Minor Heroism by Allan Gurganus
"Minor Heroism" by Allan Gurganus is a nuanced exploration of familial relationships, identity, and societal expectations, centered around the character Richard, a conservative father and decorated minor war hero. The narrative unfolds in three parts, beginning with Richard's military service during World War II, where he gains a measure of local fame for his role as a bombardier. After the war, he returns to North Carolina, marries a debutante, and establishes a typical suburban life in the 1950s.
The story delves into Richard's complicated relationship with his two sons, particularly his artistic and different elder son, Bryan. As Bryan's artistic inclinations emerge, Richard grapples with resentment and disappointment, leading to a physical confrontation that highlights the generational and emotional chasms within their family. The climax reveals the tension between Richard's traditional values and Bryan's nonconformity, emphasizing profound themes of acceptance and the struggle for personal expression. The narrative ultimately reflects on the difficulty of maintaining familial bonds amid contrasting identities and societal pressures.
On this Page
Minor Heroism by Allan Gurganus
First published: 1974
Type of plot: Psychological, domestic realism
Time of work: 1942-1972
Locale: North Carolina
Principal Characters:
Richard , an insurance sales representative and World War II veteranHelen , his wife and the mother of their two sonsBryan , his elder son, a furniture designer and would-be writerBradley, , his younger son, a conformist
The Story
"Minor Heroism" is a story in three parts. The first part is essentially a biographical sketch of Richard in his prime, from his stint in the military in the 1940's to his young fatherhood in the 1950's.
Along with most of the members of his fraternity at the University of Virginia, Richard enlists in the Army Air Corps in 1942; he subsequently serves as a bombardier during the controversial Allied firebombing of Dresden, Germany, in February of 1945. On his return from that mission, he is "decorated for minor heroism" and photographed being kissed by actress and pin-up girl Betty Grable. It is this photograph and others featuring his handsome face that accord Richard a certain "local glamour."
After the war, with a debutante bride in hand, he returns to his native North Carolina, where his residual celebrity is useful in setting up his insurance business. Richard and Helen settle into an apparently comfortable middle-class life and become, at least on the surface, a typical suburban couple of the 1950's. They raise two children and join the local country club.
The narrative's second part focuses on Richard's relationship to his two sons. In contrast to his younger son Bradley, who has followed in his father's footsteps by graduating from the same college, marrying a girl from a good family, and establishing a comfortable career, Bryan is, in Richard's eyes, an enigma. Richard's worries begin when Bryan's teachers start praising his artistic talents. Other boys begin to pick on Bryan, and he gradually retreats indoors to draw and listen to records. Over the years, in Richard's eyes, Bryan grows "paler, taller, and more peculiar."
Now twenty-seven, Bryan writes for the magazine Dance World and lives in New York City with an actor-model roommate who paints his fingernails black. He rarely comes home to North Carolina, and when he does, he causes his parents distress.
The climax of the story's second part occurs when Bryan is home for a short visit after an absence of two years. Fresh from a party at the club, where their contemporaries regale them with stories of their children's engagements and pregnancies, Richard releases his pent-up resentment against his elder son by smacking him "across his fashionable haircut" so that he falls to the floor. The next day, Bryan accompanies his parents to church to make a public display of his injury and then leaves for New York, apparently with no intention of ever returning.
The narrative's third and final part focuses on a single incident from Bryan's childhood. While his brother plays outdoors, Bryan is in the dining room, drawing a picture of a tall uniformed man holding the hand of a small boy. When his father begins nagging him about going outside, Bryan tries to diffuse his anger by telling him that the drawing is a picture of him. When Richard now insists on seeing his son's work, Bryan resists long enough to blacken out the representation of the child, leaving only the adult figure intact. In essence, he is keeping himself to himself.