The philosophy on life expresses by Tim is that no matter how old one becomes, they are still the same person throughout their existence. This, however, is not my philosophy. The fact that he has experienced war and yet believes he can still see himself as a little boy is shocking since Tim expresses many times that the war has changed him. Also, one goes through many different life-changing moments that can completely harm or help a person change.
Tim states in his quote that he can see in his eyes the same boy that once was although he has gone through war, a terrifying and life changing experience. This, however, I disagree with because there are two types of people in this world, those that have taken another person’s life and those that haven’t. Something that powerful extracts all of the innocence one has within them. They can never go back to before this instance because this type of baggage is carried throughout their life.
Tim states, “The human life is all one thing…” (236), which I agree with, only in the fact that at the end of one’s life they have all of their experiences with them, however, as these experiences grow in importance people evolve within themselves. One’s life is one complete entity, but only the severely important good and bad times stay and effect future choices.
Different levels of emotions are experienced throughout ones cycle of life; the sadness that a four year old feels when he loses his toy is not the same as when a fifteen year old loses their grandparent. Varying levels of the same emotion cause different memories or life lessons to stick with the individual. Losing that toy may be forgotten after that day, not effecting the person’s life at all, but the lose of a grandparent has a much greater effect. If one never changed at all then there would be no point for emotions such as love because one would always love the same person in the same way their entire life. It is necessary to change throughout our lives otherwise things such as maturity level would never improve, and there would be no longer to continue existing if how I was at five is the same way I am going to be at fifty-five.
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“It is necessary to change throughout our lives otherwise things such as maturity level would never improve, and there would be no longer to continue existing if how I was at five is the same way I am going to be at fifty-five.”
This is a good statement, at least to me personally. You see, (borrowing from our philosophy teacher) I happen to think that there are people, too many people, who never try to change, who never try to grow and reach a more meaningful existence here on Earth. Anyone who is content, who have no more dreams to realize, no more demons to suppress, no more days to live for self and live for others is to not only fail themselves but ultimately destroy themselves. Without a hope for tomorrow, a dream while they sleep, and a promise when they rise, they will, I believe, be miserable, and ultimately they will languish. Man can increase his evils should he change in the wrong way—but man will make himself evil; change is simply the conduit. If man bars the door to change, he fails to question himself and his world, he fails to transcend their errors, and he fails to live life to its fullest, happiest extent.
You write, "The fact that he has experienced war and yet believes he can still see himself as a little boy is shocking since Tim expresses many times that the war has changed him."
Why should this be shocking. Should he lose his memory? Even though he may have been changed by his war experiences, he still can remember being a child. Do you expect to lose your memory of things passed as you age and experience various traumas?
Often it is memory that keeps us going. Saddly there are times when memory causes despair.
You continue, "Something that powerful extracts all of the innocence one has within them. They can never go back to before this instance because this type of baggage is carried throughout their life."
Killing another human being may "extract all of the innocence," but it does not obliterate memory. One certainly can remember or "go back to before" the instance. In fact recalling that which occurred prior to killing another can help the killer.
If one cannot "go back to before" how does the person "have all of their experiences with them" at "the end of one's life"?
The teach: yes, one still has the memory of being a child but my point was that they can never experience that memory as that child again. They can only experience it through the eyes they have now, distorting the memory from its original form.
The monk: Thank you for bringing up philosophy because now that I re-read my post I realized that I was referencing him without even knowing it. It is based on the idea that everything is in constant flux so we have to be constantly changing too.
You write, "They can only experience it through the eyes they have now, distorting the memory from its original form."
I wonder. I think that in some cases the memory is quite accurate, not distorted. But certainly memory can distort.
I recall Lillian Hellman's Pentimento. She writes a preface: Old paint on canvas, as it ages, sometimes becomes transparent. When that happens it is i possible, in some pictures, to see the original lines: a tree will show through a woman's dress, a child makes way for a dog, a large boat is no longer an open sea. That is called pentimento because the painter "repented," changed his mind. Perhaps it would be as well to say that the old conception, replaced by a later choice, is a way of seeing and then seeing again. That is all I mean about the people in this book. The paint has aged now and I wanted to see what was there for me once, what is there for me now."
One of the stories in the book, "Julia," created quite an uproar.
Here is one article about the controversy.
http://tinyurl.com/57sf43
I used to use the Julia story and the film when teaching fact, opinion, and fiction.
The Teach: I have looked at the article you recommended and although it is very captivating, it is also very long. I appreciate your comment and plan to read that article more indepthly when I get the chance.
Yeah, it is long. :) Almost too long.
It may not be to your liking once you get into it.
I am fascinated by memory and storytelling, particularly oral histories. A colleague of mine has done work in memory in the Middle Ages. While he and I frequently have discussed memory and writing, I have not read any of the items on this bibliography, but pass it on in case something like this interests you. Something to consider when you have idle moments. :):) Really long idle moments.
http://www.jpwalter.com/scholarship/medievalmemorybib.html
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