Recessional by James Michener - Essay Example

Recessional by James Michener Recessional In recent times the number of old people living in society is increasing more rapidly than people in other age segments. This is mainly due to the decline in mortality rate. The process of ageing has become a nightmare for many. In contemporary society where economic productivity and economic concerns are major forces, a non-productive group like the aged have no place in society and not much attention is being paid to their needs. The increase in the number of the aged who are considered non- productive is not only an economic problem but a social problem as well. The elders in the family crave for love and attention. They want to be heard, they want to interact with other people and they also want to be seen. They want to play a constructive role in society. At the same time they would like a little space of their own. The response to the problems of the aged in the United States is to free them as far as possible from responsibilities, making them economically independent to some extent, and providing specialized institutions to take care of their problems of health. They have schemes like insurance, pension and retirement benefits. There are also mobile home services for the elders so that they can avoid costly nursing homes. While these facilities take care of the material needs of the aged they cannot provide the love and warmth that they need the most in the last few years of their lives where they have to face many health problems both physical and psychological. With old age degeneration of the body's systems sets in leading to complications and chronic long-term disease like depression, Parkinson's disease, heart disease, osteo-arthritis of various joints, loss of hearing and so on. The elderly also face psychological problems like loss of memory, feeling of insecurity arising from financial difficulties, chronic pain, etc. Depression is the most common psychological problem of the aged. Alzheimer's disease and dementia are some other problems. As Hilma Wolitzer (1994) says, "The world of old age is indeed weird, and terrifying, as autonomy diminishes along with physical and mental well-being." James Michener (1994), in his book, Recessional, addresses the multifarious issues linked to aging in America. Webster defines recessional as recession or withdrawal whereas the book's epigraph says that a recessional is "a hymn or other piece of music played at the end of a service while the congregation is filing out." Michener's book Recessional refers to the inevitable recessional we all face towards the end of our lives. (check) In this novel Michener uses his gift for storytelling, his understanding of American society, and his own life experiences to shed light on the challenges the aged face in our society. One has to appreciate the way Michener has taken situations from life and made a novel out it that is not only readable but educative as well. The villains in the novel are ambitious doctors, greedy children and medical science. According to Michener (1994, Recessional) medical science is able to prolong life but is unable to improve the quality of the life prolonged. Here he writes "so the loved one who has died without dying lives on and on." Michener also discusses many issues such as Alzheimer's; AIDS and euthanasia. Michener does not preach, but puts forth his feelings on these issues. The book is a story of a young doctor, Dr. Andy Zorn, who has to leave his practice in Chicago on account of his divorce and a frivolous lawsuit. He is hired by Mr. Taggert, who owns a chain of retirement communities, to manage his institution, The Palms in Tampa, which is running under loss. It is here Zorn has to rebuild the community as well as his life. The task given to him at the retirement center is to make profit and bring order. Here he meets a young woman, who has suffered crippling injuries and wants to rebuild her life. Zorn falls in love with her and finds a new purpose in life. In the first year of his tenure at the place Zorn faces many stiff challenges, which he staves off quite successfully. Through the novel's idealistic hero, Dr. Andy Zorn and with the help of passionate discussions of a four-member group, or the informal debating society, that is regularly conducted in the dining room of Palms the author gives us an informed overview of the problems the elderly face in this country. The novel has several subplots giving us an insight into the thoughts and interactions of the residents living in the retirement home. There is also a subplot describing the actions of a national organization called Life Is Sacred. This group believes it is a watchdog for the sick and also the aged and does not believe in people being given the choice to end their lives. A character in the novel calls them "Snoops of the World" or "The Gang That Tells You How to Live."(Recessional, 1994) Several people living here have had significant careers. One is a former U.S. senator; another is an editor from Colombia. You also have a female pastor; a diplomat turned pilot, a black judge; and the head of a private school for girls. Then there are the Mallory's and the wealthy banker and his wife, in their 90s, but yet go dancing several times a week. Life seems to be progressing in an orderly manner for the residents of The Palms. But suddenly springs to life when they face unforeseen problems. For instance Zorn and four elders who are considered as the brains of The Palms become active when the Mallory's' greedy children and grandchildren who do not care for them file a suit in court accusing them of irresponsible expenditure of family money. They succeed in disproving the charges and manage to get the case thrown out of court. The characters you