Themes

One major theme that I recognized was the theme of how "Tragedy can change human beings for better or for worse."
The characters in this novel are so engulfed with their secrets that their mental state and they shed the old selves they used to be. Charles was already a half-drunk but after the death of Bunny he went berserk. He was constantly drunk or high, and the people around him didn't like that. He also had bad relations with Henry, and tried to kill him. Charles was affected in a bad way by the tragedy and the secret of it.
Though Richard was affected negatively, I feel like he was the only one who had good come out of it. He was the only one who graduated and made something of himself, and he didn't let the incident control him like others. He had dreams, and is still haunted when he thinks about certain things, but he didn't' jump off the high end like the others. However, Camilla is the same way too. Though she didn't' make anything of herself, she wasn't completely mental like the others.
Francis is obviously haunted by the occurrence in the woods by the ravine. He is not as openly haunted, but there are times when we get glimpses of it. For one, he called Henry because he was having panic/anxiety attacks, a direct result of the stress and fear that he had. Henry was also affected by the death of Bunny, or mainly the result of it. After Julian found out he left the school. This was a tragedy in its own for Henry. Henry become distant from everyone else and a bit depressed. The event was haunting him. In the end when he kills himself, I think a part of him was happy that Charles brought the gun and shot Richard. It gave him an opportunity to kill himself, while also saving a friend.
The tragedy witnessed in this novel changed Charles, Henry, and Francis for the worst, and they had the more negative affects. Camille and Richard are obviously hindered emotionally too, but I feel it changed them for the better. This theme deals with American society because we often face tragedies that can change us. They usually change us into good beings and bad beings. For example: September 11, 2001. This was a tragedy that struck the United States hard, and we were negatively affected. The entire country was mourning and continues to mourn for all of the people that lost their lives on that day. We also entered the war with Iraq, which is definitely not good to solve violence with violence. However, the good thing that came out of this was the feeling of patriotism and it united us as one again. This book directly shows how we have to make the choice of what we want to do with a negative situation we are handed.

Imagery

"What happend next took place in an instant. Charles raised his arm; and quick as a flash, Francis, who was standing closest to him, threw a glass of wine in his face. At the same time Henry sprang from his chair and rushed in. There were four pops in rapid succession, like a cap gun. With the second pop, I heard a windowpane shatter. And with the third I was conscious of a warm, stinging sensation in my abdomen, the left of my navel" (Tartt, 534).
Charles has finally lost it and this occurs right before Henry's death. All of the images have been about death, which is warped all around this novel. This is significant because the incident is caused because of Bunny's death, and leads to Henry's death. Henry's death ultimately leads to the group separating. This is an image right in the middle of cause-and-effect.

"The back doors of the hearse were opened and the coffin slid out. Silently, the party drifted after as it was borned alot into the open field, bobbing across the sea of grass like a little boat. yellow ribbons fluttered gaily from the lid. The sky was hostile and enormous. We passed one grave, a child's, from which grinned a faded plastic jack-o'-lantern" (Tartt, 418).

This is significant because Bunny's body is being carried to his burial site. I feel like the mention of the child's grave had an emotional appeal and it saddened This made me think that possibly Tartt feels that Bunny is innocent just like the child. Or, it could be ironic that such an evil person as Bunny has the opportunity be be laid to rest near the burial grounds of an innocent child.

"You see, then, how quick it was. And it is impossible to slow down this film to examine individual frame.s I see now what I saw then, flashing by with the swift, deceptive ease of an accident: shower of gravel, windmilling arms, a hang that claws at a branch and misses. A barrage of frightened crows explodes from the underbrush, cawing and dark against the sky. Cut to Henry, stepping back from the edge. Then the film slaps up in the projector and the screen goes black" (Tartt, 276.)

Bunny's death. It's sad, and everything seems to be going in slow motion for Richard. This image is significant because it's finally what we've been waiting for the entire novel. Bunny finally dies and we get to witness it. However, it's not as long as drawn out as expected. Even though it is moving in slow motion for Richard, it's not that slow. I feel this is significant because right after the death, they all act normal and keep on with their lives. Murder is nothing big anymore.

