Caliban's Filibuster: Analysis of Major Characters
"Caliban's Filibuster: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricate psychological landscape of Cal, a disillusioned novelist grappling with his career's downward trajectory. Tasked with writing a television movie titled *Geisha from Venus*, Cal's internal struggle manifests as a complex mental drama where he casts his traveling companions in varied roles, reflecting his growing despair and frustration. Among the key figures is Sammy Zuess, a self-indulgent and arrogant film producer, who embodies a merciless force in Cal's imagination, representing the pressures of commercial success. Another prominent character is Murray McAndrew, an actor characterized by his vanity and self-centeredness, despite his lack of substantial talent. Alongside these principal figures, a series of minor characters emerge from Cal's mind, each contributing to the story's exploration of his psychological state rather than advancing a traditional plot. This narrative framework illustrates the challenges of creativity and the toll of artistic compromise, inviting readers to reflect on the complexities of the creative process and the characters that populate it.
Caliban's Filibuster: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Paul West
First published: 1971
Genre: Novel
Locale: Over the Pacific Ocean and in Tokyo, Japan
Plot: Psychological realism
Time: c. the 1960's
Cal, a frustrated novelist working as a hack writer. He has contracted to script a television movie titled Geisha from Venus, due to begin production in Japan. At an all-time personal low, he undergoes a tortuous psychological exercise in which he creates a nonstop drama in his head employing his traveling companions as actors in a bizarre trio of scenarios. His “filibuster” is an attempt to repress the actual events of his flight from California to Japan and to vent his growing despair over the direction in which his career is moving. He periodically threatens to quit his job but never carries through on the impulse.
Sammy Zuess, a film producer and Cal's employer. He is self-indulgent, overweight, arrogant, and an acquirer of great material wealth. He speaks in a strange accent and appears in Cal's filibuster as a merciless godlike figure.
Murray McAndrew, an actor starring in Zuess's film. Although doomed to hopeless mediocrity, he is vain and self-centered. He appears in various roles in Cal's musings.
P. D. Malchios, Mephos, Tophel, Kopfhalstam, Mc Call, Dr. Greenfell, Kop, Kol, Sadako, Yakamoto, and Kamiko, productions of Cal's imagination who are introduced and disappear with little explanation or description. These minor characters serve to facilitate the psychological ramblings of a frustrated man, which substitute in the novel for any traditional sense of plot.