Slaughterhouse-Five

As shown in Slaughterhouse- Five, human relationships are complex and oftentimes based on different foundations for each individual involved. Relating to my big question (What is the meaning of life?)I think that forming ones’ own ideas of time, space and society while living in the confines of a judgmental world is important. To be able to be an individual is one key to happiness, but finding the fine line between individuality and insanity is also important. For example, in Slaughterhouse-Five, Billy becomes more and more distanced from his son as the novel progresses. When Billy walks in on his son playing guitar in the bathroom, he comes to the important realization that although he likes his son, he barely knows him. At this point in the novel Billy is becoming attuned with the potential for human relationships and the fact that he cannot fully understand or be a part of all of them; and he is okay with that fact. Billy is constantly testing the boundary between fantasy and reality with his encounters with the Tralfamadorians, and alien species, and each new encounter sheds new light on Vonnegut’s anti-war stance in his novel. One reason I especially liked this novel was because it wasn’t blatantly against war without rhyme or reason. He showed his stance, while also showing the reader his understanding that war will never cease to occur. Whether these battles are personal or global, grudges will always be held and wars will always be fought on some scale; it is the right and duty of each individual to decide their stance on whether or not they want to fight and to stick to what they said to the end. The ability to practice free will means that wars are fought by choice not force, and I think that the choices people make leading up to conflict are what define them the most. IF an individual is able to decide what values are important to them and stick by them, then that person will lead a happy life. Conflict may not be avoided (due to clashing ideals) but at least that person will be able to back up what they say and know that in their heart they believe in themselves, just like Billy and his plunger headed friends.

Beloved

In Beloved, one of the many themes I noticed was how slavery can cloud out a person’s identity and make them feel inferior or different than someone else who may even view the slave (or ex slave) as an equal. For instance, when Paul D is remembering Six-O and his escape attempt with Thirty Mile Woman, the fact that he remembers only having been worth $900 has a profound impact on his self esteem and his sense of value as a human being. When a monetary value is put on a person, that person is able to “assess” their worth in a physical, graspable mean. This can almost assure that no matter what happens after, it is often hard to think of oneself as more than what the price on that person’s head was originally. Connecting to my big question, a message that can be taken from this book is no one can take from you what is inside. They can beat you, rape you, kill your children, and even tie you up, but what is in your mind is yours. The ability to retain a positive image of self and self worth is key, and the writing style employed by Morrison also helps reinforce this. She writes in passages of prose at times, which are important to look at to understand further the loss of identity. For example, in chapter 20, when Denver, Sethe and Beloved’s voices merge, the reader loses a sense of who is speaking, and it becomes almost one narrative rather than three. The merging of their voices show not only the connectedness but the pain caused in all of their lives by what Sethe did to her daughter and the loving-fear Denver has lived in for so long. The switching of roles between Sethe and Beloved was also intriguing to me. As Beloved ages, Sethe becomes more and more like a child and Beloved has almost total authority over her. This can be a symbol for the loss of touch with a person’s inner being when an authoritative figure is around, or someone in a vulnerable position being taken advantage of. Because Sethe loves Beloved so much, she will do whatever she wants, and Beloved wants to keep Sethe to herself so she never leaves again, which causes an issue. When Sethe killed her daughter, Beloved should have stayed dead. Although she wanted to come back and Sethe thought she needed Beloved, the outcome of the novel shows otherwise. When an action takes place, it is best left alone or it can alter the structure of the future and the people in each individual’s life. Beloved was the reincarnate of a person, not the original daughter Sethe loved, and although both individuals had “good” intentions, a replica is never as good as the original and the dead remained dead in the end.

