Less Is Lost

Greer suggests that it’s imperative to accept who we really are, and that it’s never too late to learn this crucial lesson.

Arthur feels out of place everywhere he goes. Even in his home country, he feels like a foreigner. America is so wide and diverse that it’s easy to experience each state as its own subculture of codes and styles. Arthur believes himself uniquely out of place, more so because he is socially uncomfortable and shy, and sees America like a foreign country that he needs to learn to be a part of. Greer highlights that adaptation is not about assimilation, but about feeling comfortable in one’s own skin, regardless of the setting. Arthur is a transplant to California. San Francisco became his home, mostly because of the people there and the treasured shack that informs his sense of self and stability. Arthur refused to stay where he was brought up and is constantly in search of a version of himself that feels like home.

Although Arthur has long accepted and embraced his identity as a gay man, he worries about being exposed in different settings. This speaks to society’s homophobia.