The Second Coming

“The first sign that something had gone wrong manifested itself while he was playing golf.”

The first sentence of The Second Coming foreshadows Will’s state of conflict. Walker Percy employs terms such as “signs” and “manifested,” which hint at the religious significance that Will ascribes to his everyday encounters. By terming this fall the “first” sign, Percy indicates an impending event that will continue to be preceded by signs, similar to the Biblical account of the second coming of Christ.

“But surely it is fair to say that when a man becomes depressed, falls down in a sand trap, and decides to shoot himself, something has gone wrong with the man, not the world.”

The narration creates a sense of doubt over whether or not Will’s suicidal feelings are the result of mental illness or societal failings, even though it seems to affirm that the problem lies with Will. By using blunt language and avoiding euphemism, Percy creates a shocking and darkly humorous tone.

“Is it not a matter for astonishment that such a man, having succeeded in life and living in a lovely home with a lovely view, surrounded by good cheerful folk, family and friends, merry golfers, should now find himself on a beautiful Sunday morning sunk in fragrant German leather speculating about such things as the odd look of his wrist (his wrist was perfectly normal), the return of North Carolina Jews to the Holy Land (there was no such return), and looking for himself in mirrors like Count Dracula?”

Percy contrasts the dark subject matter with lighthearted prose. He employs asides, written in parentheses, which help to establish that Will is experiencing delusions as a result of his existential crisis. This sentence features an allusion to the figure of Count Dracula, a vampire who has no reflection, as a simile that suggests Will’s disassociation from his own appearance and identity.