Whirligig

“It was the sort of lie that would never be found out, the sort he’d drawn on often. Moving had at least that on advantage. Over the years, he’d grown adept at creating alternate pasts for himself."

The concept of alternate selves comes up repeatedly in Whirligig. Before the drastic personal transformation that Brent undergoes following his car crash, he creates these selves for the purpose of bolstering his social status. Here, he lies about his father having a Porsche, revealing a lack of integrity and scruples. Brent’s habit of boastful lying is a sign of his inner emptiness as well as to the lack of confidence that arises from it. Later, he will enjoy trying on alternate identities not to impress others but to get to know himself. 

“They are the pawns. You are the king. […] You have a king’s absolute power within you. […] You have absolute power over your own life.[…] You have the power to end your life. Now.” 

This inner monologue that precedes Brent’s suicide attempt reveals that he is driven to it by a deeply-rooted sense of powerlessness. Unable to control his classmates’ perception of him, which is of utmost importance to Brent, he feels, in his state of drunken rage and humiliation, that his life is the only thing over which he has power. A desire for control is often the psychological motive behind self-harming actions. The chess pieces refer to the human chess game that is to be played at the party and, more largely, to the hierarchal social lives of teenagers.  

“That thoughts are powerful. That they’re the seeds of events. That by thinking something, we can help make it happen.” 

For each of the four characters who have a significant encounter with Brent’s whirligigs, the whirligig represents a different concept. Alexandra’s statement expresses the main theme of the “Weeksboro, Maine” chapter and the lesson that Steph associates with the whirligig. The chapter extends the book’s overall theme of far-reaching consequences to apply not only to actions but also to thoughts. Steph, who prioritizes empiricism, finds this idea difficult to accept.

“After night came another day. And after death another life. Mornings seemed mysterious gifts.” 

After the first chapter ends on a cliffhanger, Brent’s next appearance shows that although he survived the crash, his character underwent a metaphorical death: Brent, as he was in the first chapter, has died. Newly grateful for life, he is remaking himself on his journey. The cycle of death and rebirth recurs in Whirligig as Brent considers his new life after the crash and his legacy after his death. In a way, Lea is also living another life in the whirligigs he installs with her image.

“This is the afterlife, he told himself. To be crowded in with a collection of strangers, plunging through a foreign landscape, headed toward an unknown destiny. The bus was his ferry across the river Styx.” 

The reference to the river Styx of the Greek mythological underworld invokes Brent’s earlier view of his popular classmates as the gods of Mount Olympus as well as his later comparison of his atonement to that of Hercules. Crossing the river constitutes an irrevocable transformation; once it is crossed, there is no going back. Likewise, Brent is leaving his former life, personality, and family in Chicago behind.

“We never know all the consequences of our acts. They reach into places we can’t see. And into the future, where no one can.” 

This statement by the mediator, Miss Gill, points to the predominant theme and structure of Whirligig. While she is referring to the tragic consequence of Brent’s suicide attempt—the death of Lea Zamora—she also foreshadows the wide-reaching effects of Brent’s whirligig project, which is itself also a consequence of the car crash. Alternating chapters of the book do indeed take place in a future and in places that Brent can’t see.  

"It struck him that every family was a universe, with its own peculiar natural laws. Free of his own family, he imagined himself part of each one he passed, trying on identities like a quick-change artist.”

The figurative universe of Brent’s family prioritized the materialistic values that Brent is now shedding. Away from them, he can assume a new identity for himself. Before the car crash, Brent used to assume identities calculated to impress his peers. Here, trying on a different identity is, in contrast, an inner activity. Brent is seeking an identity for himself that does not depend on the approval of others.

“Out of nowhere, the word karass came to mind, from the Vonnegut book he'd read in English, a term for a disparate group of people linked together without their knowledge. Your family and friends weren't part of your karass. You couldn't choose its members, and might never know who was in it or what its purpose was. Brent felt certain that Lea was a member of his. Was the cyclist part of it too?”

Playing Go with the cyclist, Brent first starts to reflect on the concept of karass, which emerges as a major theme in Whirligig. For Brent, who is alienated both from his family and his peers at school, karass becomes an important stand-in for community that provides him with feelings of belonging. Brent and the characters who come across his whirligigs in the future form a karass; they are drawn together by the whirligigs without their knowledge. The previous owner of the whirligig manual is also a member of Brent’s karass, and Brent draws comfort from the company of the book until he loses it. This concept plays a significant role in assuaging Brent’s insecurities about fitting in.

“He saw everything from the outside. Much that he’d taken for granted before now struck him as curious: handshaking, the Pledge of Allegiance, neckties on men, sports teams named for animals.”

Here, Brent reveals the blossoming of intellectual curiosity and independent thought. As a solo traveler removed from the social environment to which he is accustomed, Brent becomes conscious of the existence of cultural norms. For the first time, he begins to analyze the culture that he has grown up in and unquestioningly consumed. Here, Brent presents a strong contrast with his former self, who unthinkingly craved products from commercials.

