Being There

Being There is a satirical novel by the Polish-born writer Jerzy Kosinski, published April 21, 1971. Set in America, the story concerns Chance, a simple gardener who unwittingly becomes a much sought-after political pundit and commentator on the vagaries of the modern world. It has been suggested that Kosinski modeled the character of Chance after a former greenhouse manager named Jerry Jarvis who became the national leader of the transcendental meditation movement during the late 1960s and early 1970s, whom Kosinski had met at the local TM Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and who embodied the calm and simple manner of Chauncey Gardiner. The Cambridge TM Center was for years located at the corner of Chauncy and Garden Streets. A film based on the book was made in 1979; Kosinski co-wrote the film's screenplay with Robert C. Jones. Plot The intellectually-handicapped Chance works as a gardener for the Old Man, a retired senior lawyer. Chance’s mother, also intellectually handicapped, died in childbirth; his father is unknown. He has lived in the Old Man’s house all his life, never leaving the house and garden. All his needs (food and presumably clothing and laundry) are met by the Old Man via his servants. His only personal contact is with the servant tasked with servicing his needs.