The Graduate

I have read and seen the play, watched the movie, and now I have read the novel, The Graduate by Charles Webb.  The story of a “wiz” kid finishing college after receiving many awards, including a free ride to graduate school for a teaching degree. The story begins right after Benjamin Braddock returns to his west-coast home after his college graduation from an elite east-coast institution.  The problem is that Benjamin has absolutely no motivation to continue his education, get a job, engage with others, or anything else.  His mother and father do everything they can to get Benjamin “jump-started” to move beyond the slump he has entered.  But, they never thought that a party thrown in his honor would have a lasting effect on Benjamin’s life.  Enter the Robinson’s, Mr. Braddock’s partner in his firm, and his wife are invited to the gathering.  Benjamin is cajoled by Mrs. Robinson to drive him home after the party and then the fireworks occur.  Mrs. Robinson seduces Benjamin, a virgin, into her bed and this begins a summer-fall affair.  All this comes to an interesting twist when Mr. Robinson gets Benjamin, who is reluctant to do so, to ask his daughter (Elaine) out for a date when she comes home from college (Berkeley) for Thanksgiving break.  Mrs. Robinson warns Benjamin not to do so, but he does, and he falls in love over the course of the evening.  The rest of the book focuses on Benjamin’s attempt to lure Elaine back after she learns from her mother that she had an affair with Benjamin.  Will Benjamin be able to repair the “love-at-first-sight” that he had with Elaine, or will Mrs. Robinson be successful at keeping her hidden from Benjamin?  In the future, I think they will call this a “period piece” where the language and the actions are very 1960s.  Not totally enamored with this one.  Though when I saw it on Broadway, Benjamin was played by an RA from the Greenwich Hotel and Lorraine Bracco from The Sopranos.  Lots of other stories interest me more.