“He slammed the file onto the table. He hated wood. He took a break, frightened by his anger in the face of this setback. There was no channel-changer here. He picked up the whirligig book and stared at the previous owner’s patient, precise script. He almost felt the man was with him, telling him to settle down and conquer the project calmly, step by step.”

Having been immersed in consumer culture, video games, and TV, and prone to throwing tantrums, Brent craves instant gratification. As he builds his first whirligig, he is forced confront and overcome this shortcoming. The painstaking, detail-oriented manual labor involved in building the whirligigs teaches him perseverance and fortitude. By fulfilling Mrs. Zamora’s request, Brent learns humility, patience, and discipline, virtues that he lacked in his previous life.

“What he knew without question was that it felt good to be toiling in atonement, to direct his feelings outward through his arms and knife, as if draining an abscess. Now and then his eyes crossed Puget Sound to the Olympic range and settled on the peak the cyclist had told him was Mount Olympus. The home of the Greek gods, Brent mused. Hadn’t Hercules likewise performed his labors to cleanse himself of a crime?"

Brent’s thoughts here present a contrast to his earlier comparison of the “cream of the junior class” to Olympus in the first chapter (9). Now he directs his attention “outward,” instead of at himself and his insecurities. The repeated references to Olympus show that whereas Brent used to worship popularity as an ideal state, he is now in search of a more profound goal: atonement. As in the myth of Hercules, he associates labor with penance and cleansing. This is partly why he feels “buoyant” after completing his last whirligig, though he knows that he will continue to feel guilt “like the ashes after a fire” (132). 

“I came to that wooden marching band. I stopped and looked. There was a trumpet, trombone, clarinet, and drum. Birds don’t live alone, I told myself. They live in flocks. Like people. People are always in a group. Like that little wooden band. And whenever there’s a group, there’s fighting. If the people in a group get along, they make good music instead of arguing, like Willie Colón’s band. But usually not. That’s how life is. I stared at that marching band. Then I got in the car and drove home".

In this passage the narrator of “Miami, Florida” has an epiphany that resolves the conflict central to this chapter and to his life. Having lived and worked amid noise and arguing, he longs for peace and quiet, idealizing the shearwater bird as an emblem of this state. He is deeply disappointed, however, to see a noisy, quarrelling flock of the birds. The sight of the birds and Brent’s whirligig prompt his realization that conflict is inherent to human relations and inseparable from the positive aspects of living in society. The narrator’s interpretation of the whirligig’s significance as a symbol of the interconnectedness of people is similar to Brent’s later thoughts regarding the whirligig as a symbol for the world.

“He spoke the word Deneb in his mind and felt himself to be Adam, naming the new world around him."

At the start of his trip, Brent does not know the names of stars or constellations. As he makes an effort to learn them, he develops a new perspective, forming a “new world” around himself. His growing familiarity with stars represents his growing independence. The reference to Adam from Genesis is one of several biblical references in Whirligig. 

“He envied the man his power to entertain himself and others. There seemed to be no end to his stock of tunes. He thought back to the cyclist, admirably self-contained as well, not simply with his dome tent and gas lamp, but with his Go game and his thick book on the subject. By comparison, his own life seemed unfurnished with skills and interests. He desired to become the man he was impersonating."

Brent is not bothered by his distance from the person he is impersonating in the first chapter when he lies about his father owning a Porsche. That earlier, assumed identity showed a priority on outward impressions rather than, on self-sufficiency. Here, in contrast, Brent shows a desire for authenticity and fulfillment. His encounters with the cyclist, concertina player, and other characters fill him with a desire to become independent. As he learns to play the harmonica and identify stars, he does indeed furnish himself with new skills and interests.

“A teacher lives forever through his students.” 

Here, Emil, the German backpacker expresses a variation on the book’s central theme of actions and consequences. He prompts Brent to remember Miss Gill’s statement on the topic and wonder what effect his own life will have. The concept of living on through teaching appears several times in Whirligig. Jenny’s dying grandmother acts as a teacher to her, for example, and Brent teaches the children in Florida how to make a propeller. 

“Despite the difficulties, the whirligig was absorbing, blocking everything else from view. The characters from his first life—allies, enemies, potential girlfriends—who'd once loomed like giants were now barely visible, distant figures disappearing over the horizon. He still noticed the cars he'd lusted after and heard snatches of songs linked to that era. His reactions felt distanced and ghostly. He had no desire to revive that life. It had all been crumpled in the crash. He no longer gave any thought to his clothes. He was an outcast, part of no group, and no longer had anyone to impress.” 

As Brent builds his second whirligig, the ongoing transformation happening to him is evident. Cars and clothes, which used to be his main concerns, do not stir him any longer. The description of his reaction as “ghostly” reinforces the symbolism of his car crash as death and his current existence as an afterlife. 

 ‘A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth,’ he shouted out.

He felt the man's tweezer like eyes close upon him.

‘That's what the Lord God said to Cain!’He wiped his face with a handkerchief and turned. Brent quickly retreated into the station, the man's words burning in his brain. Being a stranger in a strange land had suddenly lost its appeal.”

