Curiosity in A Visit from the Goon Squad

I tracked the words “curious” and “curiosity” throughout the novel A Visit from the Goon Squad. I only found nine occasions where these one of these words was used. About half of these nine times, the word was used in relation to a child. The remaining occasions on which these words were used were directly related to Bennie or Sasha, and often occurred after something shocking.

As children, Chris, Lulu, and Ted’s sons are all referred to as “curious.” Chris and Lulu are curious about something specific that their parents are doing. For example, Chris questions Bennie about the gold flakes that he eats, and Lulu asks Dolly about her sudden business trip. Ted’s children are different from Chris and Lulu in that they are not directly curious about one thing. They are described as having “curious breath” (212). His children seem to be presented as inherently curious, whereas Lulu and Chris seem curious only occasionally. Chris and Lulu more often seem to be completely checked out from reality. Egan uses the different forms of curiosity that these children show to represent the changes in behavior that growing up and maturing causes. Chris and Lulu are presented as more mature than Ted’s sons simply because of the events in their lives, often caused by their parents, which they have had to overcome. They are less driven by curiosity than Ted’s sons, who seem to have had a simple life. However, they are curious when something unusual happens, which implies that their curiosity is actually just below the surface of their less attentive states. 

The other occasions when the words “curiosity” or “curious” were used include when Bennie and Rob wondered about Sasha, and when Stephanie was curious about her neighbor after fighting with Bennie. Bennie was curious about Sasha after having made progress with his son. Rob wondered about Sasha after moving away from his family. Stephanie was interested about her neighbor after learning that Bennie was still cheating on her. These characters were only motivated when they were surprised or in an emotional state. This suggests that curiosity is such a fundamental driving force that, while it is underneath everything they are feeling, they notice it when they are at their most vulnerable.

I believe that curiosity plays a more important role in the novel than is suggested by the fact that it is only directly mentioned nine times throughout A Visit from the Goon Squad. In my opinion, Egan uses it as an undercurrent most of the time, occasionally bringing it up to remind the reader that it has always been there. With this, she presents the idea that every person is born curious, but as a person grows, their curiosity becomes less of an immediate driving force unless something shocking occurs.