meet in the book all look familiar. You feel you have met them before, but never cared or had the time to know them. For example, Mr. Bixby appears like any other retiree you have met before. But actually he is "Buzz Bixby" of World Series fame. Michener here wants to point out that many of the elders he has portrayed and elders in real life too might have been famous, or have had a wealth of experience or very skilled and talented. But neither our society nor we have the time to understand them and tend to overlook their capabilities and ignore them. Michener throws his characters into believable situations that are sad, often tinged with irony and sometimes the situations are humorous. There is this instance where the judge sees the pelican struggling to free itself when it gets entangled in a net used by commercial fishermen. The judge wades into the river to free the bird, only to lose his footing and gets entangled in the net himself. Then there is the fascinating story of five of the Palms' more learned residents, whose average age is 79.2 constructing an airplane all by themselves and flying it successfully. The men's achievement proves that age is not a bar for accomplishing anything and also makes a point that one should acknowledge the achievements of the elders. Michener feels that the elderly have led interesting lives and their lives still have some meaning and purpose left in them. This acknowledgement and not physical or economic independence is what matters more for the aged. Michener's novel has some humorous scenes are interspersed with scenes of pain and sorrow. Some episodes touch your heart.. The story of an apparently mismatched couple where the husband cares for the wife after she is diagnosed as having Alzheimer's disease, the tale of a widow who is forced to make some difficult decisions after a biopsy reveals she has breast cancer, a resident unable to tie his own necktie or the incident of an Alzheimer's patient who manages to go outdoors and discovers "what she had sought from the moment she climbed out of bed, the freedom of the open air, escape from nurses and bells" (Recessional, 1994) are all very poignant. The feeling of uselessness and helplessness that engulfs the aged as they grow old is depicted beautifully in the scene where a resident tells his fellow residents of his retirement community, "The two sorriest days in a man's life in this joint is when his wife dies and when he has to give up his driver's license. Not necessarily in that order." (Recessional, 1994) This illustrates the fact that with medical science prolonging life, Americans are more and more outliving their ability to drive. A recent study by the National Institute on Aging also proves this. And when a person is not able to move around he really feels helpless and useless. Mr. Michener throws some light on medical ethics too that are sometimes liberal and humanistic and sometimes conservative. Commenting on the system of managed care, a man says: "The budget, inescapable from the moment of birth till the instant of death, will have dictated the value decisions." Another person refers to abortion as a "therapeutic abortion" done, "to correct nature's accident". (Recessional, 1994) Old age can be terrifying and at times weird too as independence decreases along with physical and mental health. Michener says medical science has extended human life but it has no answer to the problem of life when it becomes meaningless. Michener portrays issues of euthanasia and the excessive use of mechanical gadgets and life supports to prolong life through poignant scenes. Recent tendency in the United States is to consider the nursing homes as a complete solution to the health problems of the aged. This is in fact has led to more problems such as depression and increased dependency. The elderly also face social isolation in these homes. In the United States care of the elderly is institutionalized and conceived and financed as a health service rather than a social service. There is no concept of rehabilitation. It is only social intervention. When the children are unable to look after the elders, they are sent away to institutions and forgotten. Michener feels that the elderly have led interesting lives and their lives still have some meaning and purpose left in them. An alternative to nursing home has to be found. Support and incentives have to be provided to nursing homes to enable them to take up positive efforts to give the aged, effective care. Dr. Gina A. Oliva while commenting on the book says, "Recessional gave me a glimpse into the culture of older people, into retirement communities, specifically. It gave me, actually, a stark awakening to some of the issues, the potential joys and potential despairs of the last decade or so of human life (e.g. the 70's and 80's). When you read about life stages in a textbook, it gives you an academic understanding. When you get to know a character in a novel like Recessional, it puts a human face on the textbook jargon." These words neatly sums up what the book is about and what it has to offer in terms of knowing about the problems and despair of old age. The subject seems dreary and boring but Michener has made it eminently readable. There is a lot of life and romance, even though the romance between Zorn and the handicapped woman he rescues after a car accident may look like it has been taken out from a bad TV serial. References 1. Michener James, Recessional. New York Random House, 1994 2. Oliva Gina, Turn a page, Retrieved from http://library.gallaudet.edu/li/tap/oliva-9.html 3. Wolitzer Hilma (1994) Death before dying, The New York Times, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A04E4DB123DF935A25753C1A962958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all . Read More