Whale Talk

“I’m black. And Japanese. And white. Politically correct would be African-American, Japanese American, and what?  Northern European American? […] I know next to nothing about the individuals who contributed allthat exotic DNA, so it’s hard to carve out a cultural identity in my mind. So: Mixed, Blended, Pureed. Potpourri […] Adopted.”

T.J. articulates important elements of his identity in this quote. His ambiguous and diverse racial identity is not one to which he feels particularly connected. Being adopted is also an important part of his identity, and, as illustrated by this quote, his attitude toward being adopted is a positive one.

“Sometimes I find myself longing for her, just to see or talk with her, discover more about the unsettledness within me; but most of the time that ache sits in a shaded corner of my mind, a vague reminder of what it is not to be wanted.”

Although T.J. has positive feelings about being adopted, he nevertheless feels a sense of abandonment because his mother left him. This sense of not being wanted is one of the reasons for his alienation from many of his peers.

“My parents have always encouraged me to be loud when I run into racism, but I can’t count on racism being loud when it runs into me.”

In this passage, T.J. is distinguishing between blatant racism, like that espoused by Neo-Nazis, and the subtler racism of classmates who silently exclude him because of his race. One of the challenges of T.J.’s life is figuring out how to identify and respond appropriately to subtle racism.

“Mr. Simet says any story is true in the moment.”

Part of T.J.’s flexibility as a thinker is his recognition that people’s experiences and identities color their perspectives on events and others. As is made clear by this quote, subjectivity means that truth is situational and relative.

“But the better you know yourself, the better chance you have of staying clear of trouble.”

An important lesson T.J. learns from the adults in his life is that self-knowledge gives a person a greater sense of control over his or her own life and the power to shape events. In this specific quote, T.J. is discussing how his awareness of his rejection of authority helped him to steer clear of organized athletics, which would have required him to submit to people like Benson.

“Cutter is such a jock school; they pray before games and cajole you to play out of obligation, and fans scream obscenities at one another from the stands, actually creating rivalries between towns, which has always seemed crazy to me.”

This quote is T.J.’s description of the way high-school athletics has distorted the values of both the school and the town. What most offends T.J. is that overemphasis on athletics is one of the sources of the pressure to conform and the exclusion of people who cannot or will not participate in athletics.

“And the symbol, the Shroud of Turin for Cutter High athletes, is the letter jacket. A block C on a blue-and-gold leather-and-wool jacket at Cutter High School is worth a whole bunch of second chances in the front office.”

T.J. explicitly identifies the athletic letter jacket as the symbol of the privileges that accrue to athletes as a result of an overemphasis on athletics. The unequal treatment of athletes and non-athletes explains in part T.J.’s obsession with making sure the Mermen are able to receive letters.

“How messed up is that? You get treated like shit, then have to be ashamed that you’re the kind of person people treat like shit.”

One of the most challenging dynamics that T.J. confronts in the novel is the cycle of abuse in which an abused person’s self-perception is a negative one derived from the way the abuser fails to value him or her. In this particular passage, T.J. notices that Chris is ashamed to meet his eye because he knows T.J. saw and intervened in the bullying Chris suffered.

“[T]he universe doesn’t create special dispensation for a guy because he can run faster or jump higher or thread the needle with a fastball. He knew that we take what the universe gives us, and we either get the most out of it or we don’t, but in the end we all go out the same way.”

This important quote from John Paul expresses his belief that athletes should stop feeling entitled simply because they are athletes. Despite their talents, athletes are forced to deal with the same challenges and eventualities (including death) as non-athletes. Assuming that their gifts in one area will ease these challenges is dangerous.

“‘Cutter High School lives and dies on its athletic reputation. Eighty or ninety percent of the respect shown this school is for its athletic accomplishments.’”

This quote by Coach Benson illuminates why adults are also complicit in creating a culture that prizes athletes and athletics above all else. Benson, an otherwise decent person, believes that athletics brings prestige to the school, and his discussion of the financial resources devoted to athletics is evidence that his beliefs are widespread.

“‘Leave it alone. If you don’t exercise authority over it, your authority won’t be undermined.’”

In this quote, John Paul is explaining to Coach Morgan that his efforts to exercise authority over young adults like T.J. is futile and can be avoided if he refuses to exercise this authority. This anti-authoritarian stance reflects his coming of age during the 1960s and is one of the important beliefs that he passes down to T.J.

“Sometimes I trick myself into thinking I’mthis righteous dude who stands up for the downtrodden, sort of a spiritual Robin Hood, an independent superhero who goes his own way, but the reality is, most of the time it’s not a choice […] [w]hen I see someone getting kicked I feel it. Georgia, who was my childhood therapist, says it’s because those first two years were full of losses, and even though I don’t remember them in my mind, my body—my being—remembers.”

This passage highlights an important part of T.J.’s mentality, specifically his partiality to underdogs. Having internalized the insights of Georgia and his parents, T.J. demonstrates his awareness that this partiality is not purely altruistic because it connects to his early experiences as an abused child.

“The deer incident, my cultural heritage, and the fact that I wouldn’t turn out for sports had already locked Barbour and me into Christian-gladiator status.”