"Things started to come back. I looked down at my hand and saw it was covered with blood, and worse than blood. Then Charles stepped forward and knelt at something at my feet, and I bent down, too, and saw that it was a man. He was dead. He was about forty years old and had on a yellow plaid shirt-you know those woolen shirts they wear up here- and his neck was broken and unpleasant to say, his brains were all over his face. Really, I do not know how that happend. There was a dreadful mess. I was drenched in blood and there was even blood on my glasses" (Tartt, 169).

This image was one of the one's that stood out the most to me because Henry describes with great detail how the man died. This was the turning point for everyone, and it was what the entire book was leading to-well almost leading to. Because of this event, the friends are tied together by this secret, and Richard and Bunny are thrown into it also. Bunny is murdered because he can't keep his mouth shut about another murder, which is very significant. Also, after this dead body comes Bunny, and eventually Henry.

Greek Tragedy

When I was reading this book I instantly knew that it had Greek written all over it. Of course, the students are taking Greek and always have references and sayings in that language. However, towards the end of the book I realized that it had the elements of a Greek tragedy. There are so many conflicts that occur throughout the novel, and I assumed Tartt wanted it that way because they mirror each other very closely.

Greek tragedies often have parts to them, like normal plays, and begin and end with a Prologue and Epilogue. The Secret History does this perfectly because the prologue already tells us what's going to happen (Bunny's death), and the epilogue goes into what happens after his death. The novel is also divided into two parts, much like a play has one or two acts.

Greek tragedies have little ups and downs throughout to keep them interesting but there is always one major climax that stands out. Throughout the book, there are also little ups and downs. The first quasi-conflict is Richard trying to meet the Greek students and becoming accepted into the course. He accomplishes that, but then faces another conflict of being accepted into their group of friends. That conflict took a while to be solved because we were constantly misled to believe that they were all friends, but then they would do not include Richard in certain things.

I would say that Richard falling ill is a part of the rising action. Richard is sick and living in that horrible apartment, and his situation is described for many long pages, and the book focuses simply on him in that moment. He almost nears death, which I would say is very significant. The climax, would of course be Bunny's death, which later leads us into the second act/ part of the book.

The second half of the book tones down a little bit and focuses on how the students are affected by what has happened. The little conflicts are about the fight between Charles and Henry and the emotional turmoil each character has to go through. The falling action is Henry's death, and the epilogue goes into what resulted afterwards.

As I am looking at the novel as a Greek Tragedy, I came to a conclusion that Richard is most likely the Tragic Hero. He is the narrator, and he lets us in on everything that has happened. His tragic flaw would be his need to feel wanted and also his pride. He has good intentions on being a part of this elite Greek class, but has no idea that it's not everything it seems to be. The tragic flaw hurts Richard in the end. He has too much pride, which causes him to fall ill and be affected for the rest of his life. Also, after fulfilling his need to be a part of something, he is a part of the murder which also affects him for the rest of his life.

