Finally we are done; The Effect of the Unanswerable

Mankind, especially the brightest, is perpetually searching for answers. One thrives under the idea that one is superior because of man’s capacity to create and discover. However, as the sum of mankind’s search for truth is taken into account, each truth learned and all progress made in the name of knowledge seems to only bring about the conclusion that some things are just out of man’s reach. In other words, the more one knows, the more one realizes one doesn’t know, and the more on realizes one can never know.

This is a terrifying conclusion to come to, one that often only plagues that most intelligent.  Amongst the most intelligent would be Phaedrus, later found to be the narrator of the novel, and the author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, whose life this autobiographical novel is based on.

Robert Pirsig at the age of nine was recorded to have an IQ of 170, just as the Phaedrus did in the novel, and as such skipped several grades and graduated high school at the age of 15 (Adams). However his intelligence seemed to plague him at times. While studying biochemistry he became distracted by the limitations in science, which lead to failing classes and ultimate expulsion from the University of Minnesota. He then joined the army and went to Korea for the war. It was there that he found an interest in Buddhism. After the war, Pirsig returned to education, gaining a degree in Eastern Philosophy and also studying eastern culture and journalism. He later became a teacher of creative writing. However he was still not at peace. His intelligence and search for meaning, a search for quality, left him to be diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and clinical depression, which he was treated for with electroconvulsive therapy, a therapy that is expressed as the turning point in his life in the novel (Adams).

The therapy changed him; it left him as a different person, somehow separated from who he was in the past. In the novel he expresses his life before the therapy as a sort of previous life and his life after as an attempt to come to terms with it and reconnect with his son. It was in this time period of his life that he wrote the novel that he became so well known for (Adams). It is evident by the similarities between Pirsig and Phaedrus that this novel was an attempt to come to terms with his treatment and all that had occurred. He makes it clear from the novel that it was his intelligence that caused the majority of his problems. Pirsig’s intelligence forced him to consider questions that could not be answered. His intelligence also made him terribly frustrated and unnerved by not being able to answer these questions. There were questions that he could not answer and the novel is the story of his coming to terms with that fact.

Pirsig spends much of the novel discussing specific concepts that had plagued him. The story itself, the actual plot is simply a canvas for the ideas Pirsig hopes to express. Within these concepts there are two categories, idea’s that look for answers, and ones that admit that there are no answers to be found. The ideas that look for answers are expressed earlier in the novel and seem to never really be resolved, while those that explain an inability to find answers are explained fully.

            The concept or question that was essentially the reason for the narrator’s journey was that of Quality. The narrator expressed a desire to achieve quality, to find it, however how could he find it when he did not even know how to define it? Quality, the narrator decides, can be found somewhere between the realms of classic and romantic thought.  Classic thought is the viewing of the world “as an underling form of itself”(Pirsig, pg.73). It views the individual parts that make the whole in a logical fashion focused solely on the science. This Classical thought can later be divided into both subjective and objective categories. Romantic thought, on the other hand, is the viewing of the world “in terms of immediate appearances”(Pirsig, pg. 73). It looks at the whole rather then parts in a way that is meant to see past the surface in an artistic fashion. The narrator argues that to find quality, one must blend the two completely different forms of thinking and acquire that which appeals to both, a task seemingly too large for him to manage. He expresses Phaedrus’s search for quality as unproductive. He could not find it because “for him Quality is better seen up at the timberline than … obscured by Smokey windows and oceans of worlds.”(Pirsig, 392) He could not escape the “Smokey windows and oceans” because that is state of the world, no matter how far he drove on his motorcycle.

     The narrator expresses another idea, one focused on distributing true education, The Church of Reason. This concept came to Phaedrus, the narrator, and Pirsig’s former self, in his years as a professor. It came from a time of governmental upset, in which his school was about to loose accreditation. Phaedrus’ students did not understand that the school is still a school without accreditation; it still has its courses, its professors, and the books. The true university would not leave the school just because they had lost their accreditation because the spirit of learning, of gaining knowledge would stay. The Church of Reason, “the real university is nothing less than the continuing body of reason itself.”(Pg. 150)

        Though many concepts were answers to questions the narrator had, there were many he could not answer. The reason he could not answer these questions was because flaws in the scientific method, more specifically the formulating of a hypothesis. Phaedrus, in his years as a science student, became disturbed by science’s inability to find answers. He found that every time he created a hypothesis the answer to his hypothesis would be hidden within another one, and another one, until all he had were questions with no definite answers. This forming of questions leading to more questions lead him to a higher level of thinking, however at a price. This higher level of thought was one not many dared to obtain because there were only questions, and no answers. In fact, at this level of thought, there was no hope to find the answers. This leads the narrator to a questioning of the concept of truth (Pirsig, 61).

