Here are some questions for the group to wrestle with this weekend:
1. What are some of the author's best arguments? What makes them compeling?
2. Which arguments or points made by the author do not make sense to you? Do you disagree with? Why?
3. How does your book connect to our class readings?
Remember, the purpose of the blog is to inform, to make connections, and to exchange ideas.
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They Poured Fire On Us From the Sky: The Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan
ReplyDeleteby: Benjamin Ajak, Benson Deng, and Alphonsian Deng
This was a very interesting novel. The whole book is set up in sections that are narrated by the three authors respectively.
1. One of the most prominent and moving arguments is the fact or possible irony that civil wars/all wars in general destroy so many human lives all in the name of freedom and peace. These three boys are among thousands of displaced people in Africa due to the Civil War in Sudan. Each boy recalls events where their families have been torn apart and killed by the warfare around them. One of the most heart-breaking chapters was when Alepho discovered that his best friend and her family had been killed by the rebel fighting in the village. Because he was so young at that time, his tone is innocent as he recalls the horror and anguish of it all.
Mortality is sacrificed in the name of freedom. Is that a fair trade?
2. This probably wasn't all that important, but do the authors try to explain the importance of recognizing your enemies? In the passage where Benson's father is telling him of the dangers coming soon, I felt like there was a bigger picture that I was missing:
"The government troops are Arabs that call themselves Muslims...They speak a strange language that we cannot understand but some speak Dinka...And you must beware. Some of the Muslims are traitors from Dinka tribes; they speak the way we do. they may call to you."
I think it is supposed to show the importance of knowing your friends and recognizing your enemies. But I'm not quite sure. Any thoughts?
3. This book connects to our class readings by giving a face to the "Dark Continent". It also shows the destruction of an ancient culture by warfare and colonization. The root of the war is about religion--it scares me to think that religious warfare still prevails in certain parts of the world. I feel I must do my part as a citizen of the world to be mindful of differences and understand those who do not believe in the same things as I do.
They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky
ReplyDeleteWhat are come of the authors' best arguments? What makes them compelling?
and Re: Kamil, thoughts about the importance of recognizing enemies.
In the first pages of the novel, before the story actually starts, the publication page dictates that the book is "Dedicated to Monyde and all of the other children throughout time who've gotten caught up in adult wars." followed on the next page by an African proverb that reads, "When two elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled." These two quotes give a clear depiction of one of the main themes exposed in the novel. When war breaks out, it is the land and the children that suffer unnecessarily for differences between adults. In the first part of the novel, we are introduced to the village traditions and everyday life that guides the boys' actions. This life is peaceful and full of family, hard work, and friendship. But as violence and war break out, the boys are forced to witness the dilapidation of their lives- their families, friends, and homes are destroyed. By showing this destruction, the truth about civil war and war in general is brutally shown- destruction of innocent lives in the name of 'peace' and power.
Kamil, I think your inference is right- what Benson's father tells him shows the importance of differentiating between friends and enemies. By identifying that some of the enemies are from the Dinka tribe and "speak the way we do," I think Benson's father is also warning him to not trust people just because they look or talk like the people of his tribe. This is difficult for Benson to understand- as the people of the same village are usually united and trust one another. So I think that this passage also signifies a change, not only can Benson and his family not trust outsiders- but their own "kind" of people, who share their dialect. What do you think?
They Poured Fire On Us From the Sky
ReplyDeleteRe: Kimmy
I understand what you are saying. I love how the book connects the reader with the boys’ lives and traditions before introducing the horrible events that unfold. This allows the reader to know what the people where feeling as their peaceful lives are torn by war. The reader connects to the people and flows into the descriptions of their culture only to emphasize how this war truly changed their lives. What hit me the hardest is how amazing it is that they not only survived, but found each other once again. This issue continues today and thousands continue to be killed or displace because of war.
Re: Kamil
Kamil, I think you are on the right track. It might also connect to an idea of the book about knowledge. Education set the boys free, the more they knew the more they were able to survive. In the end they went to school and even came to America and studied here. Knowledge is power. Just an observation though, Did that make any sense?
