In
chapter 4, I think the author does a really good job in making the book
relatable to the readers. For example, we can all say that we’ve been involved
in an instance where your best friend annoys you and you give them the silent
treatment for a couple of minutes and then forget all about it, or vice versa. When
John and Sylvia are angry at the narrator for waking them up and forcing them
to drive in the cold, it’s a feeling that any reader can relate to because they’ve
been in a similar predicament. Even when the narrator tries to get Sylvia to
speak to him, he feels slightly guilty, but he’s doing it for his own amusement
because he knows that Sylvia isn’t actually mad at him. The same happens when
you sleep over a friend’s house you’re the first one to wake up. You sit there
and let your mind wonder, waiting for everyone to get up until. This goes on
for a while until you can no longer take the boredom and decide to wake
everyone up yourself. I can see where the narrator is coming from and
completely agree with him when he says that on a vacation time is not to be
wasted on sleeping. The point of a vacation is to go out, and actually enjoy
your surroundings, not stay in bed all day. It is details like these that make
the book more enjoyable because you can understand what’s happening; you can
picture yourself in a situation.
Not to
mention, this chapter seemed somewhat instructive. Most of us in the group,
based on previous comments and blogs have decided that the book has nothing to
do with its title. However, when the narrator is thinking about his lists, and
giving the reader small tips, it seems as if he’s trying to teach us something,
educating readers on motorcycle maintenance.
I believe Pirsig does this on purpose in order to show the readers that
even though the narrator can get lost in his thoughts, as he did in this
chapter as well, the book isn’t based on philosophical subjects if you will.
The faint instructions that relate the title with what’s actually going on in
the story give it some sort of grounding reality; which is sort of contradicting what he said in the previous
chapter that everything is in our heads.
I have to disagree with what Jose is saying about the novel not being philosophical. I do not think that Pirsig wrote this novel in order to instruct his readers on how to maintain motorcycles; that is what manuals are for. I myself believe that the title should be taken quite literally. I think this novel is about the zen that comes from motorcycle maintenance. Although we are not very far into the novel I think it is going to be more about this feeling of zen and challenging the views of others. The narrator is already constantly criticizing John and Sylvia and I do not believe it will change. What I do believe, however, is that these critiques will evolve into critiques on general society and not just his two friends.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I disagree with Jose on the philosophical nature of the novel, I do agree with the point he made about it being relatable. I liked his connection to having a sleepover with friends and wanting to wake everyone up after being left alone with your thoughts for quite sometime. Though Jose connects with the narrator in the sentiment of wanting to wake everyone up, I connect more with John and Sylvia, those that are woken up. I did find it odd though that the narrator has such a determinist attitude. Despite being on vacation, he is ready to get up at any hour and explore. To him, sleep does not seem like a big deal. To me, vacations are not about seeing everything you can see in one day and having an itinerary that allots about .2 seconds for bathroom breaks. To me, they are about relaxing and enjoying the time you have, but of course the meaning of a vacation is relative.
- Talia Akerman