The inability to find answers is painful to everyone, especially when they are of higher intelligence. Phaedrus leaves with a question, “if he doesn't get the answer he just drives and drives until he gets one and that leads to another question and he drives and drives for the answer to that one essentially pursuing questions never seeing, never understanding that the questions will never end. Something is missing.” When one finds themselves lost in a sea of questions, all they can hope for is a tether of certainty to prevent them from floating away into oblivion. It is that tether, that certain truth that Phaedrus, and in actuality everyone, is looking for.

         Phaedrus could not find this tether, and it caused him to go insane. Through the narrator’s eyes the reader learns that Phaedrus’s search leads him to loose his job. The novel then reveals that the narrator and Phaedrus are one in the same, the two separated by electro-shock therapy, like the one Pirsig underwent, that was brought on by the mental breakdown of Phaedrus. His search for questions literally drove him to insanity. And when his necessary treatment was completed, he lost himself. He became a different person, confused and desperate to find some healthy connection, some link, between his new self, the narrator, and his former self, Phaedrus, without once again pushing himself to madness.

       Chris, the narrator’s son, is also affected by the questions around him. It is revealed early in the novel that Chris, like his father, is an incredibly curious individual. Chris asks his father many questions including a question of his belief in ghosts. The narrator’s answer is unsurprisingly terribly complex and confusing for Chris to understand, and he becomes extremely frustrated because “he really does want to know things.” (Pirsig, 39) Throughout the novel the narrator expresses Chris’s poor behavior and quick temper. These qualities seem to come from Chris’s overbearing curiosity and inability to know everything, after all he is his father’s son, in fact the novel briefly alludes to a possible psychological issue in the boy, much like that of his father.

        Even John and Silvia seem to be plagued by unanswerable questions. For them these questions come in the form of technology. However, instead of pushing and frustrating themselves with the questions they avoid them at all costs. John, and Silvia as represented by him, displays his avoidance of technology in his refusal to learn how to repair his own motorcycle (Pirsig, 59). In their journey in the mountains, John and Silvia are attempting to escape technology, which seems to be an overbearing question to them. However the great irony of their situation is that in the attempt to escape technology, they travel on a motorcycle, a piece of technology itself, making the questions that plague them inescapable. That is why John becomes so frustrated when the narrator tries to teach him to fix his motorcycle, because unlike the narrator, who obsesses over his questions, John simply wants to avoid them (Pirsig, 58).

          Phaedrus’ issues with the unknown are also issues the narrator of Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky must deal with. The entire work is placed under the idea that “to be too conscious is an illness” (Dostoyevsky, 3). The narrator expressed how “the more conscious (he) was … the more deeply (he) sank into (his) mire, and the more ready (he) was to sink into it altogether.”(Dostoyevsky, 4) In other words, when one is too conscious he can no longer be “a man of action” because his mind gets in the way of action, distracted by all that he is conscious of, much like the Phaedrus’ intelligence got in the way of his teaching.  (Dostoyevsky, 4)

Dostoyevsky wrote the book in a time period where there was much confusion. The reveal of evolutionary theory brought to question hundreds of years of beliefs. The narrator expresses how the inaccuracy of the church meant that nothing could be believed, which lead to an unease in his mind. Essentially, nothing can ever be truly known. The narrator enjoyed his toothache because it was something tangible. Pain can be used as the tether of truth, to hold one’s mind away from all that is obscure. The narrator also expressed a hatred of mankind, and himself for being a part of the human race. His hatred came from mankind’s inherent naivety. Humans are simply incapable of understanding all that there is and the frustration that that brought the narrator drove him to hatred.