They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky
ReplyDeleteconnection to class readings
and my own little rant
Achebe and Kingsolver showed us the results of arrogance and ignorance. William Yates informed us of the “rough Beast… that slouches towards Bethlehem,” (the second coming) which I compared to the Price family and the expectations of savagery and incompetence that they carried with them from America. And even the Endless Enemies except uses logos to display how uninformed and naïve we were to not only the workings of this foreign land, but the involvement of our own government in creating the chaos. Not only the United States, but others around the world deem distance societies as wrong and incompatible with their own. These arrogant beliefs have led to what was believed the necessary colonization of Africa in the beginning of the twentieth century, the numerous coup d’ eta performed by foreign nations, and ultimately as we can see today while working on our African projects, have left numerous countries in poverty and false leadership. The war that originally tore the Sudan apart during the 1980’s was yet another demonstration of the inability of two cultures to accept the beliefs of another.
What I found truly ridiculous is the situation the boys experience in 1996 in Kakuma, Kenya. After 12 years of exodus and peril, the thousands of refugees still cannot find a people willing to help them. “Never, mind. You are a refugee. Just go inside the center and be counted like cattle.” (Things Fall Apart pg. 263). The Kenyans were surrounded by the tragedy and story of these refugees yet they continue to provide poor nourishment and refuse to help them start a new life. “Meanwhile, the people who carried out these regulations looked like they had never suffered hunger, eating food without pause day and night. But we had to stay strong and were always chided by the message announced clearly on the loudspeakers, ‘Why did you leave your country to come to Kenya?’” (pg. 265). As if they had a choice! And in addition, why wasn’t the United States doing more to aid these people. Americans came with their cameras to film the horrendous lifestyle, yet where was our government’s support. And maybe there lies the rub. My junior year in high school was the first time that I learned the story of the lost boys of Sudan. Why hasn’t this tragedy been broadcasted all over our news. Why aren’t we trying to figure out how to prevent this oppression from happening again, and showing our children the effects of arrogance that Achebe and Kingsolver write about? In this great technology era, we remain secluded. I was alive during these boys struggles and yet I remained completely unaware. I guess what im trying to say is that how can stories like these go unnoticed. The United States claims to be a country of freedom and equality for all, and we consider ourselves a world wide leader in the fight against tyranny and despair, but how can these things be accomplished if we remain isolated and self absorbed.
Does anyone agree?
Ill stop typing now :)
Re: Lucy
ReplyDeleteI also asked myself why the events that are unfolding in our books and readings are unnoticed. The media fails to inform the public about these events and as a result there is a lack of knowledge not only in America but around the world. I think there are several reasons for this. One, Events likes these are all over the globe and I don’t think we as a nation could report on all of them, let alone aid these nations. I don’t think Americans want their tax dollars going out of our nation when we ourselves are suffering. However that is still not an excuse because Americans are not starving or dying while in these nations people are suffering from those conditions. I also think that Americans still view Africa as the Dark Continent that has no resources to offer us in return for our help. This is the idea that all of our novels and readings are trying to cure us of. I like how in the novels, including They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky, connect the reader to the people and the culture. This allows the arrogance of white culture to become apparent to the reader. The people are extremely civilized and follow complex traditions and beliefs. The novels explain their side of colonization and give light to the African continent.
Re: Sarah and Lucy
ReplyDeleteand some others things I thought about
(They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky)
I agree with both of you, Sarah and Lucy, on the idea that our media fails to update the nation on events majority of the time and that most people (internationally) are ignorant about occurences- such as the turmoil in "They Poured Fire On Us From the Sky"- around the world. However, on a side tangent, I also think that while our support politically and economically to these developing nations would be well placed, I don't know that I agree that it is our 'duty' to help them in every aspect (setting up government, an economy, social rights, etc). This notion sounds to me to be frighteningly similar to the all too familiar "white man's burden." It has taken our nation and many other nations hundreds of years to develop our governments, economies, and social rights, although we still have not reached perfection and probably never will. Basically, we can't see it as our job or our government's job to force people into accepting or tolerating other people- or to force governments into giving their people civil rights. This is a process that must occur within a country- as it did within ours (Revolution, Civil Rights Movement, Feminist Movement). The most we can hope to do is influence the decisions of the nation positively and foster education on self government and democracy for the citizens. Obviously, this is not to say that our government wasn't erroneously out of line when they played a role in orchestrating coup d'etats of promising governmental leaders(Lumumba) or in plundering the natural resources of some of the African nations. Nor is it to say that we shouldn't help these people in any way that we can. But we, as a nation, also have our own problems to work out. I whole-heartedly believe that it is our role as citizens of this world to help in causes that benefit more than ourselves and I think that the turmoil in Africa is one of those causes. And, in agreement with Lucy and Sarah, I think the first step to helping the cause, is to become educated about it, which is exactly what these books provide us with the opportunity to do. By connecting with the culture of the African people through the novels we have read, we can better understand it.