Personal Response

To say that I was reading this story for an AP Lang project, I rather enjoyed it a lot. The plot was wonderful and there were always new things that kept me wandering what could possibly occur next. The prologue of the story immediately had me hooked because I knew that sooner or later Bunny was to die. I didn't know why or how, so I was forced to read the book so that I could solve the mystery.
Strangely, I don't have a favorite character in the novel. I feel like all of the characters had something that made me really like them, but they also had a negative aspect that made me want to jump in the book and give them a good talk. If I were to pick a favorite character I would probably say Richard. I think I really like him because he is the narrator, so my entire perspective is his perspective. Despite some flaws in his personality-lying, too much interdependence- I felt like he was one of the most realistic characters. He seemed like a normal teenager who would suddenly get so enticed in this Greek world that he'd lose himself (which is exactly what happened.)
My least favorite character would probably be Henry. However, I don't like him simply because I wanted a chance to understand his character and delve into that mysterious mind of his. I enjoyed how Henry was very intelligent and the planner of the group. On the other hand, I didn't like how he treated Richard. This is mainly because I knew as much as Richard knew, so I was left in the dark also.
Tartt did a wonderful job at incorporating her audience into what she did. She created suspense at the perfect times, just when I'd be ready to put the book down for the day. I especially remember one instance where it was late and I was closing the book, then I happened to see that Richard was going to pass out in the snow. Naturally, I kept going and got very little rest that night. Even though the characters had negative aspects about them, I enjoyed reading about them. I loved how their personalities fit together and they because of that they seemed like they perfect group of friends. If Bunny were just a little bit more snobby or if Henry wasn't mysterious enough it wouldn't have created the effect that it had on me.
The only thing that I didn't enjoy about the novel was the non-reality that showed at times. That group of students drank and smoked and partied all of the time. I'm not in college, but I know that that stuff rarely happens in real life, especially the drinking. The fact that they were all drunk every single day and rarely had sober moments took away from the reality.
Despite these little doses of fantasy, I overall marveled the book. It saddened me when Henry died because he was held on such a pedestal; it was like seeing a king die. The fact that Francis tried to kill himself also made me sad because I didn't want him to suffer either. In a strange way, I didn't feel emotion when Bunny died. He was such a mean person, it really didn't matter to me.
I would definitely read other books by Tartt if they are as good as this one.

Character Analysis

The novel had many different characters, but it is solely based on the live of 6 characters: Richard Papen, Henry Winter, Francis Abernathy, Bunny Corcoran, and Camila and Charles Macauley. Richard is the narrator of the story, and to me has one of the most puzzling personalities in the book.



Richard Papen

Richard was born in Plano, California, which is a very small town with little to nothing. His need to feed the loneliness that lives inside of him derives from the fact that his parents don't like him and he has no siblings. His obsession with fitting in also derives from this. Richard is ashamed of where he comes from, and for this lies about his past and his family. On the very first page of the book as we are introduced to Richard he explains this:

"On leaving home I was able to fabricate a new and far more satisfying history,
full of striking, simplistic environmental influences; a colorful past, easily
accessible to strangers."

He enjoys creating an imaginary world since the one he lived in wasn't interesting enough.



Even though Richard can lie about his past so that he can fit in anywhere, he is still faced with the obstacle of not being lonely. Because of his lonely childhood, I believe he is trying to make up for the lack of love by fitting in with everyone. When he first encounters the Greek students, he is automatically infatuated with them. However, he isn't accepted into their group graciously and he still has moments where he is excluded from something.



Not unlike most people, Richard has two sides to his personality. His first side derives of a lonely, interdependent soul who craves attention. His other side is dependent and prideful, and accepts the fact that things can't always be. When Richard first arrives at Hampden, being alone is welcoming and he enjoys it. He tours the campus and it was one of the days that he's been the happiest (Tartt, 13.) Richard also has lots of pride and is ashamed to ask for things or to admit his situations to other people. When he lives in an apartment with no heat and a hole in the rough in the dead of winter, he doesn't want to tell anybody how he is living. Richard says:

"

I supposed I might've
asked Dr. Roland if I could stay in the apartment he shared with his girlfriend, but the
embarrassment of that was such that death, to me, seemed preferable" (Tartt, 120.)

Richard is a boy who is full of lies and the need for acceptance.



Henry Winter

Henry is one of the most mysterious characters. He wears glasses and has dark hair, pale skin, and a beautiful mind. Henry is the intelligent person that is also VERY laid back. He interacts with other characters but also keeps to himself. Throughout the novel, I learned parts of his personality and saw little things that showed the person within, but I still felt like I was missing something key to his person. Henry is one of those people that you have to be around to learn their persona, but even so there were still times of doubt within the characters. In one instance Richard is observing Henry and Bunny interact and remarks:

"Henry didn't say anything, and I'm sure that at that moment he would have
looked perfectly impassive to anyone who didn't' know him, but I could tell he was quite
agitated."