When the conclusion that nothing can be truly known is combined with the concept of Schrödinger’s cat, the reason behind the turmoil that comes with the inability to know becomes clear. In a famous experiment a later noble prize winning Physicists, Erwin Schrödinger explained a paradox with a theoretical experiment. If a cat were placed in a box with poison, a radioactive isotope and a hammer then the state of the cat, whether it were alive or dead, would rely on the release of the poison. The radioactive isotope would decay, and then cause the hammer to break the vial and release the poison, however there was no way to determine when the isotope decayed. Therefore until the box was opened one would not know whether the cat was alive or dead. Schrödinger explained that this lack of knowledge meant that until the box opened the cat is both “living and dead … in equal parts” (Kramer).

If the lack of knowledge leads to a duality in existence, and if mankind does not truly know anything, than at any given time, one is both everything and nothing at all. It is an idea that can cause one to spend hours running in circles in their own mind, and it those circles that cause the characters in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance so much suffering.

The journey versus the destination FINAL

       Greg Anderson wrote, “Focus on the journey, not the destination. The joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” The journey versus the destination is a common topic in both literature, as well as everyday thought. Most people cannot decide which they believe to be more important, and believe it could also depend on the circumstances. It could be used as a tactic to help define a person, and realize their true personalities. It can also show the way one thinks, which idea the person is open to, and the reasoning behind their thought process. Robert M. Pirsig expresses this idea in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. The view on the satisfaction of the journey versus the destination arises in multiple characters throughout the novel. It is a defining characteristic of their personality, as it is able to alert the reader of the thoughts and opinions of the characters, and leads to other thoughts and actions.

            Pirsig shows that the definition of a person is highly based on their beliefs. There are different types of journeys that the novel explores. The first is the physical journey across the country. This is told by the narrator in first-person point of view, where while on the motorcycle, he is able to philosophize. The area of topics ranges from classical and romantic thinking to motorcycle maintenance. This helps the reader understand the other characters, as the commentary the narrator provides gives their opinions. There are many physical barriers that the narrator, his son, and the couple encounter. Also, the son acts up, leaving an emotional toll on his father. The destinations of the couple and the narrator differed, causing them to split ways. This made clear to the narrator that he was not just on the same physical journey, nor metaphorical journey as the couple. Many people believe that when traveling, it is not important to enjoy the journey. This could rise from the modern world, and how everything is quite fast-paced. The common person no longer enjoys the moment, but lives expecting and preparing for the future. No one takes the time to go on a road trip and take scenic routes. The routes they take are the ones that will get them to their destination the fastest way possible. The narrator explains this as man becoming separated from what he does. This is what the couple experience on the journey. But the narrator is different. He is not only on a physical journey across the country, but also a metaphorical journey.

            John and Sylvia, a couple who travel with the narrator and his son across the country, have the sole purpose of getting to their destination. This destination happens to be where technology is not attained, and they can reach a peace of mind. They could care less about traveling there, and stopping at different cities on their way. This is shown through the emotions expressed by the narrator while they are on their journey. Due to the novel written in first-person, the reader does not experience the thought process of the couple. There are only some conversations and the commentary the narrator provides to help define John and Sylvia. The couple is also presented as a unit, with the same thoughts and opinions. The reader is aware that the narrator takes the journey to have philosophical conversations and to find himself. The commentary that the narrator touches upon gives the reader the impression that John and Sylvia are the complete opposite of the narrator. For example, the narrator describes how John and Sylvia would rather have a mechanic fix their motorcycle, while the narrator would like to fix it himself. This gives the narrator a sense of unity with his bike and the way in which he could travel the country with it. John and Sylvia believe someone else could do it so that they do not have to involve themselves with technology. The actual motorcycle maintenance can represent the journey itself. John wanted nothing to do with maintaining his own motorcycle because it would lead to more time spent on the road, and less time at the destination. It would also mean he would have to focus on something he wanted to avoid altogether. The narrator describes this as a romantic versus classical difference, and further explains the differences and action between the couple and himself. They do not care about unity with their motorcycle, as long as they could enjoy their time when they arrive at their destination.

            Another distinguishing factor between the narrator and John and Sylvia, which helps to define their personalities, is the feelings that they have when they arrive at the destination. John and Sylvia were very content. They commented on the view and got along well with everyone they had met. They felt at peace with nature, something that could not be achieved where they lived. The narrator, on the other hand, felt a void, as if something were missing. He was continuing in his attempt to find himself and could not understand why he was not happy that he had arrived. Little did he know that it was not his destination, and after nine days the narrator and the couple split ways. The split shows the way in which the narrator still had something to look for; something to find on his journey. He was not content with what he had found yet, meaning he had not reached his destination. Their destinations were not the same and the narrator was not yet done looking for himself.

