I think we can all relate to being up late, thinking about what you are going to do for a big event happening soon. Whether it's creating plans for the first day of school like Benji is, planning for a big performance, or thinking about arguments long passed that you could've won with one quick witted comment. It's a pretty relatable thought process, and also a neat ending to a book in the sense that one is preparing for new beginnings at the end. That's why the last line from the older narrator Ben: "Isn't it funny? The way the mind works?" is such a weird turn.
For one, we go from the stream of conscious narration of Benji's plans for a successful start to the new school year to an interruption of his older self shooting his younger self down. The tone of "Isn't it funny?" definitely has a mocking connotation to it, and when you take into consideration this statement comes from the older, more mature Ben and is directed at his younger self, it becomes even more apparent. What's more, in the paragraph before Benji goes on about how 15 can mock 14, justifying him mocking his beginning of the summer self for knowing so little, a dynamic which is repeated.
Second, the line "The way the mind works" is an obvious jab at Benji's thoughts. It's almost as if he's saying "get a load of this guy". The obvious critique further distances Ben from Benji, but is Ben criticizing Benji's childish goals for his new semester? Is Ben just insulting himself for the sake of it? Maybe it's up to interpretation. All I know for a fact is that Ain't No Stopping Us Now is a bop.
I can totally see that it is the older Ben shutting down the younger Benji, but I think it is more of a pity way. I think that he is pitying Benji because earlier in the chapter the older version of Ben is talking about how he can listen to all that the younger Benji is thinking, but of course, he can't hear a word I am saying.
ReplyDeleteI interpreted Ben saying "Isn't it funny? The way the mind works?" not as mocking, but as reflective. He knows how these plans don't turn out, he knows how Benji turns out to be Ben, and even though Benji knew in the moment that his plans have no guarantee of panning out the way he wants them to, he still tries to convince himself there's a chance. We have no way to predict or even control our future but we all try to convince ourselves we do - and then we look back at the plans we had and wonder how we were so foolish.
ReplyDeleteThe mind is kind of funny but mostly it's insanely complicated. I really liked the ending because I can totally relate to looking back at all the expectations my younger self had and realizing that things don't go as planned, and a lot of things happen that you never would have predicted.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed that song too!
ReplyDeleteI think the mocking tone Ben takes on towards his younger self is something we all do; when you realize your younger self was overly concerned with what at the time felt important, but now feels trivial. Maybe you got into a big fight with someone over something that you now realize was inconsequential, that kind of thing. I can relate to the mocking tone Ben takes on when he comments on Benji overthinking his outfit.
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