In my opinion, "They Poured Fire On Us From the Sky" appeals largely to pathos. As the story of the boys unfolds it envokes a clear emotion in the reader- I felt despair and guilt, but was inspired by the intricate culture and the courageous strength of the boys, a feeling that is repeated in "The Poisonwood Bible" and "Things Fall Apart." For those of you that are reading "TPFOUFTS" (<-new acronym by the way :D)- do you think their are also appeals to ethos and logos? just something I'm thinking about...
Freakonomics
ReplyDeleteby: Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner focus on what makes the individual make choices, plainly described as incentives. They argue that everyday experts use incentives to work against or with the consumer, whether in real-estate or in the medical field. They argue that incentives are the cornerstone of modern life and understanding them is the key to “solving any riddle”, from cheating to violent crimes.
The main goal in the book Freakonomics is to “strip a layer or two from the surface of modern life and [to] see what is happening underneath.” On the cover of the book, there is fruit that looks like an apple from the outside, but when they sliced it open they found it was an orange, which goes to show what one can find when they dig deep to find it.
In this novel, Levitt and Dubner compare complete opposites together and come up with at least one similarity. For example they compare schoolteachers to sumo wrestlers. To back up their argument that both cheat, one way or another, they use statistical data including students’ test scores and wrestler’s win/loss average. Not only do they compare and contrast ideas, but they go all the way to the core, where the reader will find the similarity. Levitt and Dubner do not flat out say what is different and similar between two ideas, but they let the reader think for themselves and generate their own conclusions on the subject.
Re: Kimmy Z
ReplyDeleteTPFOUFTS (Yay for acronyms!)
Yes, I believe Beson, Alepho, and Benjamin all used a bit of Ethos and Logos in their writing. Granted it’s not as prominent as the emotional Pathos rollercoaster ride that the book takes you on, but it’s still there. I think each author establishes his own credibility in a way because of how bluntly they told the story. There weren’t any places in the book where I felt I was being sheltered from. Does that make sense? I mean, the chapter where Alepho describes the animal that devours select parts from little children: “All I saw was a blur of his body and heard his last cry echoing as he disappeared into the darkness. In the morning we found the blood and some remnants…” that could have been omitted to make the book less grotesque but I felt like it made Alepho a credible and loyal author because of his mission to tell the true and accurate story, no matter how difficult it gets. This passage also shows that not only were the boys against bloody warfare, starvation, malnutrition, and dehydration, but they were also against the creatures that lurked in the Dark Continent. So, how many opponents do the boys have to beat? How many obstacles do these boys have to overcome? When is it enough?
Freakonomics
ReplyDeleteBy: Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
The author begins his arguments by observing a situation that seems to have more to it than meets the eye. Levitt and Dubner seek to challenge "common knowledge" with statistics and mathematical data. They refute accepted ideas by providing and analyzing various information that disproves previous hypothesis while simultaneously proving their own observations on the topic to be correct.
The Post-American World
ReplyDeleteBy Fareed Zakaria
The Authors Best Argument...
The Post-American World has possibly the best development of rhetoric I have witnessed in my reading career. Zakarias application of Ethos, Logos, and Pathos makes all of his inferences and arguments outstanding. In perhaps his best argument, Zakaria states that the age where America has been superior to all the world is coming to an end. He uses historical references of the Roman Empire to compare the rise and pending fall of America. Although the argument seems very blunt and unrealistic; Zakaria qualifies his argument with current statistics and world events that reflect this current downfall. Zakaria does not bag on America; rather he states that it is the natural flow of history for this to occur. Once Zakaria is able to state his argument, that America is on the downfall, he gives to the hope to reader by stating “we will not feel the effects of this turmoil if our leaders are able to accept this new era of globalization." This lets the reader know that Zakaria has a solution to problem. The argument style provided by Zakaria persuades the reader to see Zakarias main idea.
