. . . for us to believe others are just like us?
*asks the woman who declared during her Tuesday night Women's Lit class (when pushed to explain why she had a hard time reading Virginia Woolf's "To the Lighthouse"), "I just wanted the characters to do something. I wanted them to be more like me!"*
Thursday, September 21, 2006
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4 comments:
Wow! Very powerful and thought provoking! I've had to think about this for 24 hours and here's my basic conclusion, even if it is over simplified.
I think the need to think that others are just like us (or should be) somehow helps us make an excuse for accepting loneliness because we are in denial. Today's world seems to isolate one even with loads of people all around and loads of ways to communicate. And if we are lucky enough to have a spark in us that makes us different we want to find others like us, thinking that this will be the answer, even when it's not. We just have to open our eyes more and see the beauty in all those around us and accept the differences. And I say this from years of experience always looking for someone exactly like me. But guess what, I discovered I was better with someone different from me so that I could see the world with a new perspective and grow. Sorry, if I'm being too philosophical here but this post really made me stop and think. I feel like I could write a lot more about this but I don't have your wonderful writing ability. Besides, this isn't my blog. You just lighted a little fire and this is what you got.
Now I'd love to hear thoughts from some of your DM blog readers.
Thanks for the push. You never cease to amaze me. Hugs.
Interesting question. For me, part of it is not feeling alone, as SMH alluded to. You want to feel like you can understand them and they would be people you could identify with.
I think that even with the empahsis in being different and categorizing people into groups "goth," "geek," "skater," etc., there's still a deep down feeling that we're all the same -- we all want to be loved and understood and accepted.
But there's a certain immaturity in being unable to see past the differences to the fundamental three. It's just that it's easier to be with people who are more like you -- less work in trying to understand them and where they're coming from I guess.
Not to mention, they seem to get the jokes instead of having to have them explained.
I'm not sure if I'm making sense or not -- a lot of this is right off the top of my head.
My guess is, most people read fiction for one of two reasons: to learn how other people live; or to learn something new about themselves. Some people read for both.
The Universal Truth is, We Are All One, and everything we seek can be found within.
The publishing industry doesn't want people to know that part.
What was the question again?
Viv: For writing off the top of your head, you are so on target. I totally agree with you. I think my experience with the alone thing is due to grwoing up in an atmosphere where I was supposed to fit in a certain little box and often didn't so I felt like an outcast. I didn't know how to enjoy the differences because I was too busy trying to fill the category that others thought I should fill. I was loved but not understood and accepted. But I think that happened a lot when dealing with the WWII generation. Thanks for your comments. I was really thinking about this one and learned something from you. Viv: I don't know you but I have a gut feeling you'd be right up there with our wonder girl, DM, if I did meet you. :-)
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