Wonder or Wander

Herman Hesse (1932) Hesse's oriental mysticism and his perspicacious insight to human natures--their gifted talent for forgetting and their ever capricious soul--culminate in this novel divided into two parts. Meticulously interwoven plots brings this short piece to a concise unity although it was hard to grasp at the first glance. Probably its narrative style, built on the flow of mystical religious mind and subtle actions, makes the understanding the theme more difficult. I will have another time to read it over.

Hermann Hesse (1877-1962) 1927 in German / 1929 first translated in English My inexplicable affinity to Hesse reoccurred in a dread time and I grabbed Steppenwolf again--I failed to read some years ago. While reading the first half of the story, a crispy-sharp icy chill penetrated my skin because of its needle-like high precision in describing human nature and striking resemblance to my own. Harry, who describes himself as half a man and half a wolf, a savage animal, suffers from the cacophony of the two kinds in himself. He, helpless bourgeois, longs for the innocent indulgence in bourgeoisie life in his youth, simultaneously detesting its unbearable lightness and vanity. Besides humanities that Hesse wished to preserve, his abomination of war appears to lie beneath the entire story grounded from the author's desperate exhortation to the world for self-reflection beyond politics. Harry's life makes a sharp turn when he gets to know an mysterious woman and his dark time climax

3700 McTavish. December 15, 2008

Hamish Hamilton Pub. (1946). Camus' first novel, L'étranger shares the same breath on absurdity with Reflection on the Guillotine , which appears twofold in this novel: the first is his murder and the second the background of his accusation. Meursault only murmurs at the court that he murdered the Arab because of the sun, which is not persuasive in every sense. But the mise-en-scene of the story, laid out on a nearly unilateral evolution of the stifling power of the sun, as if all happened in one day, gives much excuse for his unintentional crime. His mothers' mortuary, a bright and spotlessly clean room with whitewashed walls, was flooded with skylight. While the undertakers were working, 'the sky was already a blaze of light and the air stoking up rapidly.' That Sunday morning, when Meursault walks out, 'the glare of the morning sun hit me in the eyes like a clenched fist.' Then, the light became almost vertical and the flare from the water seared one'

Camus, A. (1957). In Resistance, Rebellion and Death (1961). This research essay is worth a special note. As the title suggests, it is based on a historical analysis but nevertheless full of reflections and reasoning. He refuses purely sentimental confusion because it is made up of cowardice and eventually stands on the worst side. Every paragraph is written with his conviction. The supporting documents which described moments at the guillotine are as chilly as excoriating one's own. He argues that if the capital punishment is a regrettable necessity as its advocates say and an example in the effort of preventing another crime, the execution should be performed publicly and described vividly so that all others know. But the State hides it because such punishments paradoxically would blame the state for letting such crimes happen. Statistically those who faced capital punishment in fact had seen its execution in their life. So, criminals who commit such crimes are less likely to be

Resistance, Rebellion and Death (1961). NY: Knopf. My inexplicable affection toward Camus reoccurred while reading Darkness Invisible. Death seems a reoccurring theme throughout his career. Understandably he was born one year before the WW I, lost his father during the war and fought under the German occupation. Thus, as McCarthy (1988) suggests, absurdity becomes a resolution in his view with religious first of all--it is man's capacity to be aware of the divine--and political connotations. Meursault's happiness is after all his domination on his body and fate. Within this context, the dividing line between murder and suicide becomes blurred. Here is some quotes from his essays or speeches. Man's greatness lies in his decision to be stronger than his condition --The Night of Truth, 8/25/1944, around the time Paris was taken back from Nazis. When that intelligence is snuffed out, the black night of dictatorship begins --Defense of Intelligence, 3/15/1945, against the new F

A memoir of Madness. William Styron. (1990). He said he found the repose, assuagement of the tempest in his brain only after being hospitalized. Anonymity free from occupation in a startling solitude and a feeling of disconnectedness may bring one sanity back. Then, I wonder whether my long-term travels actually kept my sanity on track for the past few years. Didn't I feel so fresh among strangers who were unlikely to come to the edge of my life? And yet, I pay more attention to this episode: the author found the problem with his tranquilizer by accident before being admitted to the hospital. After changing it, his reoccurring suicidal obsession disappeared. It was that simple! He actually warns people of what they take for their mental health and slightly scorns habitual irresponsible tasks given by doctors. He also mentions his childhood with a memory of loss of his mother when he was thirteen. So-called, "incomplete morning" may preoccupy certain people especially a su

Three months have passed at McGill. The time was not boring. Even though there were certain difficult moments where my spirit got low, one thing I do not regret is to come back to academia. New ideas and new thought have entered my mind and made my life coherent. EV at her graduation said that they had not come to the Odyssey Project with an empty vessel but with desire to reach higher complexity. What a great insight! Now, I invite five people in my dinner table. Who's going to be there? First my adviser, no question. But important is to be able to delineate what she could do for my dissertation work and what I should take away before I leave this school. Her ethnic background that allowed her to see a different world is strong and she made her career. I should learn her insightful ideas. Next, one from neoliberal globalization and education. I just got a message about REF series. Carlos Alberto Torres. I want to know more about him.

The term of journey is often encountered while describing the process of doctoral studies. Then, one may reach the point to compare doctoral students with tourists or travelers. First of all my instinct response to this questions is that doctoral students are travelers rather than tourists because travelers, in a general sense, are more independent to the ritual process that sticks around tourists, who hardly go about without a guide to look around or a prearranged planning. On the other hand, travelers are ready to meet new settings and new people on the road and be more flexible to change their routes on occasions. A plan is in their mind, but doesn't dominate the path absolutely. It is rather loose. Definitely looser than that of the tourists. Moreover, tourists usually spend a very short period of time, but travelers do more, although they may not embark on the traveling that often. Yeah, now I think that I am very morally comparing doctoral students with travelers. I mean, the