Examples Of Citizenship In Citizen Vince Walter

Charity. Selflessness. Abnegation. Benevolence. Humanity. These are the words that come to attention when the thought of citizenship comes to mind. Doing the right thing, all the time. Acting not in one’s own self-interest, but in the interest of others. But if one is to truly understand the concept of citizenship, one must be willing to acknowledge that citizenship has much more depth than just the good deeds you do. Sometimes you are left with having to choose the lesser of two evils. Such choices, like those referenced in the novel “Citizen Vince” by local Spokane author Jess Walter, are what truly define citizenship. The novel, which takes place in the 1980’s, is centered mainly around a young man by the name of Vince Camden. Throughout the book the author incorporates many denotations behind the term citizenship through Vince’s thoughts, actions and struggles to bring to light the deeper meaning behind the term and how one can truly attain citizenship, symbolically that is.

You are immediately flooded with a character’s thoughts on the first page and a half without so much as a proper introduction of the main character. Very quickly you realize that this Vince character seems to lead a very abnormal, dangerous and questionably illegal lifestyle. This is implied within the first two pages when Walter writes Vince’s thought “Normal. That word tails him from a safe distance most days. He opens the drawer and pulls out a stack of forged credit cards—” (4). Between this and how Walter writes Vince’s thoughts on a local dive bar call Sam’s Pit as a “drain for the city” (7) where Vince feels at home with the drug addicts, hookers and other various criminals, further enforces the cultural stereotype of a repeat criminal offender and someone who has no concept of