(Tartt, 130)

Henry comes off as very rude and cocky when he first meets a person. When Richard first met Henry, Henry did not acknowledge that he existed until Francis finally said something.



However rude Henry seems, he is also very truthful and loyal to his friends. Once Richard and Henry got closer, Henry revealed the truth about Bunny and his conniving ways , which was very nice of him to do. He also reveals to Richard that they murdered a person, which is something VERY serious. Henry is loyal because even when Bunny treats him horribly, he still is nice to him and still pays for lots of things. Also, in the end he kills himself so as to protect Charles from the downfall. (However, I also think that was selfish because he just wanted out of life and that was a perfect opportunity.)



Francis Abernathy

Francis is a Greek scholar who is very thin and has bright red hair. He has classy taste, because he is always dressed in fancy shirts or nice suits even when there is no occasion. It is later learned towards the middle of the book that he is gay, and he actually makes a move on Richard. Francis' grandfather does not accept his homosexuality, and makes him marry a woman. He is very respectable, yet also week. After Bunny's death, he begins having panic attacks and he becomes frail. After Henry's death, he is too depressed and overbore by it all and attempts to take his life by cutting his wrist. However, this attempt fails.



Bunny Corcoran

Bunny is very interesting. He's very cheery and easy going, and always cracking jokes. He is also similar to Richard in a way, because they both have the tendency to lie about things. Bunny also lied about the riches his family had, or once had, and often makes other people take care of him. Even though Bunny seems nice and hearty, there is an evil inside of him. He is VERY anti-homosexuality (situation with waiter, page 51). He is also conniving. After finding out that his friends killed a man, he holds them all under his will. He says things that he knows hits below the belt but he does it because he knows they won't do anything about it. When Bunny is around people are tense, but when he is gone they aren't. ("Everyone seemed unusually calm and at ease and I thought I knew why. It was because Bunny wasn't with us.")



Camilla and Charles Macaulay

Camilla and Charles are twins, and they both tend to have the same characteristics. Tartt doesn't really go into their personalities as much, however. The pair have dark blond hair and looked and wore pale items. Their parents died when they were younger, so they were raised by a variety of family members. Camilla has confidence, but that is sometimes confused with her selfishness. She is the only girl in the bunch, and all of the men seem to gravitate to her at times. Charles is very spontaneous and out-there. He doesn't really care what people say, and he does the wildest things (Alcoholic, Stoner, Brings gun to kill Henry.)

"And then there were a pair, boy and girl. I saw them together a great
deal, and at first I thought they were boyfriend and girlfriend, until one
day I saw them up close and realized they had to be siblings. Later I learned
they were twins. They looked very much alike, with heavy dark-blond hair and epicene faces as
clear, as cheerful and grave, as a couple of Flemish angels. And perhaps most
unusual in the context of Hampden--where pseudo-intellects and teenage
decadents abounded, and where black clothing was de regueur-- they liked to wear pale clothes,
particularly white. In this swarm of cigarettes and dark sophistication they
appeared here and there like figures from an allegory, or long-dead celebrants
from some forgotten garden party."

LIES

There are many important topics discussed within the novel, but the concept of telling the truth is continuously repeated throughout. Richard is a guy who comes from the other side of the country, and for that he can make up anything he wants about himself. He fibs about how much money he has, what type of Greek books he's read, and everything else. When Bunny notes that he admires Richard's jacket, he says that it was his grandfather's, when in reality he had just received it a few moments earlier by a random girl. He also lies about what his father does in the oil industry.

Bunny lies a lot in the story also. He attempted to scam Richard into paying for the $200 bill they racked up from buying drinks. Unfortunately it does not work, and Henry ends up having to pay for them. This is the first glimpse into the lying way of Bunny.

The rest of the students do not have individual lying qualities, but they do lie as a group-whether to themselves or to Richard. All 6 students lie to themselves whenever they have the dinner with Julian. They get so excited that he is coming, and they make a whole parade of buying luxurious food and dressing way too nicely. They are completely exhausted and often sit around half-heartily. But when Julian knocks on the door they instantly sit up straight and slap a smile on their faces. Even though they seem peppy, they all know that exhaustion is threatening to overcome them any second.

