Rereading Artist Brother and Darryās one-sided rivalry with his brother in law Roger just tickles me. I love that little nod to the competitive athlete part of him from back in the day. Got me thinking, why do you think Darry stayed in Tulsa? With Soda dead and Pony living his own life elsewhere, what kept Darry in Tulsa? If the answer is Yvonne, do you think he would have left if not for her?
Thank you! And it is truly one-sided. Darry NEEDS to be Mr. and Mrs. Johnsonās favorite in-law. š I adore this ask, because it gives me an excuse to talk about something I havenāt muchā¦.
Of course, Yvonneās roots are firmly in Tulsa and The Johnson family is so important to both her and Darry. So that ties them to Tulsa, but honestly, I donāt picture Darry getting too far from Tulsa. His aspirations, in my mind, take him to a suburb like Jenks, OK. Out of his neighborhood, but not out of Tulsa.
This might be my most controversial Darry take, but I think ā in Hinton terms ā Darryās a stayer. I tend to think Ponyās assessment of him, the guilt Pony feels regarding Darry staying, is more about Ponyās projection onto Darry, whether than Darry himself. Pony thinks Darry is angry at Pony for ruining his chances of getting out ā because it would kill Pony to stay ā but I donāt know how much it matters to Darry. I think his feelings about it are more complicated. He had 1-2 years, before his parents died, where he could have put himself through school. Pony spent think soā¦. But I do.
College was cheaper and he did have at least one scholarship. Iāll using Oklahoma State University, for example. This is what I found: One credit hour in 1962-1965 was $7. Thatād be the same as about $70 today. A full time course load would be about $840/semester. Mind, minimum wage in OK was $1/hour. So it wouldnāt be easy, but I think Darry could have made it work, even without the scholarship, though hopefully it would have taken the edge off.(before his parents died). Unfortunately, though, Darry would have missed the federal student aid and loan programs introduced by the Higher Education Act of 1965. But still.
Maybe the Curtis family needed him to contribute financially for some reason. Thatās a possibility. But for my Darry, I think he was held back for more psychological reasons. First-gen-college issues, etc. My Darry isnāt forlorn about it, because he doesnāt have the same animal-in-a-cage feelings about Tulsa as Pony.
Darryās comfortable in Tulsa. He was a popular jock in high school. Boy of the Year. And his brand of masculinity is celebrated. Heās not out of place. And maybe most importantlyā he likes being a big fish in a small pond (perhaps another reason he didnāt go to college.)
Now, he very much thinks Pony should go to college, and I think itās easier for him to put pressure onto Pony, instead of question his own ambivalence.
I think I got off track. But Iāll also say, Darryās a man without wanderlust. So even if he wanted to leaveā¦. Where would he go?
I can only see him leaving if maybe he married someone with family else where, or to be closer to Pony. Which he did consider, before sending Pony off to Columbia.
