Adair Rader- Reflection on "The Lady with the Dog" by Anton Chekhov

 In my English class, we read "The Lady with the Dog" by Anton Chekhov, which has a passage that directly connects to what we have been discussing in this class. There are 2 sentences from this passage that I want to discuss:

First, "the sea had roared like this long before there was any Yalta or Oreanda, it was roaring now, and it would go on roaring just as indifferently and hollowly, when we had passed away". During this class, we have talked extensively about our interior and exterior journeys, but this line reminded me the importance of putting our lives in perspective. Although our own personal journeys are important, it is also important to remember our own insignificance. That is not to say that nothing we do matters, but rather that what we do matters because we are part of a larger whole. When we view the world through this perspective, we become less self centered, and more selfless. We can then strive to make the world a better place for those around us and those to come after us.

Second, "Gurov told himself that, when you come to think of it, everything in the world is beautiful really, everything but our own thoughts and actions, when we lose sight of the higher aims of life, and of our dignity as human beings". This is the moment that the protagonist, Gurov reflects on his mistakes and the ways he has hurt others throughout his life. I think it is important in our own journey, that we know what we are journeying for or towards. If we are so focused on a journey or simply moving forwards, we can get stuck in the "rat race" and forget our dignity.






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kip Redick Introduction

Welcome to the Heroes and Mystics blog for 2024. Make sure to start the blog with your name and the subject of the entry (Just as I have done with this post). . Blog entries will be considered informal writing assignments and as such will be graded more in relation to content than style. Blog entries will contain questions and answers to questions, as well as reflections that relate to daily classroom discussions, completion of exercises, and reading assignments. Any questions the student has while reading or completing assignments should be written in their blog. Reflections may relate to connections the student makes between discussions in this class and those in other classes, between arguments raised in the readings in this class and those raised in other classes or from informal conversations. Students are encouraged to apply the ideas learned in this class to activities that take place outside of the class. These applications make great reflections. The student should bring ques...
Read more

The Untethered Soul

Another one of the many books that I am simultaneously reading with other books that I am really excited about is The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael Alan Singer. Although I am not very far in the novel, I think that the first bit that I have read is already so rich and ties in well to Somewhere I Have Never Traveled because of the idea of the sense of self. Both works mention the idea that we as humans are always trying to grapple with our sense of selves. I think that it is a really interesting concept and my philosophy, perhaps it's just the easy out, is that our brains were simply not created to be able to comprehend things outside of our world. I think it's a great thing to try but I believe that there is so much more knowledge that we cannot know.
Read more

Iris Denner: The Iliad (Assigned Readings)

The Iliad is a Greek epic that follows Achilles throughout the Trojan War . Achilles becomes the hero of the epic by killing his enemy, Hector, brutally. This series of poems is rather violent and follows Greek tradition in writi ng style. It is simply titled with Iliad meaning the town in Troy. At the time it acted as a history story for the Greek people and was passed down through spoken word. We now attribute the writings to Homer and interpret them as something that one st rives to accomplish the greatness that Achilles reached. The journey took place during the war, making it connect well to today’s society of veterans who go on journeys throughout their time being deployed.  
Read more