3. How does your book connect to our class readings?
ReplyDeleteJeannette Walls’ novel, The Glass Castle, is the story of her life as she grows up with her three siblings and her parents. Her personality and outlook on life provide strong parallels to Barbara Kingsolver’s character, Leah Price. Barbara Kingsolver fills the pages of her novel, The Poisonwood Bible, with the tragic drama of a mother and her four daughters, the family of a fiery Baptist missionary, as they carry the Word of God throughout the heart of the Congo; as they are forced to live out each day among the native people, Leah, one of the Price girls, realizes that, not only her faith in God, but also her faith in her father, is wavering. His strict inability to see the world in a different light and to take advice from anyone brings about her total lack of conviction in her father and his ideas. Upon first seeing her father’s inevitable failure in the Congo, Leah states, “I sensed the sun was going down on many things I believed in,” (Kingsolver, 99). Eventually, she and her mother and sisters left her father alone with his undying faith in an unloving God. Her family then begins to deteriorate as they end up on different continents, Adah and Orleanna in the United States, Leah in the Congo, Rachel in South Africa, and Ruth May and Nathan forever lost to the Congo. Similarly, Jeannette, her father’s favorite child, begins to lose faith in him as she grows older and realizes that they can no longer sustain their way of life. As she and her siblings begin to grow up, the author realizes that, “Lori [is] already a teenager, and in a couple of years, Brian and I [will] be, too. They [can’t] toss us into the back of a U-Haul or put us in cardboard boxes at night,” (Walls, 146). This sudden lack of conviction in her father, Rex, brings about the end of her family, as she knows it. Soon, her older sister moves out to live with a family that would pay her to watch their children for a summer and then buy her a train ticket to New York. As the car disappears down the street, Rex Walls whispers, “This family is falling apart,” and his favorite child agrees (Walls, 158).
What are some of the author's best arguments? What makes them compelling?
ReplyDeleteOne of the author’s best arguments includes her position on the idea of homelessness. Jeannette Walls’ parents lived on the streets for years and even after her father’s death, her mother, Rose Mary, continued to live in abandoned houses with the friends that she and her husband had met on the streets of New York and lived among through the warm summers and cold winters. Walls’ most compelling argument is brought up with the memory of a discussion in one of her college classes in New York. Her teacher, Professor Fuchs, asked “if homelessness was the result of drug abuse and misguided entitlement programs, as the conservatives claimed, or did it occur, as the liberals argued, because of cuts in social-service programs and the failure to create economic opportunity for the poor,” (Walls, 256). Walls knew first-hand that, sometimes, it was neither. Her own parents had followed their children to New York and decided to live homeless because that was what worked for them. Their spirits were simply too restless to live anywhere else and Rex, Walls’ father, had so much trouble keeping jobs that taking to the streets seemed to be the right thing to do for them. Rose Mary tells her daughter in a restaurant that, “people in this country are too wasteful. It’s my way of recycling,” (Walls, 5). In a strange, confusing way, Rose Mary has a point. Americans are entirely too wasteful and we do need to recycle more but, her take on the issue is a little frightening to me. I am one of those people who have a serious fear of lack of financial security and yet, I cannot help but see Rose Mary’s point. She believes in purifying our environment through recycling and, even though I find her methods to be a little extreme, I understand where she is going with it and I admire her bravery for finding exactly what it is she wants from our world and sticking to it. Even when her own daughter admits to being ashamed to her mother being homeless, Rose Mary tells her that she is way too easily embarrassed and that if people ask about her parents that she should, “Just tell the truth. That’s simple enough,” (Walls, 5).
How does your book connect to our class readings?
ReplyDeleteThey Poured Fire On Us From The Sky
The book connects to our in class readings in several different ways. In obvious ways the setting is in Africa and exposes the realities of events that are currently occurring on the continent. Like Kingsolver’s Poisonwood Bible the story is told from several different points of view allowing the reader to see several different lives unfolding. The novel depicts the intricate traditions and laws in the cultures of the African people, proving that the people are not uncivilized. The reader is exposed to the realities of the customs of the people and understands the complexity of the people before the tragedies begin. Just as our in class readings the authors use logos, pathos, and ethos. The prominent sytle was pathos becasue you really connect to the characters and feel their pain as they experience their events. The logic comes from the fact that the story is based on a real event that occured and continues to occur today. The authors develop ethos beause they lived through the events and wrote about their own experiences. They are a primary source and therefore have more accurate information on the events. Their story is truly amazing.
Three Cups of Tea
ReplyDeleteGreg Mortinson and David Oliver Relin
"How does your book connect to our class readings?"
Even before seeing this question posted, i was pondering this question. As i said during our class introduction, i have a really strange interest in foriegn language, so im always taking notice of them. In both Poisonwood Bible and Things Fall Apart, difference in language was cited as one general explanation for all major problems between different cultural groups. While i was reading Three Cups of Tea, the huge ammount of different dialects and languages were constantly being pointed out. Urdu, Arabic, Balti, Swahili, Uighur, English, Russian, Pashto, and others were referenced, pointing out the equally diverse number of languages in this area, though i have never heard this cited as a reason for political/social unrest. I wonder, if the two areas have an equally large number of different languages, why the middle east seems more stable than Africa in my mind, if the middle east really is more stable than Africa, and if it is not, what has made me assume that this is so?
does anyone else seem to feel the same way or wonder the same thing when comparing these two regions? Thoughts?
