“It is just an just an illusion we have here on Earth that one moment follows another one, like beads on a string, and that once a moment is gone it is gone forever. ‘When a Tralfamadorian sees a corpse, all he thinks is that the dead person is in bad condition in that particular moment, but that the same person is just fine in plenty of other moments. Now, when I myself hear that somebody is dead, I simply shrug and say what the Tralfamadorians say about dead people, which is ‘So it goes’” (27).
This view is similar to the one in Siddhartha about the false existence of time. Vonnegut however suggests that such an outlook is numbing to the natural human reaction to death and behaving in such an indifferent manner makes us ultimately inhuman.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Siddhartha
“But today he only saw one of the river’s secrets, one that gripped his soul. He saw that the water continually flowed and flowed and yet it was always there; it was always the same and yet every moment it was new…that secret from the river; that there is no such thing as time…This discovery made him very happy. Was not all sorrow in time, all self-torment and fear in time? Were not all difficulties and evil in the world conquered as soon as one conquered time, as soon as one dispelled time?” (104).
Siddhartha realizes that in one's perception of time, there exists a necessity for sorrow resulting from a recognition of an end. If one is able however to ignore time, death does not exist. This is a very different outlook on a similar matter that Vonnegut addresses in Slaughterhouse V.
Siddhartha realizes that in one's perception of time, there exists a necessity for sorrow resulting from a recognition of an end. If one is able however to ignore time, death does not exist. This is a very different outlook on a similar matter that Vonnegut addresses in Slaughterhouse V.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Beloved
"Suspended between the nastiness of life andthe meanness of hte dead, she couldn't get interested in leaving life or living it, let alone the firght of two creeping-off boys. Her past had been like her present - intolerable - and since she knew death was anything ut forgetfulness, she used the little energy left her for pondering color" (4).
"'Well, long enough to see Baby Suggs, anyway. Where is she?'
'Dead.'
'Aw no. When?'
'Eight years now. Almost nine.'
'Was it hard? I hope she didn't die hard.'
Sethe shook her head. 'Soft as cream. Being alive was the hard part'" (8).
"and it embarassed them and made them sad; that secretly they longed to die - to be quit of it - that sleep was more precious to them than any waking day" (20).
“They killed a boss so often and so completely they had to bring him back to life to pulp him one more time. Tasting hot mealcake among the pine trees, they beat it away. Singing love songs to Mr. Death, they smashed his head. More than the rest, they killed the flirt who folks called Life for leading them on. Making them think the next sunrise would be worth it; that another stroke of time would do it at last. Only when she was dead would they be safe” (pg 128).
“He laughs. A rippling sound like Sethe’s sons make when they tumble in hay or splash in rainwater. His feet are cooking; the cloth of his trousers smokes. He laughs. Something is funny. Paul D guesses what it is when Sixo interrupts his laughter to call out, ‘Seven-O! Seven-O!’ Smoky, stubborn fire. They shoot him to shut him up. Have to” (pg. 267).
“Such thoughts of mortality were not new to him (he was over seventy now), but they still had the power to annoy. As he drew closer to the old homestead, the place that continued to surface in his dreams, he was even more aware of the way time moved. Measured by the wars he had lived through but not fought in (against the Miami, the Spaniards, the Secessionists), it was slow” (pg. 307).
"'Well, long enough to see Baby Suggs, anyway. Where is she?'
'Dead.'
'Aw no. When?'
'Eight years now. Almost nine.'
'Was it hard? I hope she didn't die hard.'
Sethe shook her head. 'Soft as cream. Being alive was the hard part'" (8).
"and it embarassed them and made them sad; that secretly they longed to die - to be quit of it - that sleep was more precious to them than any waking day" (20).
“They killed a boss so often and so completely they had to bring him back to life to pulp him one more time. Tasting hot mealcake among the pine trees, they beat it away. Singing love songs to Mr. Death, they smashed his head. More than the rest, they killed the flirt who folks called Life for leading them on. Making them think the next sunrise would be worth it; that another stroke of time would do it at last. Only when she was dead would they be safe” (pg 128).
“He laughs. A rippling sound like Sethe’s sons make when they tumble in hay or splash in rainwater. His feet are cooking; the cloth of his trousers smokes. He laughs. Something is funny. Paul D guesses what it is when Sixo interrupts his laughter to call out, ‘Seven-O! Seven-O!’ Smoky, stubborn fire. They shoot him to shut him up. Have to” (pg. 267).
“Such thoughts of mortality were not new to him (he was over seventy now), but they still had the power to annoy. As he drew closer to the old homestead, the place that continued to surface in his dreams, he was even more aware of the way time moved. Measured by the wars he had lived through but not fought in (against the Miami, the Spaniards, the Secessionists), it was slow” (pg. 307).
