These next two chapters sparked my interest in the way it
brought about different topics. First, I was impressed that each place had a
different feel to it, and that is how the narrator knew where they were. There
was a strange feeling in the western town and an empty feeling in the
reservation. The way that the feeling was described was interesting because
although I have not experienced those specific emotions in those specific
locations, I could relate how every town has its own feel. Just leaving Miami,
there is a completely different feel and new environment and culture that affect
that feel.
I was also
very intrigued by the comparison between classical and romantic understanding.
I believe that it is true, people can see things as they appear or the
underlying form of it. Although one understanding can dominate another, I
believe that everything can contain both understandings. I think you have to
use romantic understanding to be able to analyze with classic understanding. I
do not think that each person is one or the other. That would be considering
the situation in black and white. The narrator gives a good example with
motorcycles. Riding may be romantic, but the maintenance is classic. After this
point in chapter 6, the narrator became more in depth with the actual
maintenance of motorcycles, sometimes more metaphorical. I found myself
re-reading those parts, most likely because it is not something I am interested
in, which coincides with the romantic understanding relating to femininity in
European cultures. It bothered me that I could make this part of the book true,
because of the fact that women can analyze and not have to include feelings. It
really is not a necessary association, as the novel states.
I agree with Shannon's idea that each town gave a completely different feeling to the narrator. I can also relate to the narrator in this respect. This past weekend, I visited New Orleans for a college visit and the feeling I had while there was completely different from the way I feel in Miami. Not only do the two locations look physically different, but the feeling I get while being in each place differs greatly. New Orleans has a much more carefree vibe than Miami seems to have. This recent experience has made me further understand the narrator's varying feelings in each new place. I also agree with Shannon's idea about classical understanding in comparison to romantic comparison. I do not think that someone can solely see things on the surface, while they cannot only see a deeper meaning in something either. There has to be a balance. At least for me, some things give me the opportunity to find a deeper meaning in something, but I always see things on the surface as well. I think the author does a solid job at combining both types of understandings, as with the motorcycle's technical maintenance and the actual act of riding a motorcycle.
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