-Rachel Critelli
I am reading the Devil's Highway: A True Story by Luis Alberto Urrea.
ReplyDeleteI think that this book relates to our class readings because I've noticed that one of the patterns of our readings has to do with real life issues. When reading "A Modest Proposal," feelings of sexism were displayed and although it isn't a common problem here in the United States, it once was. In the novel I'm reading, it is all about the journey of a group of immigrants in seek of a better life by crossing the border into America. Immigration was and still is an issue for the US and I figured that this was how the novel I chose related to our previous class readings.
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
ReplyDeleteby Anne Fadiman
3. How does your book connect to our class readings?
Remember, the purpose of the blog is to inform, to make connections, and to exchange ideas.
This book is very much like Things Fall Apart and Poisonwood Bible in the idea that they both greatly show the collision of cultures in the world. The only difference i see is that this is pretty much nonfiction while the other two were fictional. This book i felt had more of an emotional connection to me than TFA and PWB. In PWB when ruth may died i didn't really feel any connection to the character so it reduced the impact it had on my during the novel. In this book it allows me to really get a deep connection with the character that almost makes me feel part of the family or at least one of the doctors trying to help. This novel overall with the cultural divides greatly related to both of our previous readings and is a great read.
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
ReplyDeleteby Anne Fadiman
1. What are some of the author's best arguments? What makes them compeling?
This whole view of the cultural divide and how we must embrace the ideas of other cultures and not put them down and rule them out as primitive. Many of the great points of the novel greatly shows how we as americans find ourselves to be so superior to most other cultures and feel that all of their rituals as well as customs have no purpose today. And as this is a true novel its even more powerful because you realize that this really happened. Many of the customs of the Hmong actually have a practical purpose that helps in some cases. One thing i found very interesting was the idea that medically there is no divide between the soul and the body and that one must treat them as one to really cure someone.
They Poured Fire On Us From the Sky
ReplyDeleteHow does your book connect to our class readings?
It is obvious some of the connections to our own class in terms of the connections to the dire situations in Africa and how the world needs to see those situations as opposed to not even being exposed enough to them for people to make their own descions. This book once again gives us glimpses of other cultures beliefs and traditions while showing the tragic outcome of their own conflicts. I believe the common agreement is the overwhelming use of pathos to to make the reader sympathize and feel the pain of the three authors as they have felt in real life. Applying the learnings of ethos, pathos, and logos are also extremely relatable and interesting to apply. this book is very relevant to this class.
They Poured Fire On Us From the Sky
ReplyDeleteWhat are some of the author's best arguments? What makes them compeling?
To me, the best argument would be the simple questions as to why? Why is all this killing of people said to be justified in the name of peace? That statement alone can be applied to so many human actions but it is very apparent in the story of these three boys and it is their greatest argument. To have seen the killing up close and personal, especially at such young ages is something that gives them a title of expertiece that no scholar could ever understand. They know what they're talking about and they don't agree with killing in the name of peace.
What are some of the author's best arguments? What makes them compeling?
ReplyDeleteBlink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcom Gladwell
Some the Gladwell's most compelling arguements are the ones that the reader can relate to themselves. For example, in the book he includes quizes which reveal to the reader deep-seated prejudices that we all have due to the environment we live in. By taking these short tests the reader realizes that all of the examples given throughout the book of snap judgements, both successful and disastrous, are not just special circumstances that are rare in real life. It is clear that anyone, anywhere, anytime can make these judgements and if one trains oneself to think quickly properly, then one can be sure that the snap decisions are good ones.
How does your book connect to our class readings?
ReplyDeleteRemember, the purpose of the blog is to inform, to make connections, and to exchange ideas.
Blink, Malcom Gladwell
This book connects strongly to the classic persuasive techniques we've been studying in class: ethos, logos, and pathos. Gladwell establishes his ethos by presenting countless examples of how his "instant thinking" has and has not worked in real life situations. He presents the reader with his ideas about why the snap judgements we make are either completely correct for the situation or completely wrong and there is seemingly no in between. He also teaches us how to improve our judgements through training of our mind. There is also a strong appeal to logos because of all the real-life examples he presents throughout the book. If this were just a random incident that he was writing about no one would care what he thought about it. Because he shows us repeatedly that this is a real thing and can also happen to us, we are interested in what he has to say about it. Finally, Gladwell makes a strong appeal to ethos. Several of the examples that he presents are very sad and tragic, such as the accidental shooting of a black man by four white cops. The ethos is also established through the use of tests that show the reader how wrong snap decisions can be made by them to. The ethos is what makes the reader want to continue reading the book to aviod these bad things happening to them.