In the Bible’s Book of Genesis, Cain is sentenced to a life of wandering as an outcast as punishment for the slaying of his brother Abel. Similarly, Brent is now traveling as a form of restitution for accidentally killing Lea. Cain’s status as guilty outcast is an apt symbol for Brent’s situation. Consequently, Brent feels that the preacher is condemning him directly. The incident shows that, though Brent is enjoying aspects of his journey, particularly meeting new people and learning new things, he is still haunted by a sense of guilt. As with the note he receives in the hotel in Florida, this is another instance in which Brent is discomfited by Judeo-Christian mythology.

“‘Trisha don't work today. No one's alone with Jesus.’

“He felt slapped rather than comforted by the second sentence. He vowed not to reveal himself again, tossed the note into the trash, and got dressed, thinking back to church. Religion, as practiced by his parents, was a social rather than a spiritual affair, the choice of which Methodist church to attend very similar to the choice of what car to buy and be seen in. Neither the sermons nor the Bible had seemed to intersect with his own life. He had no singing voice, had lip-synched the hymns, and, despite the note's claim, had felt conspicuously alone in church.” 

Having taken a risk and written about his loneliness in the note to the hotel maid, Brent feels betrayed by the religious answer. Brent is seeking a connection with another person, rather than Jesus. During his later conversation with the painter, he will think that he prefers her forgiveness, which she gives “freely,” to that of Jesus, who “forgave you no matter what you’d done” (129). Brent’s failure to derive nourishment from religion is a result of his parent’s materialistic attitude toward it. Brent associates church with the acquisitive, shallow perspective that drove him, in part, to attempt suicide. Although the Bible seems to have nothing to do with his life, there are multiple biblical references throughout the book. At various points in his journey, Brent compares himself to Adam, Cain, and, as he pores over his whirligig manual, to a “biblical scholar” (53). These references show that although Brent’s religious upbringing has left him with a cynical view of it, he derives religious lessons by applying himself to his secular labors and trying to connect with others.

“Brent watched the boy at work—and cast off all worry about hurricanes. After the storm, new whirligigs would appear.” 

As Brent watches the child at the beach using the new skills Brent has taught him, he feels sanguine about the prospect of his work being wiped away. The idea of “new whirligigs” symbolizes rebirth after death. This scene references Emil’s statement that “[a] teacher lives forever through his students” (70).

"People are not all Hitler, kindelah. People are very good also, like the one who made this wind toy to give happiness to everyone who pass. People are good—even some Germans. When the bad memories came back in my head, here I walked to remind myself of this. This, not the other, I want to remember when I think my thoughts before I die. This I tell you, who have the permit for learning. I'm old. I have the permit for teaching."

In Jenny’s story, the whirligig represents her grandmother’s lesson that good exists in people alongside the bad. Her grandmother considers this an important lesson for Jenny, who seems excessively focused on the negative aspects of humanity, like the Holocaust. Without knowing Brent, Jenny’s grandmother deems him to be “good” based on his whirligig creation. Her forgiveness and admiration for his creativity is similar to the painter’s attitude toward him. This passage points to Brent’s potential for redemption, despite his role in Lea’s death. It also refers to the idea that “a teacher lives forever through his students” (70). 

“It was like falling down the basement stairs, unexpected and unstoppable. Brent felt dizzy, unsure of where he was. He knew he hadn't let out this last fact before, not to his parents or the police or the psychologists. He felt empty inside, like a chicken from the store with its plastic bag of organs removed. He was glad the woman didn't know his name. He wanted to leave his confession, like his whirligigs, anonymously.” 

The moment in which Brent admits aloud that his car crash was a suicide attempt represents the climax of the book. He is not only acknowledging his shame and inner pain to the painter, but also to himself. Brent’s admission is a significant milestone in the process of emotional maturation and self-discovery that he has been undergoing throughout his cross-country trip. By admitting this secret to someone else, he is also risking vulnerability and opening himself to human connection in a way that he has not done before, even with his family.

“It was exalting to be part of the twining and twirling, and strangely thrilling to touch other hands and to feel them grasping his. He felt like a bee returning to a hive, greeted and accepted by all. He clapped with the others when the music stopped, stood outside to cool off, and was promptly asked if he wanted to do the next one. His partner called the event a ‘contradance.’ It felt to Brent like his rite of reentry.”

The contradance in Maine is a pivotal moment for Brent. Having longed to fit in among his classmates at school, he finally feels himself part of a community among a group of unexpected people: older hippies. This scene also represents the end of his journey of atonement; Brent is accepted by others and also forgives himself and allows himself to reenter society. The mechanics of the contradance itself mirror the book’s theme of interconnectedness between people and their actions. 

“When they'd met, he was longing to be swallowed by the blackness. She'd set him in motion, motion that he was now transferring to others.”

At this point in the book, Brent is able to admit his former self-destructive impulse to himself and others. Although Brent and Lea have never actually “met,” at the end of his journey, Brent regards her as a member of his karass, “a disparate group of people linked together without their knowledge” (48). He believes that his encounter with Lea, via the car crash, set off a chain reaction, propelling him forward on his journey, which in turn has further consequences on others. This thought reflects the overall theme of the book, as well as the symbolic structure of the whirligig.