The Importance of Wealth

After reading a number of summaries and reviews of Jonathan Dee's The Privileges I anticipated a narrative about a simple lifestyle led by the Morey family with some underlying themes thrown in, but after completing the second third of the novel I gained an eye for making connections and noting the symbolism Dee, a teacher of graduate-level writing at Columbia University, deftly uses.  Dee's use of symbolism really appeals to me as it adds a complexity factor I did not predict before I began reading. I found myself intrigued at Dee's use of symbolism during the charity event on the Intrepid for all of the workers at Perini.  Surroumded by his peers, nearly all men of wealth, I believe Adam began to question the necessity of money to have happiness and the actions taken by him in order to gain prosperity.  Dee first references Adam's "relationship to drinking" which I interpreted as a symbol of Adam's feelings regarding wealth (94).  Relationships involving drinking of course typically do not yield a positive connotation, therefore, I see Adam as viewing his ambition for wealth similar to a drinking problem, something negative.  Dee later uses the adjective "complicated" to describe the relationship Adam has with alcohol (94).  Complicated relationships often entail doubt, so by doubting his drinking habits Dee also reveals Adam's questioning of his business decisions and practices and even doubts regarding wealth as a foundation for happiness.  As the event continued I noted the continuation of Adam's questioning of the necessity for wealth and as a result he acted.  Adam observed "Another Wall Street Tyke" at the gathering raising conflicts with other brokers to the extent of stealing an expensive watch off of one of Adam's coworkers (93).  Adam approached the kid about the matter without any intentions of busting him for stealing the watch.  He did take the "gold Patek Philippe" watch back from the young gun but in order to teach a lesson to the younger investor comparable to Adam soon after graduating from college (97).   A watch of that caliber never runs cheap and "gold" always appears synonomous with riches, therefore, I interpreted the watch as Dee's symbol for wealth.  Despite the hefty price of the watch, Adam, with little emotion, "threw it over the side," a gesture I believe intended to prove a point to the young broker: more matters than money (97).  Dee places so much attention on this moment at the event to emphasize one's ability to change priorities and search for meaning in things beyond money regardless of how wrapped up in achieving wealth one may live.  The author's subtle use of symbolism teaches a lesson to those with questionable priorities  like wealth.  With the added complexity of an abundance of symbolism Dee appeals to my future decision making and logic, as a result encouraging me and others to rethink what truly has the most importance in life.

Type A, Atypical

With one third of The Privileges by Jonathan Dee complete I admire Cynthia and her simple but conscientous qualities most for they differ from the traits becoming more noticeable in women of her generation.  One can credit the entertainment industry of the 21st century for placing so much focus on the "drama" in the lives of celebrities and glorifying the modern-day stereotypes of women.  Programs on television run with an abundance of external conflict between women depicted as overly dramatic, extremely self concious, and intensely hostile.  The Privileges also emphasizes these traits in women sin the lights and camera of reality TV.  Dee himself lives in New York with his wife and daughter that provide moments that may reinforce or differentiate from the stereotypes of a 21st century woman.  As Dee characterizes a number of the women involved in the wedding he delicately reveals the intensity that many contemporary women exemplify.  For example, Deborah, "(never Debbie)," and Cynthia's mother, Ruth, appear enthralled in the traditional expectations of women and do not seem willing to break of those traditionalist generalizations (6).  Deborah herself proved incapable of accepting a lighter nickname revealing her seriousness.  On the other hand, Cynthia appeared more comfortable carrying on a more relaxed lifestyle.  Browsing around her mother's house in underwear despite looks from her mom, for example, leads me to believe that Cynthia shows less concern for the stereotypical characteristics and actions of her gender and much prefers to lead a happy-go-lucky lifestyle.  In juxtaposition Dee notes Deborah's more traditional sleepwear of flannel pajamas and feeling "congenitally chilly," furthermore asserting a common generaliztaion of women  and emphasizing their dramatic reactions to miniscule happenings such as slight changes in temperature (7).  I hate to stereotype, but I acknowledge the tendency of women feeling colder from my experience enduring complaints about the A/C many a time on roadtrips.  As a result, I admire Cynthia's ability to differ from the common stereotypes of women (true or untrue), all the while caring about the perceptions of others.  Dee portrays Cynthia's polite nature when, despite a comfortable temperature, she put on a t-shirt in case others got out of bed before her.  She also showed respect for her stepsister Deborah as she continued sleeping as to not wake her up.  Cynthia's ability to softly separate herself from the typical charaterizations of women impressed me and I like her most for she opted to act uniquely and not conform to the popular female traits of the time period.  By doing so in a subtle manner Cynthia also avoids drama, yet another trait I find very respectable.  The fact that she attempts to deal with her own wedding wihtout tunring it into an episode of The Real Housewives complete with cat fights and overwhelming amounts of modern-day complications gains my utmost respect. Consequently, Cynthia's relaxed and caring personality in addition to how comfortable she proved herself in her own skin makes her my favorite character thus far in The Privileges.