Blink: The Power to Think Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
ReplyDeleteHow does your book connect to our class readings?
The closest relationship that I could find between Blink and our class readings was the idea of appealing to Logos, Ethos, or Pathos. While most of our readings have been those appealing mostly to Ethos or Pathos, Gladwell appeals more so to Logos. Using logical examples of experiments and incidences pertaining to the idea of “thin-slicing.” One such incident involves the first chapter, in which the University of Iowa conducted an experiment where people are dealt cards from two hands, one red, and one blue. After about fifty cards, people began favoring blue deck, which was the deck that led to higher earnings, without completely realizing why. Not until eighty cards have been drawn do the people begin to realize why the red deck is unsatisfactory. By doing so, the author appeals to the reader and illustrates his purpose. Apart from this idea of appealing, I found it difficult to connect this book to any of our other readings.
Re: Dani
ReplyDeleteWalls’ does try to alter her readers’ view of homelessness. During the story she tries to show that how she lived growing up was not a bad thing. She still had fun, learned how to take care of herself, received an education, and in the end everything turned out well for her. During her story, Walls’ uses her father to show that some homeless are actually quite brilliant. Her father uses his creativity to solve problems like when he fixes a TV with a macaroni noodle or when he wires the abandoned building he is living in for electricity so that he does not have to pay for the electricity. She also emphases that some people are better off living this way. Her parents try to live in a normal situation, but something always happens that causes them to have to live on the streets.
The Devils Highway:
ReplyDeleteOne of the first few topics Urrea mentions is how certain towns love to claim the immigrants found dead or alive. I never understood why they would want to but during this topic i read, "nobody wants to own them when they are alive, and now look - everybody wants to own them." This quote was very compelling to me and I felt that one of the main ideas of this novel was how insignificant they were seen in their daily lives. Yet when they seek a better life (becoming an illegal immigrant) then all of a sudden they become noticed by everyone. So i believe that that quote was a pretty good portrayal of the author's main ideas and arguements.
The book that i am reading is called the Holy man and it is about a holy man who lives in a hermitage on top of a mountain in which people walk up in order for him to give them advice on how to solve problems that are going on in their lives. The author gives examples of the problems of different people in each chapter. One compelling point the author made was when a man came up and started complaining to the holy man about how he had lost his wife; she had died. The holy man then said it's a shame that you had to give her back. The man was surprised and asked what he meant. And the holy man said that we own nothing besides ourselves and cannot control anything but ourselves. Nothing is ours and we cannot keep anything; one day we will have to give it all back. Nothing is ours and so we cannot take it with us. I thought that this was the most compelling lesson from the author because it was a great and different approach to deal with losing someone.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel that i'm reading "The Holy Man" a lesson that I do not agree with is that attachment causes suffering therfor we should not get attached to things. I do not agree with this lesson because I believe that life needs passion and you cannot have passion without attachment. I also did not understand this lesson because there are characters throughout this book that are all attached to something. There is a monk who is a dancer, a monk who is a scientist and a monk who is a great runner, aren't they all attached to these things? Doesn't the holy man show attachment to helping people?
ReplyDeleteThree Cups of Tea
ReplyDeleteGreg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
Re: Rachel- "How does your book connect to our class readings?"
Rachel- I figured since we were reading the same book I would respond to these thoughts you are pondering. Although I failed to take notice of your observation before, now that you have planted the seed in my brain it seems to be chasing it's own tail in circles. Was it not more of the beliefs that created the ever-widening gap between the cultures or was it really the dialect. After all, speech has never really hindered two people from understanding the other's points. It has really just been the failure of opponents to walk along side the other and understand the viewpoints that, although may contradict what they believe, the other uses for survival in a world where not everything can be explained and all they need is something to cling to, that seems somewhat stable, to make it through the day. I do not actually believe that one is more stable than the other. However, I do believe that what is making them both unstable has more to do with the religious beliefs ( which kind of connect to government structure) than the language diversities. I think that the difference between them and us, is that when we were confined to traditions that did not fit our beliefs, we had someplace to go.