Mysteries Of Pittsburgh Michael Chabbon Character Analysis

Michael Chabon’s novel The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is a coming of age story which, remarks on sexual identity and familial issues which shift the course of the characters’ lives within the novel. The novel’s main character is Art Bechstein. Art has just graduated college and he is seeking to find himself and in the process others too. In the book, sexual identity becomes a major focus. This is seen when, Art meets Arthur Lecomte, a man who is very charming and homosexual. Art also meets Arthur’s friend, Cleveland Arning, who is attracted to danger and involved in organized crime. The story gets further complicated when Art begins a new relationship with a young woman named Phlox Lombardi. She is very insecure and Art is also attracted to

Unsurprisingly, the novel is a classic coming of age story which centers on a young man who is confused about himself and his sexual identity in his early twenties. This confusion about himself and his sexual identity is the driving force of his interactions with his friends and lovers. Moreover, this confusion about himself and his sexual identity also facilitates the conflict and unforeseen consequences which occur during the novel.

One of the most important components of the theme of sexual identity involves the ways in which Art’s sexual identity facilitates the action, conflict, and emotional content throughout the narrative. In this way, Art’s sexual identity greatly influenced his interactions with the other characters within the novel. After his graduation from college, Art nearly immediately meets Arthur Lecomte who would shape the course of Art’s decisions, emotions, and identity throughout the novel. He had become quite interested in Arthur and this was shown when Art was ruminating on his newfound interest.

The city was new again, and newly dangerous, and I would walk the streets quickly,