War is reality.

I felt that when hearing from Dr. O'Brien yesterday. It's messy and scary, but it's very very real and in some ways, a necessary condition of human existence, though an ugly one. I really liked how O'Brien explained that since man's sin nature is at a state of hatred toward one another so that, unless everyone becomes a Christian, there will always be war. It reminds me of Thomas Hobbes' description of the natural state of man. I found this quote: "Man is a wolf to other men." Though this truth is so ugly, it's so true. Hobbes argued that this is why we need government, in order to tame us. However, I believe that even in our civilized state, we still are willing to cheat and antagonize others if it means it'll benefit ourselves. This is why I agree with O'Brien and disagree with Hobbes, ultimately. Though we are at a state of war naturally, it's not just civilization and government that we need but Christ and His love that can transform us and allow us to love selflessly in return. It is obvious that O'Brien has been changed in this way, as evidenced by his humility coupled with gentle confidence. I really enjoyed hearing him speak, so thanks for inviting him. 

Like it more than I thought

I don't usually like books or even movies about war, but as it says the New York Times said about this book, "To call Going After Cacciato a novel about war is like calling Moby-Dick a novel about whales." The main character, Paul Berlin, is easy to relate to even as he is in situations I've never been in and probably never will be in. He is introspective and down-to-earth, and his commentary on situations is simple but vivid in detail and emotion at the same time. I also find it highly impressive when an author can switch between time frames from chapter to chapter and it still make sense. Tim O'Brien does a good job establishing the main story line and characters, alluding to other situations, then switching to those scenarios in present tense. His mix of reality and fantasy is seamless, and this shows the nature of war to produce a surreal environment at times. The way this novel is written really does make it, as the cliche goes, "a page-turner," and while we think we know what's going on at times, there are hidden surprises along the way that make us as the readers realize we can't have everything figured out yet. 

For one thing, I'm so off on my blogs! Sorry...

And another thing, I've thought longest about whether The Violent Bear It Away is a bildungsroman than most of the other novels. I've concluded it is, though it is vastly different than all of the others. The grotesqueness of the story forces readers to look beyond the surface level to see whether young Tarwater comes of age. Though I don't like the thing he becomes or the way he becomes it, he has changed remarkably. Because he returns to where the story begins, it could seem as though he has gone full circle. However, his return marks a change because he left not able to stand the place and with the desire to run far away from the things he experienced there. He thought he could go to Rayber, but then he was haunted by Old Tarwater all the more and strained by Rayber's efforts to change him. Though now more mentally ill than before, he has discovered that for him, he has no other place to go, no other thing to become than the prophet his great-uncle foretold. It is perhaps for the reader's benefit that the story stops where it is, for what Francis will become is frightening. On the other hand, maybe it would have been better for O'Connor to tell us: Our imaginations can only go to the extreme worst with the framework given.