CH 23: Signal and Noise Backstory
Oh, where to begin. Signal and Noise is a monumental chapter – the second longest in the book after CH 10: Losing Les – and is difficult to discuss. It has 23 sections which in some way represents the entirety of the novel itself. While the sections do not map to the other chapters directly, there is an implicit invitation to assume the whole novel arises as an unpacking of elements found in this chapter. Given that ambition, it shouldn’t be too surprising to learn it tells the story of McGhee’s high school career and his growing anxiety about his future.
Butler, PA, main street.
The chapter consists of seven threads:
Envelope thread: Development of the commencement speech + delivery
Argument with physics teacher (Swinson)
The “chicken” soccer game ruse with Hector
Late night bike ride to the prom
Cruising in the car with Russ and Troy, with Kovach joining later (the midnight thread)
Encounter with Wanda after the going away party
Awards dinner
The number of threads nor their content have specific symbolism. Mostly the complex structure is meant to create a frenetic environment which demonstrates the pressure and competing sheer forces acting upon the young McGhee and how that shaped his perspective. I was about 1/2 way through the writing of the chapter before I hit upon the title, and once I did, it all came together, with some great input from my editor. The real struggle for McGhee was to figure out, amongst all the clutter, how to discern meaningful messages. The net effect of all the stimulation was to leave him ambivalent about his future, which in turn plays out during his college years. We are largely left without those details, though there are brief mentions in Most of the Way, On the Margin and The Calendar Lagniappe in particular.
Butler Area Senior High School, Butler PA. The windows on the right side front the cafeteria where the prom was held.
As hard as it may be to believe, most of the episodes recorded in this chapter happened to me, so I can attest to the general veracity of the stories. With mild exceptions, it’s mostly true. I did ride my bike, for instance, at 2 AM over to the prom to take a look through the window. I did also dress like a chicken for a soccer game. And that epic argument with Mr. Swinson (not his real name) did occur, though I had to recreate the dialog. He was a decent physics teacher and I most certainly deserved such a lecture, though I would never have admitted it at the time. That said, as noted, McGhee is not me. I just mention it because I frequently relied upon (for guidance) the fact that since it did occur, it isn’t too outlandish to use it here.
One significant deviation I did indulge, however, involved the speech: on the night of the commencement it began to rain before we got to speak. And regarding my speech, I ended up giving it on the radio the following weekend. It was long and meandering and complained about curriculum gaps at the high school and had none of the drama McGhee’s had. I rather wish I’d had the guts to do his version instead.
Of course, none of this gives you much insight into what the chapter means. When I was approaching CH 20 and could see the end in sight I suddenly realized there was a gaping hole in the narrative to explain how McGhee was set upon this trajectory. I could have chosen to focus upon the college years, but I think that would have missed the true inflection point, and that was what I really wanted. As I began to recall my own HS experience (which I used to inform McGhee’s), it became clear that confusion was the best way to convey that period, and this led to the series of threads woven together in the chapter. Despite the complex web, I hope the ultimate impression left with the reader clearly captures this sentiment.
Snowy street light, courtesy Shutterstock.
Other than setting the stage for McGhee’s ambivalence I also wanted to tie his general wanderlust back to this period. This is what led to the conclusion of the cruising thread with Troy, Russ and Kovach. A conversation similar to that captured in the chapter did occur one midnight while we stood in the cold stamping our feet to stay warm. My objective with that discussion wasn’t to ridicule Kovach – that certainly wasn’t my intent. Instead, my hope was to draw a stark contrast between Kovach’s apparent nesting instinct to McGhee’s restlessness. After all, we’ve spent about 500 pages indulging McGhee’s roaming, so it seemed necessary to tie that back to some origination point. I’m not saying it began in that moment, but at least we know he had it by then. Obviously, that moment stuck with me all these years, and I still wonder about it myself. Though I live in self-imposed exile in California, I’d be lying if I didn’t say my heart will always remain in western Pennsylvania.
