Morals

The Stranger by Albert Camus

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Once again I find myself with that post-salinger feeling. There have been several books I have read since the Catcher in the Rye that have evoked the same feeling. This is yet another book that is seeking to make a point that I do not find unique or unexplored in my life.

At this point, I feel like I should start giving Salinger credit. It seems that there were an abundance of authors trying to reach the same sort of ideas during the 20th century. I would have to say that he did the best job of summing them up.


This brings me to my discovery. Over the past year, I have completed 32 books from my list. The main thing I have gotten out of this is that I really like novels written before the 20th century.



It seems to me that these novels were able to bring into focus the flaws of "morality" as defined by society. Here are a few examples:

Huckleberry Finn: An unschooled child is the only one in the novel who seems to understand what is right.

The Scarlet Letter: "It was an age in which the human intellect, newly emancipated, had taken a more active and a wider range than for many centuries before. Men of the sword had overthrown nobles and kings. Men bolder than these had overthrown and rearranged—not actually, but within the sphere of theory, which was their most real abode—the whole system of ancient prejudice, wherewith was linked much of ancient principle. Hester Prynne imbibed this spirit. She assumed a freedom of speculation, then common enough on the other side of the Atlantic, but which our forefathers, had they known of it, would have held to be a deadlier crime than that stigmatized by the scarlet letter."

A Tale of Two Cities: The French revolters are as oppressive and amoral as the leadership they overthrow.

20th century novels, on the other hand, seem to me to take this idea one step further. It seems that following conclusion is drawn:

Society's morals are relative and incorrect. Therefore, all morals must be relative.

I do not agree with this conclusion at all. The one exception I have found is To Kill a Mockingbird, which was written in the 20th century. Lee once again points out that morals as dictated by society are often wrong, but shows that morality is a very real and absolute truth.




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Martin Luther King and big brother

Today I was reading a book about heroes, and one of the heroes mentioned in the book was Martin Luther King Jr. I mentioned that I didn't think he was a very good hero, since there are lots of things I have heard about his life that make me think he was probably not a very moral person. My father-in-law brought up the good point that any one can be easily portrayed in the way that we choose to see them. As Pappy Boyington said,

"Show me a hero, and I'll prove he's a bum."

Now, Boyington's main point was that true heroes are the ones that go nameless, rather than getting the recognition of the world, but I think that there is definitely another meaning. People choose to see others in a certain light, and proof will seemingly spawn from the earth that they are correct.

This really got me thinking about the book that I just finished, 1984. Orwell portrays a dystopian society where the government maintains control partly by owning history. Any evidence that events have occurred contrary to the party's opinion is destroyed, and when the party changes opinion, history is altered to agree.

What scares me is that we don't need an oppressive government today, we can do this to ourselves. People seek to build themselves up and support their belief by tearing others down. We "turn [another's] virtue into pitch, and out of [his] goodness make the net that shall enmesh them all." With ever-expanding media capabilities, we can turn a president, neighbor, hero, or best friend into a criminal within seconds.

Even Orwell's dire view of the future did not see society collectively working to destroy it's own memory.

With this in mind, it becomes very hard to really know truth from fact, which in my opinion brings into focus the immense need for modern revelation. I also thought of a quote from Second Hand Lions, one of my favorite movies-

" Sometimes the things that may or may not be true are the things a man needs to believe in the most. That people are basically good. That honour, courage and virtue mean everything ; that power and money ... money and power mean nothing. That good always triumphs over evil. And I want you to remember this.... that love....true love never dies ! Remember that boy ... remember that. Doesn't matter if it is true or not, a man should believe in those things , because those are the things worth believing in...... got that ? "

Disconnected Thoughts

Lucy and Ricky slept in separate beds. Was this because television was telling America that husbands and wives should sleep separately? Was TV denouncing marriage? There must have been some conspiracy that involved hating married people.

This is why I don't like Glee.

Dumbest. Post. Ever!

Step aside "I know, right?" There is a new cool thing to say.
From now on, everyone should use what I will lovingly refer to as the triple exclamatory. All you have to do is take three words, insert dramatic pauses, and end with an exclamation. It is the
coolest. thing. Ever!
So spread the news.
And actually, keep saying "I know, right?"
Because I can't get enough it.
Thanks Society, for all the improvements to our language,
Steven

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


My Favorite Quote

"If you notice, most folks don't go to church only when they've got to; but a hog is different."

"The pitifulest thing out is a mob... they don't fight with courage that's born in them, but with courage that's borrowed from their mass."

This book was a good look into the perspective of slave owners, and the mentality and justification that enables someone to reach such a place in life. Twain uses a child's perspective to make the conclusions that adults are too morally desensitized to make.

It bears a resemblance to "To Kill a Mockingbird," although I would say that book does a better job of getting to the meat.



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The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


This book is a very simple Narrative that I think is meant to serve as a multi-dimensional allegory.

Although there were a few vaguely interesting themes, I think that it lacked a great amount of depth. The ideas are not for the most part very original. It almost felt like a shallow version of Moby Dick.

On the positive side, it was very short.



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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is an example of why sometimes movies should not be watched before reading the book.

Although the movie was almost as good as the book, it took away a lot of the humor that I would have preferred to read for the first time.

That being said, Adams often hits right on with clever passages. I especially enjoyed the Philosophical satire. He combines Science Fiction, Humor, and Philosophy to create a great experience.

If you are a nerd, you will like this book. Definitely a good read.



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The Bell Jar

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


If you like the Catcher in the Rye, I think you will really like this book.

It was written in a very similar style to Salinger's book, which at first made me think that I would not like it, but I actually enjoyed it.

Sylvia Plath uses novel to express her very real psychological breakdown and recovery. She describes how a person's view of the world can become distorted and darkened, through the metaphor of a bell jar.

After the main character's recovery, she notes "How did I know that someday-at college, in Europe, somewhere, anywhere-the bell jar, with its stifling distortions, wouldn't descend again?"

This is a very interesting book.



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