Throughout
the first two chapters of the novel, I felt that the author focused on
revealing information about the characters that related to their “motorcycle”
way of life. However, as I reached chapter three, I was shocked to find out
that this is a ghost story.
I
would have never imagined that Zen and
the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance would be about ghosts. I was wondering
what made the narrator slow down suddenly on the highway as John continued to
speed up to run a way from the rain. The way Sylvia noticed his hand shacking
at the motel sign in sheet gave it away. He wasn’t afraid of the lightning, as
it seemed, but of Phaedrus, the ghost that has been following them. I thought
this was an interesting fact about the narrator. Even though he seemed to be a
tough and stubborn man, he has a unique relationship with a ghost, and he keeps
this relationship a secret form the others. I wonder where this relationship
will take him throughout the novel and how long he will be able to hide it from
the others, especially his son who asks him about ghost stories, which unintentionally
reminds him of his feared friend.
Another
aspect I found interesting about chapter three was the perspective of the
narrator on ghosts and the mind. How everything we learn and do may be a ghost
of our imagination. Did they always exist in the past? How can we tell if something
we understand and live with in the present is existent or nonexistent? These
were some of the questions I had in mind when reading the narrator’s explanation.
It was puzzling, but at the same time interesting, it made me think about it
deeply.
I disagree with Rodrigo’s idea of what is happening in the novel. I do not believe that Phaedrus is a ghost, although I did to start with. The name Phaedrus seemed too formal, too Greek-sounding to me to be the name of a ghost. Certainly these associations go along with existing stereotypes, but I went with my instinct nevertheless. I looked into the name Phaedrus and found that it was actually the name of a character in one of Plato’s works. Though my initial thought was that maybe Phaedrus was actually a ghost, I now think that when the narrator says “Phaedrus is with him” he is referring to the work of Plato.
ReplyDeleteI have not read Phaedrus so I do not know for certain if it is a ghost or not. I thin that when the narrator is saying he has not had a new idea in years it is because all his ideas are actually that of Plato’s. Obviously, reading further into the novel is going to reveal whether or not my belief is correct. Nevertheless, Zen in the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance seems too philosophical a novel to incorporate the ridiculous idea of ghosts into it. I get that every author goes about their work in their own way but to have ghosts in a novel like this one just seems to be the highest level of ridiculousness possible. If Phaedrus is indeed a ghost I think it is going to make me greatly dislike the novel, which would be a shame since I was starting to like it.
- Talia
I think Talia is right, in fact she changed my way of thinking. I too, believed that Phaedrus was actually a ghost or at least a memory that haunts the narrator to this day. However, after reading Talia's comment, she seems to be correct. The novel does portray philosophical aspects through the narrator's eyes, describing ideas about the universe that others wouldn't necessarily think about. The narrator allows the reader to think in a different way, allowing us to make our own judgement about what we think is true or no, even though it usually isn't that easy.
ReplyDeleteIf the narrator is a philosopher himself, then it would make sense, as Talia suggested, that the reason the narrator doesn't have any new ideas of his own is because they are devised from Plato. His mindset is based of Plato's work and can't seem to come up with anything because Plato already has. Maybe this is one of the reasons he speaks about ghosts so much. Maybe he is frustrated that he can't come up with his own idea. Either way, further reading will hopefully clear everything up. Although, unlike Talia i think that Phaedrus turning out to be an actual ghost would be an interesting plot twist.
Jose Novas