T.J. also demonstrates a high degree of self-awareness and insight when it comes to the reasons for the conflict with Barbour. Notable in this quote is his acknowledgement of the part his choices play in sustaining the conflict.

“Everything is relative.”

Throughout the novel, T.J. is able to objectively compare his challenges to those of his peers. His understanding of the many privileges he has and his luck in landing in a loving family make him more sympathetic to these peers. This attitude usually allows him to avoid a sense of entitlement and makes him a more empathetic person.

“Mom thinks he believes the only way to buy his way out of hell is to protect every life that comes into his sphere of influence.”

Abby’s perception of John Paul as a person who is attempting to atone for his accidental killing of the boy is supported by the way he presents the story to T.J. His desire for redemption is one that makes him a good father to T.J. and a mentor to children like Heidi. The downside of his desire for redemption is that much of his energy is spent in focusing on atoning for the past, rather than looking ahead. His decision to intercept the bullet Rich shoots at Heidi is the clearest example of his perception of himself as a protector.

“Both Dad and Georgia say over and over that the universe offers up whatever we need whenever we need it. I think the universe offers up way more than we need most of that time, but they may have a point.”

This quote shows the impact of the important adults in T.J.’s life on his perspective on the nature of existence. While there is little explicit discussion of organized religion, this more general statement about the relation between humans and the universe frequently appears in Eastern religions, including some forms of Taoism, from which T.J.’s name is derived.

“Georgia’s right about bigotry: that absent the element of hate, a person’s skin color is only an indication of his or her geographical ancestry. But with that element, it is a soul stealer."

This quote is the clearest expression of T.J.’s attitude toward race and racial identity. Skin color as ancestral indicator is only meaningful to T.J. insomuch as it is given power by the prejudice of others.

“Before Andy actually turned up, I believed the Magnificent Seven consisted of one swimmer of color, a representative from each extreme of the educational spectrum, a muscleman, a giant, a chameleon, and a psychopath; when in fact we have one swimmer of color, a representative from each extreme of the educational spectrum, a muscle man, a giant, a chameleon, and a one-legged psychopath.”

This quote encapsulates T.J.’s vision of the group identity of the Mermen as misfits who are alienated from most of their peers. The diversity of the group is unusual, especially in high school, where cliques are usually organized around similarity rather than difference.

“‘Listen to me, T.J. You might be stronger and quicker now, but men likeRich are relentless […] If he believes you’re taking something that belongs to him, he’s as dangerous as they come. I see men like him in court every day […]In his mind, what he fears is his worst enemy. Anything that makes Rich Marshall feel weak will bring him at you like a devil.’”

T.J. constantly receives advice from his parents and Georgia about how to deal with violent people like Rich. Her perspective on Rich’s violent, bullying behavior is that it is not the result of strength or even inherent evil. Rather, it is the result of Rich’s fear that he is inadequate. This particular perspective on the causes of violence and how best to confront, it in light of this theory, is put to the test time and time again throughout the novel.

“‘Whale talk is the truth, and in a very short period of time, if you’re a whale, you know exactly what it is to be you.’”

John Paul’s concept of whale talk, from which the title of the novel is taken, is that in a perfect world, humans would be able to communicate in a perfectly clear, authentic, meaningful fashion that would allow everyone to be understood and known. His focus on teaching T.J. to rely on empathy in his communications and to use self-awareness to guide his own actions influences T.J.’s responses to the events of the novel.

“‘He feels out of control. He promises himself he won’t do it again, worries what will happen to him. He worries somebody will find out and humiliate him. He wishes he knew why he doesn’t stop […] why he didn’t see it coming. None of that lasts long, because he has to find some way to justify it, so he starts telling himself what a bitch Kristen is, that it’s her job to keep him from getting mad […] I’ll bet you the price of a ticket that she was brought up by a father who believes exactly what Mike Barbour believes.’”

In this quote, Abby attempts to explain the mindset of an abuser like Mike Barbour, and of a person like Kristen Sweetwater, who gets caught up in a cycle of abuse. What is notable in this characterization is that violence is described as a sign of the weakness,rather than power. Abby’s experience of working in the courts with abused women is also reflected here in terms of her understanding of the impact of the power dynamics between women and men in abusive relationships.

“I know the whole thing is only symbolic, a gesture. But it’s a hell of a gesture, because it lets us stand up for ourselves in the language that is understood at this school.”

T.J.’s creative response to exclusion and inequality is made explicit here. While he could respond in a violent way to some of the bullying he and the other Mermen encounter, he engages with the problem and those who bully his teammates in a symbolic way. This quote also shows that he understands the importance of symbols and gestures, a recognition that makes him remarkably self-aware for his age. 

“[T]he worst thing about being a loner is getting the chance not to be, then having to go back.”

After the last team meet, Jackie breaks down and explains that he is fearful that the end of the season will mean the end of the bond he has established with his teammates. In this quote, T.J. admits that this fear is on everyone’s mind. The quote captures the degree to which loneliness is a burden for people who cannot or will not conform to the status quo. The team is a significant force in the lives of the Mermen because it allows them to fulfill their desire to belong.