The Price of Salt and Giovanni's Room

The novel, Giovannia’s Room is already very different from The Price of Salt. The themes of homosexuality are much more at the forefront of the novel, making it clear what this will be about. David’s life struggles and confusion is much like Terry’s. Both characters are not sure what type of life they want to lead, and we enter their worlds at a time when they are figuring it out. It is quite interesting to see such different representations of people finding themselves and understanding their own perceptions of sexuality throughout texts.
David is very up front with the reader about his confusion. At this point in the novel, David has given us a lot of his back-story and discussed his family life. The major difference between Terry and David is this family life. David’s mother died when he was young and his father is attempting to be “buddies” with David. Terry’s family is out of the picture and she seems fine to keep it that way. I think the distinction between Terry and David at this point is that David’s father can act as his safety net. Terry did not have family to rely on, she was able to escape and not look back. David has his father to answer to, and this creates a sense that David has someone who he needs to impress. As he makes clear in the beginning of the novel, David is very concerned with being manly and having others perceive him this way. As his father says early on in the text, “’…all I want for David is that he grow up to be a man,’” (15). It is clear that David has received this message from his father, as most of his thoughts are preoccupied with how he will achieve this level of manliness. He even talks about bullying Joey, which clearly distances him from the true feelings he has for Joey. The way he treats Joey further shows his confusion about his sexuality. He can’t be honest with himself or anyone else about his first encounter with a man. The novel is interesting when compared to The Price of Salt, and a lot can be learned from looking at the novels together.