The World According To Garp

“In this dirty-minded world, she thought, you are either somebody’s wife or somebody’s whore—or fast on your way to becoming one or the other. If you don’t fit either category, then everyone tries to make you think there is something wrong with you. But, she thought, there is nothing wrong with me.” 

Jenny’s contemplation becomes the basis for her later autobiography, A Sexual Suspect. Though she does not yet have the terminology to understand it, Jenny can best be described as asexual. She recognizes that the world’s expectations tend to lump women into a false binary, and she’s determined to break free of this. Jenny’s recognition and refusal of binaries endures as a motif throughout the novel. 

“That dog was a killer, protected by one of the many thin and senseless bits of logic that the upper classes in America are famous for: namely, that the children and pets of the aristocracy couldn’t possibly be too free, or hurt anybody. That other people should not overpopulate the world, or be allowed to release their dogs, but that the dogs and children of rich people have a right to run free.” 

The Percy family’s unusually aggressive Newfoundland, Bonkers, presents many problems for Garp. Like the Percy children, Bonkers is allowed to run free and go undisciplined even after harming people. Bonkers remains a symbol of the upper echelons that marginalize Garp and Jenny before Jenny becomes wealthy. 

“Garp’s conviction that Franz Grillparzer was a ‘bad’ writer seemed to provide the young man with his first real confidence as an artist—even before he had written anything. Perhaps in every writer’s life there needs to be that moment when some other writer is attacked as unworthy of the job. Garp’s killer instinct in regard to poor Grillparzer was almost a wrestling secret; it was as if Garp had observed an opponent in a match with another wrestler; spotting the weaknesses, Garp knew he could do better.” 

Garp’s career confidence is bolstered by comparing himself to others. Even though, at this point in his life, he has received mostly criticism for his literary output, he is still convinced that he can be a better writer than Grillparzer. His wrestling background remains a source of comfort for Garp, who uses his athletic prowess and strategies to help him tackle the challenges of living in the world.