Lastly, the students lie to Richard. They do things secretly, and try to be very nonchalant about it, but he knows something is up. Richard expresses his view when he says "I knew, for instance, that the five of them sometimes did things-what exactly, I didn't know- without inviting me, and that if put on the spot they would all stick together and lie about it, in a casual and quite convincing fashion." Why the lies? I'm not exactly sure, but the entire relationship of these students is based on fiction. Even after they've become so close, Richard still doesn't tell them anything about himself. They can only go on what they've witnessed to help define his character. As with the other students, they have a real relationship with each other, but not one with Richard. He is accepted into their clique, but still has secrets kept from him. Their entire relationship being based on lies is not looking very good, and I hope it won't be the reason Bunny dies.

Personal Response to Select Passage

"I suppose there is a certain crucial interval in everyone's life when character is fixed forever; for me, it was that first fall term I spent at Hampden. So many things remain with me from that time, even now: those preferences in clothes and books and even food- acquired then, and largely, I must admit, in adolescent emulation of the rest of the Greek class- have stayed with me through the years. It is easy, even now, for me to remember what their daily routines, which subsequently became my own, were like. Regardless of circumstance they lived like clockwork, with surprisingly little of that chaos which to me had always seemed so inherent a part of college life- irregular diet and work habits, trips to the Laundromat at one a.m...Rather in the way that the Roman Empire continued in a certain fashion to run itself even when there was no one left to run it and the reason behind it was entirely gone, much of this routine remained intact even during the terrible days after Bunny's death. Up until very end there was always, always, a Sunday-night dinner at Charles and Camilla's, except on the evening of the murder itself, when no one felt much like eating and it was postponed until Monday." (Tartt, 84)

This particular passage disturbed me for some strange reason. Though it was true, I felt that Richard's talk about when a person builds character is all wrong. There comes a point when people do find themselves, and that is how they live for the rest of their lives. However, I didn't want it to be during this period of his life that Richard finds himself. These people are fixed on a schedule, but they lead lives that I wouldn't want to lead if I were him. They remind me of stuck-up people who distance themselves from the rest of the world. It is a pity that Richard became addicted to this living style too, and I feel sorrow to know that he was drawn into it.

Most people have a faint remembrance of their daily routines, but they have affected him so much that he follows them and remembers them profoundly. I know that it is a part of Richard's character to envy other people, but to know that they've influenced him so much is bothersome. If people can change the books you read and the clothes that you wear, they have a hold on you that needs to be released. However, instead of keeping his independence and his friends, Richard blends in with them.

I was also bothered by the fact that even after Bunny's death the group maintained their daily routines. I was unsure of the underlying reason for why they did this. Every possible suggestion for their actions was refuted with a logical answer. At first I believed they did this because they didn't want to seem suspicious. Even though they are anti-social, that makes them even more noticeable. For that reason, I thought it critical for them to continue their daily routines and be wary. However, once the body of Bunny was found, why didn't they stop? They wouldn't need to hide anymore and people would expect them to act strangely. If my best friend were murdered I wouldn't continue with my jolly routines because it would affect me. So I concluded that they couldn't possibly be doing it because they wanted to remain inconspicuous.

My second assumption was that they just wanted to pretend like none of that stuff had happend. I thought that they wanted to continue with their daily lives and look past it because it hurt too much. But none of the textual evidence states the sort. My third and final assumption was that they didn't care. DING DING DING. I don't feel like they care or show the slightest bit of remorse to their actions. It is possible that they do feel remorse, and I won't know until later in the novel. Regardless, the text says it all. Richard says that they postponed their Sunday night dinner to Monday only because it was the night of the murder and no one felt like eating. I sense sarcasm in his words, but also a dose of alarming reality. Their daily routines won't get interrupted, even by death? What kind of book am I reading?