I'm beginning to think that most of the frustration I see in Pirsig (and Macrorie before him) comes from the frustration in my life right now.
Last night, in my Honors Seminar, we discussed section one of Pirsig's book - and came to drastically different conclusions that this Capstone class about the worth of a classical/romantic split and how well a dichotomy like this will hold up in the rest of the book. And I realized that, in reading just one excerpt, everyone in the room took away very, very (very) different meaning. And that, as a class, we came to a collective agreement very different from discussion #1.
As I finished this section, our differences in discussion got me thinking. I know the frustration is in Prisig's book, and I know it was in Macrorie's. Both authors rage against an unseen foe who is slowly helping education and inquisition atrophy. But the anger is hard for me to see beyond. Their frustration rings so true to me on a personal level that I am almost unable to move beyond it and take in the other meanings in the book.
In one way, that is a nice, refreshing reaction, since almost all books should be read more than twice to get anything out of them at all, but in classes, my fixation on the author's frustration becomes something of a block.
I think that these books say something different to everyone who reads them because they are demandingly introspective. They seek the things that are upseting the lives of their readers and attempt to offer clarity. Unfortunately, a single good book is not, in and of itself, enough to inspire true clarity in a reader.
I really shouldn't have quit doing yoga...
Love the yoga. We'll have to do some after our writing sessions!
ReplyDeleteI'm curious about your last statement, "a single good book is not, in and of itself, enough to inspire true clarity in a reader" and I think I jump at that because the idea of what is "true" or "truth" by itself. And isn't truth different for most everyone? Maybe not in some of the really large, phenomenal cosmic things (just kidding - isn't that always up for debate? Ha), but as for what people take away from a single book, why couldn't it be enough to inspire true clarity? If a single book changes the way someone thinks about an issue, that's huge - it may not have delivered clarity as of yet, but I think it has turned the reader onto his or her own path for that.