            Chris, the son of the narrator who further accompanies him on his trip, also experiences the conflict between the journey and the destination. Along with John and Sylvia, Chris finds comfort in the destination. This is first expressed through the boredom on the journey. This boredom leads to anger towards his father, as well as Chris acting out. He would refuse to eat and also felt sick at times, as well as just leave the group when they would stop for the night. He is an adventurous child, and no one would help him fulfill this need. More importantly though, his need for the answers about his father shows how he is more content on finding the destination. This journey and destination is metaphorical, but also aids the reader to understand the novel as a whole. He wants to understand his father, the narrator, and see why they were no longer as close as they were at one point in their lives. He was scared and would like to know why his father was acting so strangely. He wanted answers, as many children do, and did not care about how the answers could be achieved.

            This need for answers, as well as being content with the destination and not the journey, defines the character of Chris. He has a constant fear of his father. This fear is not because of his fathers actions, but because he does not want to lose his father or the rest of his family. Nothing makes sense to him, and he thinks that his father knows the answers to his questions. Little does he know that the narrator is having trouble defining himself. He continuously asks about his mother, and why she was not accompanying him on this trip. The reader never receives an answer, but sees the narrator has dreams of his wife. This shows that both the narrator and his son share the same feelings of losing their loved ones, which happen to be the same people. The actions and feelings that Chris has throughout the novel define him as a person, and also help the readers understand both their characters.

            The narrator is quite different than the other characters in the novel. He is the only character that believes the journey is better than the destination. This still provides a conflict for him, because he does not want to reach the destination fully. He is somewhat scared of what he will find and what will happen on the journey, although he still thinks it is the best aspect of the journey. This occurs both metaphorically, as well as physically, on his motorcycle journey across the country with his son and the couple.

            The narrator of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is very different than the other characters in the book. Throughout the novel, his perspectives on different philosophies are explored, as well as his opinions on the other characters. He is also different in the matter of choosing if the destination or the journey is more enjoyable. Unlike the other characters, the narrator would rather the journey than the destination.

            The journey that the narrator embarks on is to find himself. He is confused on a figure named Phaedrus, whom he shares multiple experiences with.  As he travels, he begins these philosophical discussions that are partly Phaedrus’, but he expands on them. This is his Chautauqua. The author, Pirsig, compares the thoughts the narrator has with an overflowing stream shown by “There are eras of human history in which the channels of thought have been too deeply cut and no change was possible, and nothing new ever happened, and 'best' was a matter of dogma, but that is not the situation now. Now the stream of our common consciousness seems to be obliterating its own banks, losing its central direction and purpose… Some channel deepening seems called for."(Pirsig, 16) The narrator or Phaedrus is trying to discover and look into the question, “How to live?” This is his quest and his destination, but getting to this destination is quite significant. This is because he is finding himself on the way to the answers. The novel concludes with finding the narrator’s destination, although the journey is what achieved his goal.

            The thoughts of the narrator help in defining his character to the reader, just as the couple and Chris were defined through this method. Once the narrator discovers that he and Phaedrus are one in the same, he has a better understanding of himself. At first he does not know how to react, and wants to send his son back home to figure out what will occur. He then realizes that he does not want to lose his family, including his wife and Chris. Due to this realization, he is able to bond with Chris and they each confront their fears and questions about each other. This mostly occurred with Chris, and the answers he has been seeking throughout the entire journey. This is what made him suddenly act out. Chris reaches his journey, which he is grateful for. These answers were what made him content and why he is more satisfied with the destination than with the journey. The narrator is different because on the other hand, he is glad that he went through the journey to reach his conclusion and save himself, as well as his family.           He defined himself, which helped the reader understand who he truly is.

            The journey versus the destination is a common topic both in daily conversation, as well as in literature. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance touched upon the topic with the characters, and also uses the topic as a tactic to define the character’s personalities. This thought helped in the process of following through with actions and reflected their ideals. The narrator is the only character that thought the journey to be better than the destination. Chris, the narrator’s son, as well as the couple that travelled with them for a part of the journey, believe that the destination is better than the journey. These ideas expanded on the greater conflicts the characters had, such as a need for answers or an escape from reality. All the characters were defined, as well as content with their journey or destination and all conflicts were resolved.  Depending on prior knowledge or experiences, one may decide which they believe to be better: the journey or the destination.

