What influenced Jerzy Kosinski to write the novel Being There?
Jerzy Kosinski was born a Polish Jew in 1933 and survived the Nazi invasion of his country. However, he lost his speech ability following a Nazi invasion and in 1957, immigrated to the U.S. to escape the misfortunes of the war that had left him a child beggar (Holstad n.p.). He enrolled at the University of Lodz and later moved to New York to begin his writing career. His first book The Painted Bird was published in 1965, and five years later, he published his second book, Being There. The novel is a satirical perspective on the human tendency to overreact to events in our lives naturally. In the novel, Kosinski assumes a satirical look at society and media.
Being There is about a humble gardener known as Chance. He receives his social and academic education mainly from television. However, Chance's decision to rely on media as a tool for learning ends up crippling his social life. For example, having received all his education from the media and in particular, television, Chance expects that the rest of society shall conduct themselves in the outlandish and comical manner depicted on television (Gelb n.p.). After the death of his employer, Chance is forced to leave the house. While traversing the city street to which he is unaccustomed, Chance is hit by a car and the wife of a wealthy Wall Street mogul is traveling in it. She offers to take Chance with her home so that she can nurse him back to health. Here, he meets with a Wall Street industrialist called Ben Rand, who mistakes him for an upper-class gentleman. This encounter changes Chance’s life for the better. Ben becomes a trusted advisor to the ailing Ben Rand and he opens the doors to rich and powerful powerbrokers and businessmen whose interaction changes Chance's life for the better. For example, Chance becomes the beneficiary of Ben Rand's fortune upon the latter's death and this sets the scenes for bigger things in his life, including becoming a presidential advisor. This turn of events speaks volumes of our society that allows people with feeble minds like Chance to get into positions of power and influence, and still fail to differentiate between what is real and fake. It is a short-sighted outlook of things that has been propagated by the news media.
Various meanings could be derived from Kosinski's choice of topic for his novel. What inspired the choice of topic, Being There? Given that television provides Chance with the life that he had always hoped for, it is fair to assume then that he had actually gotten what he wanted and that he had been "there" in terms of his idealized life. It could be that Kosinski wanted to communicate the simple truth that people pursue the lifestyles that they anticipate (Pulver n.p.). Accordingly, people endeavor to reshape their lives to such a state as would make them feel comfortable. In the case of Chance, he transitions from watching outlandish and comical television programs into situations that allow him to 'be there', literary. Chance abandons his gardening career following the death of his master. However, the tragic death of his boss and his subsequent decision to abandon his work as a gardener act as a turning point in his life.
The fact that Chance was not required to do anything to enjoy his upwardly mobile lifestyle can be likened to the illusions about society as mirrored by the television sitcoms that he was very fond of watching. Chance was only required to be there. He did not have to do anything. It could also be that Kosinski (n.p.) wanted to communicate the fact that some people lack personal thoughts and feelings. They are just there so that other people might fill in the blanks. Kosinski seems to mock how we as a society seek inspiration and wisdom. So much so that we end up imposing symbolism and metaphoric meaning even to otherwise "normal" conversation. We endeavor to be clever by any means possible and end up intellectualizing and over-analyzing issues. This results in man overreacting or becoming anxious and ending up seeking knowledge and wisdom from others. People in positions of power try to control everything and should they fail to do so, end up panicking. Chance's sense of calmness propels him to higher places because he provides a rare source of confidence and a return to nature, metaphorically.
Chance appears to simply exist. The fact that he had no exposure to the outside world other than what he saw (and imitated) from the television and his gardening work, implies that he is unwilling or unable to function devoid of certain stipulated cultural patterns. Chance is the victim of inherent meaninglessness which is quite evident in both his name and actions. He was born by chance hence his name. The fact that he loses the name Chance early in the book indicates that he is actually without any name and is thus just "Being there".
In Jerzy Kosinski’s novel, Being There, it is quite intriguing how society is fooled into making assumptions about people. For example, Chance inherits his former wealthy employer's old-fashioned, albeit expensive suits, and people around him, including the rich Rand family mistake him for a rich businessman. His life was transformed by chance hence his name. He did not have to do anything; he just had to be there and act like the characters he had become so accustomed to on television.
Works Cited
Gelb, Barbara. "Being Jerzy Kosinski." New York Times Magazine, 21 February, 42-46. 1982. Web. 05 July 2017.
Holstad, Scott, C. The Dialectics of Getting There: Kosinski's Being There and the Existential Anti-Hero. n.d. Web. 05 July 2017.
Kosinski, Jerzy. Being There. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc., 1970. Print.
Pulver, Andrew. Inspired by Chance. The Guardian. 13 November 2004. Web. 06 July 2017.
