Read Online Butterfly in the Typewriter by Cory MacLauchlin - Free Book Online Page B

diction of his character, describing the all-too-common experience of a boy terrorized by bullies.
    For some reason, Toole never told his mother he was writing a novel. And she had no idea that he submitted it to a writing contest. She explained years later, “He didn’t want me to worry, you see.” She never explained what worries she would have had. The very fact that he had written a novel deserved some celebration, but he kept the whole thing a secret. It was his first serious attempt to write fiction, and from his return from Mississippi to completing the novel in New Orleans, he took measures to ensure his mother remained completely unaware of it. The
novel is an expression all his own, a definitive departure from his performances as a speaker, actor, or singer, and drafted in an energetic burst of writing. He had successfully expressed himself as a perceptive observer and a writer. But perhaps he never told his mother about The Neon Bible for fear of what could happen and what did happen. When he received word he lost the contest, he tucked away the manuscript, hiding his failure, suffering the pangs of rejection alone.
    Despite his perceived failure as a novelist, his senior year was a busy time, overall, as he garnered recognition and accomplishment. He was elected a state representative at Boys’ State in August of 1953. He became managing editor of the school newspaper and assistant editor to the yearbook. In October of 1953 he appeared as a guest speaker at the Kiwanis Club. He was inducted into the honor society. He took fifth place in a Spanish language contest. And on December 16, the day before his sixteenth birthday, he appeared on local television with six other students to review the epic novel Tree of Liberty . A month later, Silver and Blue published a “Senior Spotlight” on him, naming him “one of Fortier’s big wheels.”
    For all the awards and positions he held, his most seminal moment, one that would plant a seed for his future, came in May of 1954 when Toole left New Orleans with a school group to take a tour of historic sites along the eastern seaboard. He was one of thirty-one students from Fortier selected to receive a National Freedom Foundation award at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. These students represented “how the ideals of the American way of life are taught in classes at Fortier.” Boarding a train at 8 a.m., they made the long journey northward. They visited Washington, DC, taking in the sights of the Lincoln Monument, the White House, the Capitol, and ascending the Washington Monument. They watched the “solemn changing of the guard at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.” At Valley Forge they were honored in a ceremony, and they stopped in Philadelphia to pay tribute to Liberty Hall. And like true New Orleanians, they carried the spirit of their hometown with them. In the city of brotherly love, they enjoyed a “costume party at the Sylvania Hotel.”
    The most exciting part of the trip for Toole must have been the three days he spent in New York City. The group made the typical tourist stops, such as the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building,
and the United Nations—all symbols of the American identity and its value of freedom, competition, and diplomacy. They took a ferry to Ellis Island, and they stepped into St. Patrick’s Cathedral. But the highlight of his visit to New York was the glitz and glamour of Broadway shows. In an article Toole wrote for the school newspaper upon their return, he summarizes the trip, noting, “Entertainment was an outstanding feature of the tour. The gawking Fortierites viewed Cinerama, the new movie wonder, the world famous ‘Rockettes’ at the fabulous Radio City Music Hall, and one of the biggest musicals on Broadway, Wonderful Town .”
    While much of the trip was spent invigorating the patriotic spirit of the students, the rolling hills of Valley Forge and the then