The first thing I noticed when
reading this book is that the narrator is never named. Although it can easily
be assumed that Pirsig himself is the narrator, he never decides to mention it.
I can’t find or understand his reason for doing so, but I found his method
interesting.
This book can at times be very difficult to read. In other
words, following the narrators thought process is not an easy task. His train
of thought is constantly shifting from one subject to another and I’m yet to
grasp what Pirsig is trying to say through his writing even though I can relate
to some things he says. For example, my father loves taking secondary roads and
going through empty streets as well. On our vacation to Spain, he took me on a
long drive through these secondary roads trying to teach me about culture and
the way his life was when he lived here. I was younger back then and can see myself
acting like Chris, bored, not thinking much of nature. In a similar manner, the
narrator relieves his memories when driving through these streets. He states
that the blackbird has a direct correlation to a childhood experience,
something his son is missing because he hasn’t lived through it.
When the narrator begins to speak about Chautauqua, I became
very confused. I looked up the term and it meant adult education movement, people
who brought entertainment and culture to forgotten areas. By stating that the
Dakota’s are known for having nothing, I think the narrator thinks of himself
as a Chautauqua. He believes his book and his presence throughout these
prairies will teach his son and his reader’s new things. Then he begins to
blame the destruction of these Chautauqua’s on things such as the radio and TV,
which by the end of chapter 2 began to make sense to me. These technological advances
have made the 20th and 21st century faster. People are
always in a hurry and when this happens, they forget the importance of what it
is that they are doing. However, I don’t
agree with the narrator when he uses this to blame John for having a different
motorcycle maintenance mindset and for assuming that this mindset is caused by
all technology.
Jose Novas
I agree with you Jose. I also wonder why the narrator was left nameless, and whether or not the author had an ulterior motive for this. Also, it is difficult to follow the narrator and his thoughts when he goes off on tangents. This writing reminds me of Virginia Woolf in the sense that it is hard to follow at times.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of criticizing John, I do not understand very well what you mean when you say "I don't agree with the narrator when he uses this to blame John for having a different motorcycle maintenance mindset". I don't see what you think the narrator is blaming John for. He criticizes him, on his motorcycle maintenance, but I don't think he blames him for anything.