The Stranger Final Thoughts

Throughout the Stranger I noticed the theme of spirituality and the acceptance of physical, graspable, solid ideas. With Meursault, I feel like his personal search wasn't fully realized until the end of the novel when he killed the Arab and was sentenced to die. After he was sitting in his jail cell for hours and days at a time, he was only able to think about concrete ideas like his memories of Marie and the walls around him. Time had lost its meaning to him, God still had no meaning, and he wanted to live out the time he had left content. As with my big question revolving around life, Meursault was content with his life and his refusal to lie. He was viewed as a stranger by society because he didn't conform to the "white lies" we all tell everyday and he wouldn't elaborate on the truth in court; this made him seem odd and different, because it seemed as if he didn't care for his own fate. He did care about his fate though, which he begins to think of more and more in prison until he snaps and puts his hands around the chaplains neck. After letting all of his steam out he realizes the permanence of his sentence and what he has done. He is comforted by the thought of the people who will view his execution, and the date coming ever closer is another solid idea he is able to grasp. The search for a God has never meant anything to him because he wasn't in need of the comfort faith grants; he found it in other things in life like cigarettes and sex. These ideas seem very strange even to me, but another central idea I found was the prospect of death and the inescapability of it. No matter how an individual lives their life they are going to die, and Meursault understands that fact. That is partially why he is okay with his life being cut short by his actions and the deliberation of his peers. The universe is indifferent to human affairs, and besides supporting life Earth does nothing to affect free will. God hasn't granted free will to Meursault, in his view. Meursault has been excercising the inalienable right to free will his whole life and his indifference to human affairs is what also comforts him in life because he is just like the Earth. It's not that he doesn't care; he just doesn't put too much thought into other people's affairs because what they do is their business. The larger message I would use to apply to my blog topic is this: don't worry too much about other people's affairs because no one will ever be even close to the same you. You are an individual, so do what you want but be prepared to accept the consequences of your actions. Everyone owes a death to the Earth, and if your actions cut that short then so be it. Just don't waste what time you have.

Crime and Punishment Connections

To start, I hope my connections aren't too vague or off-point from my main topic of the various aspects of life and the meaning of life in general, since winter break stole about 3 weeks worth of recollection from me. A message I took away from Crime and Punishment is the fact that everyone will have to pay for their sins, one way or another. If you commit a crime, like Raskolnikov, no matter how atrocious the crime is, you will pay for what you have done. Sort of like Newton's third law, every crime has an equal punishment. Although some punishments aren't in the physical sense like a conviction, the mental burden suffered can be just as awful. In Raskolnikov's case, he eventually turns himself in to ease his mind from what he had done. He probably would have never been caught for his crime if he hadn't given so many signs to bystanders, but nevertheless he chose the path to his personal redemption. Another meaning I took away from Crime and Punishment is the belief in something bigger than oneself. Sonya has a very strong faith, and the moral boundaries of man are tested throughout the book with her and other characters like Marmaledov. These two ideas connect with my big question because they are very similar; the search for inner peace and the hope for life after death. One of the braod and important aspects of life is having faith; whether that be in a God or some other deity or just having faith that what you do is important, faith is what drives people. The search for inner peace connects to faith and my question (the meaning of life) because without a sound inner-self, the outer self will be out of whack. Like a Ferrari body with a Chevrolet engine, the Car may look good from the outside, but when you examine the inside it doesn't fit. I think that metaphor works nicely with the juxtaposition of inner/ outer self because my comparison of a Chevy engine and a Ferrari body doesn't technically imply that possessing either of those is negative. If the person being called the "Chevy" had an original body and engine, like a clear head and soul, then they would be deemed as "okay" by society. The Ferrari would also only be considered functional and healthy if it had all the right parts. A person has to find their own salvation because the parts that other people are looking for don't fit them. They have their own molds to fit, and like Marmeladov's final decision of suicide and Raskolnikov's decision to turn himself in, the outcomes may be drastically different, but not "wrong" in their own respects. So my main message here, pardon the car reference, is: if you are a Chevy, be okay with that. Don't try to stick a Ferrari engine somewhere it won't fit. And buy the premium gas, too.