Evan Sittauer
Change isn’t something that happens in one night, it is only when you are at your lowest point where change will have its greatest impact. Change plays a crucial part of Richard’s story in The Secret History. Change is the main theme of Richards’ progression as a character, starting with his first moments at Hampden and ending with his first visit to the country. Richard has since gone through multiple different turning points where his views on his classmates and his time at Hampden College have changed for the better. Richard has begun lowering his heavily guarded internal walls and started connecting on a deeper level with his classmates.
Richard’s experience at Hampden College had been one filled with envy and loneliness. The author points out all of Richard’s flaws whether it be money, personality, relationships, or education. However, things began to change as time went on for Richard as he put himself out there. “Prior to this first weekend in the country, my recollections of that fall are distant and blurry” (Tartt 97). This quote shows a clear turning point in Richard’s views of his college life. He uses words such as “distant” and “blurry” to highlight the insignificance of his prior memories as opposed to his time in the country. Meaning his time in the country was a truly happy and unforgettable moment for him. Richard has begun to see his once “alien-like” classmates in a new light, one that he truly believes he can connect and build friendships with. This weekend in the country was the start of Richard’s efforts to push away his depression and loneliness that once ate away at his soul, opening the path for him to begin growing as an individual.
Referring to his now dark and dreary memories of his past at Hampden College, Richard speaks to the fact that “from here on out, they come into a sharp, delightful focus” (Tartt 97). The word choice of “sharp” and “delightful” contrast beautifully to the once “distant” and “blurry” memories that corrupted Richard’s aura. This word choice helps show progression in how Richard views the events in his life and his time with his classmates. Both at home and since arriving at Hampden College, Richard has locked himself and his feelings away. This all changed drastically once Richard began putting himself out there more and reaching out towards his classmates. Richard initially emphasized the fact that he is the opposite of his classmates financially, academically, and emotionally. This feeling of difference amplified Richard’s depression and his inability to feel as if he deserves to live a happy life. He refers to his time with his classmates as “the happiest time of his life” (Tartt 103). This passage differs from others in the book for Richard’s theme of change because not once had he before referred to a moment as the happiest time of his life. Before this moment, this sense of happiness was something he never expected to gain. These 5 words have significant meaning towards Richard’s character and signify the growth of Richard’s journey of change.
Richard speaks on how his classmates had transformed from these “stilted mannequins” (Tartt 97) into regular people. Ever since his first arrival on campus and his introduction to these classmates, Richard had always felt out of place when in the presence of them and their personalities. The author’s use of the metaphor of relating the classmates to mannequins helps give us insight into how Richard felt about his classmates and their unnatural characteristics. This can be further supported by the word stilted which meant they were unnatural. Richard’s perception of his classmates was night and day compared to before. These words give the reader a spark of excitement for what could come in the future whether it be good or bad for Richard. He now has the opportunity to learn more about his classmates and their lives, families, and secrets. Richard’s part in the inevitable death of Bunny builds off this turning point in the story, meaning Richard’s journey of change is a double edged sword in disguise.
The central theme of Richard’s journey of change in this passage ultimately contributes to Richard’s demise. Him becoming closer to his classmates and beginning to really open up to them paves the path to his participation in Bunnies murder as well as his inevitable leave from Hampden College. This interpretation opens a multitude of avenues for reading the text because you are able to see the start of Richard’s descent into crime and overall spiral downwards as a person, and you can see the different paths that Richard could have gone down and hypothesize what he could have done differently.
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