Sag Harbor as Breakfast Club Characters
I believe the song “Don’t You Forget About Me,” from Simple Minds playing in the iconic final scene of The Breakfast Club was also playing in the back of Colson Whitehead’s mind as he wrote Sag Harbor . The novel was a compilation of old memories and nostalgia that Benji retold in efforts to remember himself and his childhood. Not only do Sag Harbor and The Breakfast Club share this remembrance sentiment, but also the breakdown of characters and the roles society assigned them. For those who have never seen the 1985 film, the plot surrounds five high-schoolers who spend their Saturday in detention with the assignment to write an essay about who they think they are. The five each have their own “label” that defines them until they bond over vulnerabilities and discover themselves; these labels are: a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. These labels immediately entered my mind as Benji introduces his friends early in the novel; Bobby as the nerd (from prep ...