Mad Men’s Top 5 Literary Moments

In celebration of this weekend’s return of Mad Men, here’s a list of the show’s Top Five Literary Moments.

Don Draper - about to ruin a classic

5. Don desecrates the work of Faulkner: In one of the weird California episodes in Season 2, Don’s lady friend, Joy, proudly shows him her copy of Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury. The next morning Don uses the book’s last page as scratch paper to write directions to another woman’s house, then tears it out and takes it with him.

 

4. Pete Broadens his Horizons: Pete starts reading Ebony to better understand the “negro market.” Facts that Pete gleans from the magazine: black people buy TVs too!

 

3. Bertram hearts Ayn: In Season 1 Cooper reveals that he is obsessed with Ayn Rand.  He describes Atlas Shrugged the way other men might describe a girlfriend or wife, calling it “the one.” Although his literary taste is questionable, this detail shows off the show’s fine writing, giving characters their own distinct set of preferences and tastes.  Other things Cooper enjoys: Mark Rothko, ice cream sundaes, calling Sterling’s second wife a “trollop,” and all things Asian.

2. Don’s Literary Pissing Contest: After a beatnik (who is inexplicably reading in a dark bar) tells Draper he wouldn’t appreciate Frank O’Hara’s Meditations in an Emergency, Don goes out, gets himself a copy and goddammit, he reads it! Not only does he read it, he finds that it resonates with his life. Take that, beatnik!

1. Betty reads F. Scott Fitzgerald:  Chosen as number one for purely subjective reasons, in this scene my favorite character in my favorite TV show reads one of my favorite authors. And from the looks of the picture, she enjoys it.

My thanks to the following sites for their astute observations:

http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com/Mad-Men-Books/343

http://flavorwire.com/106330/the-definitive-mad-men-summer-reading-list

http://blogs.amctv.com/mad-men/talk/2008/10/mad-men-book-cl.php