The True Nature of Enlightenment

There are several gimmicks existing in the world today that claim to aid the journey to find one’s self; whatever that incredibly vague phrase actually refers to is a mystery is tentative, depending on where one goes to find such guidance. Should one’s path range between religious institutions that insist on a righteous lifelong journey to self-betterment and vocational enlightenment, a multi-billion dollar pyramid scheme pledge to the ultimate achievement of nirvana (with a monthly fee of $29.99), or a 6-month silent retreat in the mountains with others seeking the same goal, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance argues that the greatest method of finding one’s self is through mediation, cognitive reflection, and (though a entirely biased opinion) taking a cross-country motorcycle journey. However, for the protagonist of Robert M. Pirsig’s prominent novel, the road is not a smooth one, and ultimately does not end how one may have hoped it to conclude; if the betterment of one’s self begins with finding one’s self, the narrator had to achieve this by becoming Phaedrus, an entirely insane and unstable character, thus relapsing into deep, enlightened insanity- an ending that argues against the true nature of enlightenment.

                Throughout the entire novel, the narrator is constantly struggling between his current cognizance and slivers of his past consciousness. It is not until the end of Part 1 that it becomes clear that the narrator was subject to psychotherapy which wiped out his memory and previous state of mind, something the narrator appropriately refers to as Phaedrus: the ghost of his past. More evidence of Phaedrus’s instability is revealed throughout the novel, and the nature of these incidents are so negative that the common opinion is that running an electric shock to the narrator’s brain was the best decision. Despite this, after he succumbs to the consciousness that is Phaedrus, the narrator reveals that it is his most comfortable state of mind; towards the end of the novel, he clearly states “I am Phaedrus, that is who I am… it has all come together.”(Pirsig,526). In reality, this is a debatable claim, because when considering the actuality of the violent, erratic nature of Phaedrus and his actions, it is normal to assume Phaedrus to be a madman unfit for society. For the sake of the philosophic journey, however, it is also plausible to consider that if the ultimate goal is to reach such a comfortable, enlightened state, then should it matter how capricious that Zen may be, especially when the narrator himself proves to be most mentally comfortable in such a state?

                The moments of mental distortion felt by the narrator that limit his progression to self-betterment are found during his dreams, and when he journeys to the top of the mountain, and this is because these are the prime moments when his subconscious alter-ego, Phaedrus, tries to pry out and become his reality. This constant friction between the narrator and Phaedrus is exactly what prolongs the ultimate desire to reach ultimate Zen, which is ironically futile. The narrator dedicates this entire motorcycle journey to find and better himself, but by doing this, he is actively working further away from his goal, which is also constantly attempting to pull him in. 

Through the length of the novel, the narrator describes the dynamic relationships between him and his son, his wife, his coworkers, and his friends, both old and new. Though he spends a great deal of time with his two friends, the couple John and Sylvia, and brief encounters with old friends like the DeWees’s, it can be argued that the most important and insightful relationship presented in the story is with his son, Chris. The narrator spends all of his time with Chris, from the beginning to the end of the novel, and although a great deal of change is evident by the narrator’s own actions and reactions, an even greater perspective and insight of the narrator’s past is drawn from the changes in Chris.

                Chris is an unbearable brat who complains a great deal and seems to make everything more difficult for the travelers. It is revealed later on that he suffers from some form of mental disorder, when the narrator says “’This spring they diagnosed it as the beginning symptoms of a mental disorder’” (Pirsig, 74), in order to explain Chris’s erratic behavior. However, Chris’s apparent mystery diagnosis does not seem to impact him as much as his father’s disposition towards him. He and his father have an abrasive relationship, and at one point, Chris breaks down and reveals that he liked Phaedrus better than the narrator’s current consciousness, saying “Don’t you remember?... You used to play games with us. You used to tell us all kinds of stories and we’d go on rides to do things and now you don’t do anything”, a claim the narrator rejects, to which Chris retorts with “You just sit there and stare and you don’t do anything!”(Pirsig, 513). After the narrator becomes Phaedrus, Chris’s attitude towards him changes completely: “Now the fog suddenly lifts and I see the sun on his face makes expression opening a way I’ve never seen it before… ‘Were you really insane?’…’No!’ Astonishment hits, but Chris’s eyes sparkle. ‘I knew it,’ he says” (Pirsig, 526). This is astonishing because despite being mentally unstable, Chris’s reaction makes it very clear that Phaedrus was a much better father than the narrator was.

