Clay's character is one that all of us can probably relate to in some way. And even if we can't, we have certainly encountered some students at USC who, like Clay, have too much at their disposal an 18 year old. Money isn't a problem for Clay and so unlike others his age who may have to dedicate their time and energy to making a living, or securing their futures, Clay can spare the time and the energy and can indulge a little... or a lot.
Clay wastes his time away on cheap thrills: the alcohol, the cocaine, the sex, the valium to come down again... etc, but he is hopelessly bored by it all. Clay and the overprivileged youths he affiliates himself with have nothing to aim for because they already have it all. So they wander aimlessly, numbly, miserably.
The city of Los Angeles as it is presented in Less Than Zero is plastic, artificial, and devoid of hope. It is also a place where everything happens too fast; kids grow up too fast and, like Clay and his friends, experience the world of drugs, sex, and partying far too early.
Reading Less than Zero was an almost disturbing experience for me. The listing of roads driven, drugs taken, friends encountered... etc, could have been boring, but it was somehow mesmerizing to me. Everything is presented so matter-of-factly, and so plainly, that it is simultaneously horrific and understandable. I never really questioned what Clay was doing, because it made sense somehow in my mind.
Less than Zero seems to raise the question of what really matters and what doesn't, or rather, if anything that we will ever do can really matter... Clay's life is only as important as he makes it to be, and he believes his life (in LA) to be rather meaningless. I think the ultimate takeaway for me from this reading was just a de-familiarization to a nihilistic, yet valid, way of looking at life. I choose to ascribe meaning to the choices that I make in my life, but many people choose not to. It's a danger that is always there, I suppose.
-Kayla
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