Friday, February 22, 2008
Like You'd Understand Anyway
"Here's what it's like to bear up under the burden of so much guilt: everywhere you drag yourself you leave a trail. Late at night, you gaze back and view an upsetting record of where you've been. At the medical center whre they brought my brotehrs, I stood banging my head against a corner of a crash cart. When one of the nurses saw me, I said, 'There, that's better. That kills the thoughts before they grow.'" (3).
Portrait of the Artist
"Perhaps that first hasty confession wrung from him by the fear of hell had not been good? Perhaps, concerned only for his imminent doom, heahad not had sincere sorrow for his sin?" (147).
Joyce suggests that is can be prudent to live for the end, or with the end in mind, but one should never exist in fear of the end.
"How foolish his aim had been! He had tried to build a breakwater of order and elegance against the sordid tide of life without him and to dam up, by rules of conduct and active interests and new filial relations, the powerful recurrence of the tide within him. Useless. From without as from within the water had flowed over his barriers: their tides began once more to jostle fiercely above the crumbled mole" (92).
When Stephen attempts to resist the joys of life because he fears the end (something which he believes will contain an ultimate judgement) he eventually can not maintain such an outlook. He realizes that life should be enjoyed without concern for death. Once again, Joyce tells us not to live in fear of the end.
"And remember, my dear boys, that we have been sent into this world for one thing and for one thing alone: to do God’s holy will and to save our immortal souls. All else is worthless" (104).
The idea that one must live life completely for God in order that one might save one's soul in the after life, is a central theme to the novel, but also one that Stephen chooses to reject because of the religious life's restrictions on his artistic ability.
"It was true. God was almighty. God could call him now, call him as he sat at his desk, before he had time to be conscious of the summons. God had called him… His brain was simmering and bubbling within the cracking tenement of the skull. Flames burst from his skull like a corolla, shrieking like voices: Hell! Hell! Hell! Hell!" (119).
Stephen, although skeptical about religious practice, still believes in an omnipotent God that has the power to bring about the end at any moment.
Joyce suggests that is can be prudent to live for the end, or with the end in mind, but one should never exist in fear of the end.
"How foolish his aim had been! He had tried to build a breakwater of order and elegance against the sordid tide of life without him and to dam up, by rules of conduct and active interests and new filial relations, the powerful recurrence of the tide within him. Useless. From without as from within the water had flowed over his barriers: their tides began once more to jostle fiercely above the crumbled mole" (92).
When Stephen attempts to resist the joys of life because he fears the end (something which he believes will contain an ultimate judgement) he eventually can not maintain such an outlook. He realizes that life should be enjoyed without concern for death. Once again, Joyce tells us not to live in fear of the end.
"And remember, my dear boys, that we have been sent into this world for one thing and for one thing alone: to do God’s holy will and to save our immortal souls. All else is worthless" (104).
The idea that one must live life completely for God in order that one might save one's soul in the after life, is a central theme to the novel, but also one that Stephen chooses to reject because of the religious life's restrictions on his artistic ability.
"It was true. God was almighty. God could call him now, call him as he sat at his desk, before he had time to be conscious of the summons. God had called him… His brain was simmering and bubbling within the cracking tenement of the skull. Flames burst from his skull like a corolla, shrieking like voices: Hell! Hell! Hell! Hell!" (119).
Stephen, although skeptical about religious practice, still believes in an omnipotent God that has the power to bring about the end at any moment.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Shakespeare
To be, or not to be: that is the question:Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to sufferThe slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,And by opposing end them?
Isaac Asimov
If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster.
Epicurus
Thus that which is the most awful of evils, death, is nothing to us, since when we exist there is no death, and when there is death we do not exist.
Bible Reference
For everything there is a season,
And a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate,A time for war, and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
And a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate,A time for war, and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Monday, January 14, 2008
Into the Wild
-"One of his two notes is a plea for help, addressed to anyone who might come upon the camp while the hiker searched the surrounding area for food. The second not bids the world goodbye"
-"Everything had changed suddenly -the tone, the moral climage; you didn't know what to think, whom to listen to. As if all your life you had been led by the hand like a small child and suddenly you were on your own, you had t olearn to walk by yourself. There was not one around, neither familiy nor people whose judgement you respected. At such a time you felt the need of committing yourself to somethign absolute - life or trutht or beauty - of being ruled bvy it in place of the man-made rules that had been discarded. You needed to surrender to some such ultimate purpose more fully, more unreservedly than you had ever done in the old familiar, peaceful days, int the old life that was not abolished and gone for good."
-"I grew up exuberant in body but with a nervy, craving mind. It was wanting something more, somethign tangible. It sought for reality intensely, always as if it were not there..."+
-In regard to nature: "I didn't yet appreciate its terrible finalty or the havoc it could wreak on those who'd entrusted the deceased with their hearts"
-"I am reborn. This is my dawn. Real life has just begun. Deliberate Living: Conscious attention to the basics of life, and a constant attention to your immediate environment and its concerns, example --> A job, a task, a book; anything requiring efficient concentration (Circumstance has no value. It is how one relates to a situation that has value. All true meaning resides in the personal relationship to a phenomenon, what it means to you)."
