fit of nervous laughter, or anything of the sort, but the exact opposite; he shows that he believes that no matter what he does, he’s invincible. That he’s without consequence. Again, it’s his unconscious admittance to his biggest downfall, which has plagued him throughout his memoir. This nearly fatal event is comparable to another time in Conroy’s life when he got “caught up in the …show more content…
Really, there’s no reason to even include these events in the novel, aside from creating a juxtaposition between his past and current self. However, these passages have somewhat of an allegorical quality to them. Regarding the prologue, it was used to create an image of Frank Conroy that the reader would be able to understand; it was a way to introduce his flaws immediately, so the audience would understand where they came from as they read the memoir itself. The epilogue is much more dramatic, in a sense. Its tone is almost manic, and seems to be the “this is what I’ve become” of the novel. His syntax has changed to where it seems like the Frank Conroy you met in the prologue has changed as you read the novel, and this is the
This bit takes place roughly ten years after the last chapter of the book; and again, he’s presumably drunk, driving through the villages littering England. To summarize what happens, he nearly slams into a stone fountain, but as the universe would have it, he survives through a freak occurrence. But all along throughout this incident, he welcomed the possibility of death, and egged fate on:
As the fountain grew larger I felt myself relax. I leaned toward the door. Let it come. Let it come as hard and as fast as it can. Touch the wheel, make an adjustment so it will strike right beside me. Here it comes! Here it comes! (Conroy, p. 284).
Conroy, despite being in a presumably perilous predicament, remains in a tone that mocks death. He toys with fate, and despite surviving the ordeal, he laughs afterwards. To me, this isn’t Conroy having a fit of nervous laughter, or anything of the sort, but the exact opposite; he shows that he believes that no matter what he does, he’s invincible. That he’s without consequence. Again, it’s his unconscious admittance to his biggest downfall, which has plagued him throughout his memoir. This nearly fatal event is comparable to another time in Conroy’s life when he got “caught up in the …show more content…
Really, there’s no reason to even include these events in the novel, aside from creating a juxtaposition between his past and current self. However, these passages have somewhat of an allegorical quality to them. Regarding the prologue, it was used to create an image of Frank Conroy that the reader would be able to understand; it was a way to introduce his flaws immediately, so the audience would understand where they came from as they read the memoir itself. The epilogue is much more dramatic, in a sense. Its tone is almost manic, and seems to be the “this is what I’ve become” of the novel. His syntax has changed to where it seems like the Frank Conroy you met in the prologue has changed as you read the novel, and this is the