40 pages • 1 hour read
The Book of Charlie: Wisdom from the Remarkable American Life of a 109-Year-Old Man
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BetaChapters 1-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary
Von Drehle always dreamed of writing a fantasy novel for his children to enjoy, but never succeeded in finishing one. Although this book is very different, he believes that his children will need to learn the lessons it contains. Von Drehle argues that The Book of Charlie shows how one person managed to thrive in a rapidly changing world, making it relevant for today’s younger generations, who will also experience significant societal and technological change.
Von Drehle has lived through the digital revolution. However, he feels that he does not know enough about surviving significant change to mentor his children about being resilient to these major shifts. He argues that people born in the early 1900s who have lived into the 21st century have a unique perspective; they have witnessed numerous massive societal and technological changes during their lifetimes, including the introduction of accessible electricity and running water, better medical care, universal education, civil rights, women’s rights, the world wars, and exploration of the world and space. Von Drehle wonders how they coped with such intense upheaval and disruption. As he was pondering these issues, he was surprised to meet a new neighbor who had lived through all of these events.
Chapter 2 Summary
In 2007, Von Drehle moved to Kansas City with his wife and children, where they met their new neighbor, Charlie White. Von Drehle was stunned to discover that White, who was able-bodied, cheerful, active, and mentally sharp, was 102 years old. White was a retired doctor with a happy, joie de vivre (joy of life) attitude. Von Drehle recalls feeling inspired by White’s “grateful attention to the beauty of life” (10). He relays a story in which White went golfing with one of his elderly friends, who became stuck in the sandy part of the golf course. Rather than panic, White found the situation funny, and he and his friend laughed it off until rescue arrived. Von Drehle believes that White’s ability to focus on the positive aspects of situations makes him an example of how to live well.
Von Drehle was surprised to enjoy seven years of close friendship with White. Charlie White attributed his longevity to luck, but Von Drehle feels that he had valuable wisdom about how to live a happy life, namely that he could “seize joy” while “letting go of all the rest” (12). Von Drehle argues that White seemed to embody the Stoic view of life, a philosophy which Von Drehle admires. He believes that White learned to adopt this view because of his early life experiences.
Chapter 3 Summary
Charlie White was born in 1905. He was proud to trace his ancestry back to some of the earliest settlers in Virginia and was distantly related to Confederate general Robert E. Lee. White’s father, Charles White Sr. studied at the University of Kentucky and became a pastor, often working for struggling churches that had little money. Charles White Sr. also participated in the Chautauqua festival, an intellectual event which brought music, literature, dance, and speakers from across the country.
As a young boy, White lived in Galesburg, Illinois, at that time a town of 20,000 people. Later, he moved around as his father worked for different churches. Ultimately the family settled in Kansas City, where a young White loved to watch men, horses, and machines on the massive construction site of what would be Union Station. White was a good student and also enjoyed basketball, a fairly recent invention.
When White was eight years old, his father was killed in an elevator accident, leaving him, his four sisters, and his mother in terrible grief and without any income. Von Drehle believes that this event made White more independent, as well as more attuned to life events that he could control.
Chapter 4 Summary
In the early 20th century, perspectives on trauma and mental health were quickly changing, namely due to Freudian theories and scientific studies on war veterans. One way to combat stress and trauma is to claim control over whatever you can—even one’s own thoughts—and make constructive decisions. Von Drehle posits that Charlie White intuitively understood the value of using his agency in his stressful situation and did so by making small decisions for himself. For instance, he decided to sleep outside on a cot on the porch for a year and took on the responsibility of shoveling coal to warm the household.
White’s mother also embodied these resilient traits: She quickly turned the house into a boarding house for single men and took on part-time work for a missionary group. One summer, White’s mother arranged for White to attend a boy scouts camp in the Ozark mountains. White shared fond memories of the camp with Von Drehle, but also remembered how some of the teens accused the camp organizer of sexual abuse. In hindsight, Von Drehle ponders if White was also abused and neglected to share his story to avoid upsetting others. While White had painful experiences growing up, he did not let them overpower his positive memories.
As a teen, White attended high school, where he participated in a fraternity and began working at casual jobs such as cutting lawns and working as an apprentice electrician. Von Drehle reiterates that White’s childhood experiences had encouraged him to grow up fast and become hardworking and independent.
Chapters 1-4 Analysis
In these passages Von Drehle reflects on how rapid shifts in society can leave people feeling disoriented, and unsure of how to cope and adapt. The 20th and 21st centuries have been marked by profound technological and societal change; he posits that this can create a disconnect between generations, who live and work in different conditions, with different expectations of the world. Von Drehle questions if parents and grandparents can offer life advice to younger generations, admitting that he has struggled to offer relevant wisdom to his children. He believes that White’s longevity has made him “a true surfer on a sea of change,” and therefore an excellent example of a life well-lived—in spite of his tumultuous century of constant change (5).
Von Drehle emphasizes the magnitude of the cultural shifts that occurred in White’s lifetime, claiming that the early 1900s would be socially and technologically foreign to people today. He writes:
An American born in the 1900s who managed to live into the 2000s would have one foot planted in the age of draft animals and diphtheria—a time when only 6 percent of Americans graduated from high school—and the other planted in the age of space stations and robotic surgery. Such a person would have traveled from The Birth of a Nation to Barack Obama. From women forbidden to vote to women running nations and corporations…No human foot had ever touched the North or South Pole or the summit of Everest when they were born, yet they lived to see footprints on the moon (5).
Von Drehle wants the reader to see the world from White’s perspective and prepares them to go on their own imagined journey from 1905 to the present.
By discussing White’s life and personal philosophy, Von Drehle examines Stoic Principles in Everyday Life, claiming that White embodies the Stoic approach to managing one’s emotions and thriving through adversity. Von Drehle references the Stoic philosophers Seneca and Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius, the famous Stoic and emperor of Rome, to highlight the connection between their wisdom and White’s actions throughout his life. For Von Drehle, a key aspect of Stoic philosophy is learning to accept difficult experiences and refocus one’s attention on what one can control. He explains: “The Stoics taught that a life well lived requires a deep understanding of what we control, and— more difficult—all that lies beyond our control. We determine nothing but our own actions and reactions. Our willful choices” (13).
Von Drehle credits Marcus Aurelius for observing that people cause themselves unnecessary distress by obsessing about negative—yet unavoidable— experiences. Von Drehle writes: “What Marcus Aurelius understood is that all of us are slaves in certain respects, even the emperor of Rome. We are slaves to time and chance; we are indentured to fate.” (14). Von Drehle connects this advice with White’s own beliefs, highlighting how White always managed to move on from negative events by channeling his energy into more productive endeavors: “‘Let it go,’ counseled Charlie of the things beyond one’s control. But Stoic self-possession is also the bedrock on which the qualities we now speak of as grit and resilience are built” (14).
Even though his friend did not formally study or follow Stoicism, Von Drehle presents his friend as a wise Stoic. He claims that White’s ability to move on from negative experiences and busy himself with new endeavors is akin to the Stoic method of taking constructive actions while ignoring negative events beyond one’s control. Von Drehle recalls White’s words: “‘I don’t remember being awfully happy,’ he once said of his boyhood, but he chose not to dwell on unhappiness. As he put it, ‘We didn’t have time to be sad.’” (42).
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