-"A life of frequent concerns that the next interception may not work, that the trap or the drive will fail, or that the herds will not appear this season. Above all, the life of a hunter carries wit hit the threat of deprivation and death by starvation" (and yet there are many who continue)
-"Now what is history? It is the centuries of systematic explorations of the riddle of death, with a view to overcoming death. That's why people discover mathematical infinity and electromagnetic waves, that's why they write symphonies. Now, you can't advance in this direction without a certain faith. You can't make such discoveries without spiritual equipment. And the basic elements of this equipment are in the Gospels. What are they? To begin with, love one's neighbor, which is the supreme form of vital energy. Once it fills the heart of man it has to overflow and spend itself. And then the two basic ideals of modern man - without them he is unthinkable - the idea of free personality and the idea of life as sacrifice"
-"DAY 100! MADE IT! BUT IN WEAKEST CONDITION OF LIFE. DEATH LOOMS AS SERIOUS THREAT."
-"Death's a fierce meadowlark: but to die having made
Something more equal to the centuries
Than muscle and bone, is mostly to shed weakness.
The mountains are dead stone, the people
Admire or hate their stature, their insolent quietness,
The mountains are not softened or troubled
And a few dead men's thoughts have the same temper."
-"I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL!"
-"Everything had changed suddenly -the tone, the moral climage; you didn't know what to think, whom to listen to. As if all your life you had been led by the hand like a small child and suddenly you were on your own, you had t olearn to walk by yourself. There was not one around, neither familiy nor people whose judgement you respected. At such a time you felt the need of committing yourself to somethign absolute - life or trutht or beauty - of being ruled bvy it in place of the man-made rules that had been discarded. You needed to surrender to some such ultimate purpose more fully, more unreservedly than you had ever done in the old familiar, peaceful days, int the old life that was not abolished and gone for good."
-"I grew up exuberant in body but with a nervy, craving mind. It was wanting something more, somethign tangible. It sought for reality intensely, always as if it were not there..."+
-In regard to nature: "I didn't yet appreciate its terrible finalty or the havoc it could wreak on those who'd entrusted the deceased with their hearts"
-"I am reborn. This is my dawn. Real life has just begun. Deliberate Living: Conscious attention to the basics of life, and a constant attention to your immediate environment and its concerns, example --> A job, a task, a book; anything requiring efficient concentration (Circumstance has no value. It is how one relates to a situation that has value. All true meaning resides in the personal relationship to a phenomenon, what it means to you)."
-"A life of frequent concerns that the next interception may not work, that the trap or the drive will fail, or that the herds will not appear this season. Above all, the life of a hunter carries wit hit the threat of deprivation and death by starvation" (and yet there are many who continue)
-"Now what is history? It is the centuries of systematic explorations of the riddle of death, with a view to overcoming death. That's why people discover mathematical infinity and electromagnetic waves, that's why they write symphonies. Now, you can't advance in this direction without a certain faith. You can't make such discoveries without spiritual equipment. And the basic elements of this equipment are in the Gospels. What are they? To begin with, love one's neighbor, which is the supreme form of vital energy. Once it fills the heart of man it has to overflow and spend itself. And then the two basic ideals of modern man - without them he is unthinkable - the idea of free personality and the idea of life as sacrifice"
-"DAY 100! MADE IT! BUT IN WEAKEST CONDITION OF LIFE. DEATH LOOMS AS SERIOUS THREAT."
-"Death's a fierce meadowlark: but to die having made
Something more equal to the centuries
Than muscle and bone, is mostly to shed weakness.
The mountains are dead stone, the people
Admire or hate their stature, their insolent quietness,
The mountains are not softened or troubled
And a few dead men's thoughts have the same temper."
-"I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL!"
Crime and Punishment
-Alonya and Lizaveta dying (Raskolnikov's personal first hand experience with death: he confesses his part in it, but only after an internal struggle to find his purpose; whether it be superhuman and a transcendent of law or a simple man.
-Death of the mare (fear of death or the creating of death because of its brutality)
-"a feeling akin to that of a dead man upon suddenly receiving his pardon" (whether death is feared or not, there is always an element of relief when it is avoided)
-Svidrigailov seeing the ghost of his dead wife (death as something that haunts those who are still alive when the death was caused by those still living)
-Raising of Lazarus (individuals like Sonya who have the ability to stop unnecessary death)
-Katerina's death (example of delirium before death and the hysterics proceeding the end)
-Death of the mare (fear of death or the creating of death because of its brutality)
-"a feeling akin to that of a dead man upon suddenly receiving his pardon" (whether death is feared or not, there is always an element of relief when it is avoided)
-Svidrigailov seeing the ghost of his dead wife (death as something that haunts those who are still alive when the death was caused by those still living)
-Raising of Lazarus (individuals like Sonya who have the ability to stop unnecessary death)
-Katerina's death (example of delirium before death and the hysterics proceeding the end)
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