Category Archives: Joseph Mitchell

Response to Joseph Mitchell

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Joseph Mitchell is the author of Joe Gould’s Secret, one of our required readings for this course. Like other readings given to us in class, Mitchell’s writing style is very admirable. As in many books of this style, Mitchell uses very descriptive language, which helps paint a picture for readers. Though descriptive, Mitchell is able to write in a way that is not overly flowery. He has a great sense of words.

He describes his character Joe Gould as one of the last Bohemians in Greenwich Village. “All the others fell by the wayside. Some are in the grave, some are in the loony bin, and some are in the advertising business.” Gould also lives a very difficult life. He is affected by homelessness, hunger, and hangovers, and sleeps wherever he can, whether it be in the subway or at a friend’s home. Such circumstances make Joe Gould’s Secret a very interesting read. His life, in combination with Mitchell’s writing style, makes the book definitely recommendable to anybody interested in feature writing.

A Journalist’s cherishes to an imaginary Writer

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Joe Gould’s Secret is Joseph Mitchell’s immense creation which published in 1965. It is based on two of his profiles pieces in The New Yorker, “Professor Sea Gull” in 1942 and “Joe Gould’s Secret” in 1964. In this book, Mitchell explores so magnificently about the writer, critic, and eccentric, Joe Gould, who used to live in Greenwich Village in the 20th century.

After reading the book, people would have positive and negative reactions about Joe Gould and his life. He intentionally created a shadow boundary upon him, where he was deeply in search of a free life. On the other hand, he was a wanderer and an orator who believed that history should be the voice of present poor people instead of the past.

Despite, Joe Gould’s bold personality, isolated living life from other writers and artists on his time, and moat importantly, the theory of ‘Oral History’ (recording of modern life: voice of the lower class people); I feel it is more of Joseph Mitchell’s astonishing writing and portraying style that elevated this true story into a surprising level. Mitchell not only discovered that the ‘Oral History’ did not exist also kept the secret a several years after Joe Gould’s death.

I really enjoyed Joseph Mitchell’s brilliant and powerful writing. My favorite quote from the book is, “Gould’s life is by no means carefree; he is constantly tormented by what he calls the three H’s” – homelessness, hunger and hangovers.”

Chanelle Perrin, Joe Gould’s Secret

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I must admit I did enjoy this book, Joe Gould’s character seems so eccentric. I found it funny how for a majority of the story everyone was so willing to help Joe Gould, but eventually grew tired of his theatrics and turned their backs on him. It seemed as if his life was a cycle of disappointments. His mother continuously sent him money until she grew tired of his life on the reservations with the Indians. Another thing I found interesting was the moment Gould over hears the principle making fun of him, it’s almost like a loss of innocence. As a little kid, he knew was a different from the other children but to hear an adult speak of him the way other children looked at him was a harsh dose of reality. Furthermore, the reaction he gets from his father is even more hurtful. I think it is in this moment Joe Gould became the eccentric character he displayed to Joe Mitchell. Gould seems truly lost throughout the story, constantly redoing things because he never got it quite right like in his “Oral History”. I feel he made up the “oral history” to show the relevance of the things people say. His principle’s words changed his life and his father’s dismissive attitude towards him afterwards; I think this was a key moment for him. He learned to walk to the beat of his own drum, because if he couldn’t impress his own father, what difference would the rest of the world make. There were times in the book when I wondered if anyone questioned his mental state. There were times I believed something may have been truly wrong with him, but he was smart, and he knew how to survive, he was able to use his charismatic personality to live off of the people he knew. I feel Joe Gould carried on as if he didn’t care about the opinions of others, but it seems everything he did was a cry for attention. Weather it was to upset people or to entertain, he just always brought attention to himself the best ways he could.

The “Joe Gould’s Secret” Reveals More Than Its Title Says

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by Mayara Guimaraes
The introduction to Joseph Mitchell’s “Joe Gould’s Secret” tells the readers that the book contains two different perspectives of the same person. Therefore, it should have been no surprise for me that I had two different opinions of the same person. However, I was more than surprised by it. I was shocked.
The first part of the book makes you love Joe Gould. You see him as a piece of art, as part of New York’s Village and as a citizen of the world. You learn to appreciate his strange personality, and even to admire his choices in life. Joe wanted to live free. He wanted to escape his memories, and at the same time, that was all he wanted to talk about (and write about). You keep wishing you could go talk to him.
The second part gives you more to think about. Is Joe lazy? Is he a parasite? Does he have the most annoying personality in the world? Does he deserve the life he has? Is he a big liar?
But as Mitchell, the reader goes deep into the secret of Joe Gould, and a better understanding takes place the introduction makes more sense.
Joe Gould is definitely an interesting figure, and as the book ended I still felt that I would love to chat with him and give a contribution to the Joe Gould club. But the real character of the book to me is Joseph Mitchell. While writing about Gould, the journalist revels so much about himself that it becomes impossible not to fall for him. He reveals himself as such a beautiful human being and great journalist that for a student like me, he becomes the real hero.
Joseph Mitchell’s “Joe Gould’s Secret” is one of the best books I ever read because it speaks about human nature, and the monsters we face, revealing on top of it all, that we are our own worst enemy.

Joe Gould’s Secret

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By: Teresa Roca

Joseph Mitchell’s “Joe Gould’s Secret” is a classic in disguise. Through Mitchell’s writing, he is able to capture the emotions of each character, allowing the reader to understand the actions of Gould and Mitchell.

When I began reading this novel, I did not find bohemian Joe Gould to be a likeable character. I found him to be selfish and felt that he was using his oral history as a way to trick his friends and acquaintances into donating money to the “Joe Gould fund.” His constant drinking and lies about what he would use the money for strengthened my negative thoughts about Gould. An example would be, “I’m supposed to go to the clinic at the Eye and Ear Infirmary, at Second Avenue and Thirteenth Street, and pick up a prescription for some eye trouble I’ve been having, and if it’s one kind of prescription it won’t cost anything but if it’s another kind it may cost around two dollars, and I’ve just discovered that I don’t have any money with me, and it’s getting late, and I wonder if you’d ask your receptionist to lend me two dollars” (Mitchell 55). We later find out that Gould never went to the clinic and used the money for something else. As the novel continued, I began to feel sympathy and understand why Gould acted the way he did. By learning of Gould’s past, and how he would rewrite the death of his father and other prominent events in his life over and over again, I discovered that Gould is a character suffering from pain and regret of his past. This humanizes Gould, turning him into a more likeable character, as readers are now able to relate to him.

Throughout the novel, Mitchell’s ability to feel sympathy for Gould makes him an admirable character. By paying for Gould many times, forwarding his mail, and checking on him, this shows the genuine character Mitchell is. Mitchell is not a character that carries the stereotype journalists unfortunately carry of using their subjects for stories. That fact that Mitchell did not continue to badger Gould about the oral history not existing, and that he kept Gould’s secret even after his death shows the remarkable journalist Mitchell is. It is also interesting to see how much the neighborhood cared for Gould after his death, especially when friends dedicated their time searching for the oral history. One man made a community come together as a whole. This makes me believe that maybe this was Gould’s secret all along.

This novel is relatable, smart, informative, and draws emotion. I am glad that I had the opportunity to read it.