Meditation III (Zane Mandell)

…the narrator and is ironic because the narrator in turn goes back to searching his past for answers that can make him this master again. It is a vicious cycle that never lets one go. The curiosity drives the narrator back to the same place he had been pushed away from, that is the way the “System” works.

            Quality is therefore a part of every person, it makes everyone who there are. The Quality that exists within the narrator and Phaedrus is one and the same. They are both searching for Quality because they are both trying to find themselves. Phaedrus chooses to search through countless books of philosophy and question his students, desperately hoping someone has the answer. In the same way the narrator has chosen to take this trip across the country in order to clear his mind, relive the past, and most importantly find himself. The narrator also explores Quality through the various Chautauquas he recites throughout the book. This can be likened to the search that Phaedrus has made during his time at the University. But in the end what they are searching for is not a tangible something; it is not a trophy that one can hoist and show to the world. The Quality that he has searched for his whole life is everything that he is, his experience, his family, his ideas. It is very simple in the end; the narrator sees this in his son and it has taken his entire life for him to realize this, he finally reaches peace.

            It is now necessary to explore the reasoning for the novel as a whole. As has been said the narrator is going on this trip to remember his past and find himself. He has decided to take this journey to try to fulfill the goal that Phaedrus has had for so long. The novel itself acts as a way for the narrator to go through a form of catharsis through his recounting of the past as well as the Chautauquas. But what is most important about this journey is right there next to the narrator the entire novel. It is not the motorcycle which he has used as a platform for all of his discussions, it is his son Chris. By the end of the novel the narrator is as mentally exhausted as Phaedrus was before he went through the transformation. But this time he has his son next him; here he sees himself with his tendencies that he has and remembers he once had. Chris opens the narrators eyes to see that Quality cannot truly be found, it is something that is earned. The Quality that he has searched for his whole life is within himself and is exemplified through the actions of his son who can be seen as very similar to the narrator. This powerful realization allows the narrator to finally come to terms with his lifelong struggle with Quality. This Quality is within all of people, everyone has…