                The narrator’s other friends offer more understanding of his past and present self. When the motorcycling group goes to visit the DeWeese, the narrator becomes anxious with the fact that he would not know how to act or react to them considering they had not seen him since before the incident, stating that he “really [doesn’t] want to go there. I’d just as soon turn around and go back” (Pirsig, 182). Although he coasts through the encounter without much slippage, the gap between his former self and his present self becomes awkwardly obvious; at times, Mr. DeWeese would mention certain event that had occurred long ago, and the narrator would have to weasel around it the best he could. At one point he even blatantly states the reason for the distortion, saying “The reason for the impasse, the bad feeling, is that DeWeese thinks that person is here now. And there is no way I can tell him otherwise” (Pirsig, 199). Aside from the discomfort, it is also important to take notice of the DeWeese’s emotions towards the narrator; they are certainly happy to see him, but are a bit hesitant at first; Mr. DeWeese comments “’You’ve changed a lot’ He is looking at me searchingly”(Pirsig, 201), which is evidence of their understanding that the narrator and Phaedrus are completely different people, and the adjustment to it is slow and painful for those who knew him as the latter. The DeWeese’s, however, seem to adapt just fine; in contrast, there are others who do not cope as well.

                When the narrator goes to visit his old college, where he had taught a little before his episode, he holds a brief encounter with an old colleague of his, Sarah, who does not react to him as warmly as his old friends did, and this is especially important to analyze. When he unknowingly stumbles upon his old classroom (something that he realizes only after his encounter with Sarah), she is completely shocked to see him there; once she realizes who she is, she calls out his name, and asks“’Oh, my God,’ she says ‘Is that you?’” (Pirsig, 224). The narrator had clearly frightened his peers at the college before, as Phaedrus, because she did not welcome him with open arms, rather, stared at him as if he were a ghost from the past who had returned for unfinished business- which, in a way, he is. She is astonished to even see him there, and though he realizes that he had a huge opportunity to converse with her and discover more about Phaedrus, she comments “I’d say something if I could, but there’s no place to start” (Pirsig, 225), and she is described afterward as running down the hall after quickly saying goodbye, a reaction that makes it clear that she was in no position to do so. All of the narrator’s interactions with others show a struggle with his past and present consciousness, but it is the struggle within him that causes the greatest conflict.

            Sigmund Freud believed that dreams were the gateway to the unconscious (McLeod); if this were to be true, the analysis of the narrator’s disturbing, reoccurring dreams is crucial for understanding the struggle between him and Phaedrus. Often throughout the second and third parts of the novel, the narrator experiences frequent nightmares where he is trying to reach his family, but there is something in the way, and each time he has the nightmare, more is revealed about its significance. At first, the reason for his entrapment is very vague; he does not understand why his family cannot hear him, despite his attempts to contact them. After another episode of the same nightmare, he awakens to comment “The dreamer isn’t me at all. It’s Phaedrus. He’s waking up.” (Pirsig, 425). He has full understanding of his mental conflict, stating that he had known it all along; “I always knew he would come back…” he states, “It’s a matter now of preparing for it… Poor Chris” (Pirsig, 425). But the analysis of his dreams is even more crucial than his realization.

                The only people in the dream are his wife and his son, Chris. When he sees them, they are excited yet visibly upset by seeing him. While his wife maintains this state of melancholy in his dreams, his son is the most dynamic, to the point where he actually speaks in the dreams. He attempts to contact his father, and despite his attempts, becomes frustrated with the fact that the narrator is not breaking through whatever partition is keeping them from each other, and begins to give up on the narrator, which upsets him greatly when he wakes up and analyzes his dream. This is representative of Chris’s attachment to the consciousness that was Phaedrus, but has ceased to be; this is even more critical of understanding the narrator, because his subconscious understands Chris’s true love for his old self, which causes a great deal of mental friction and discomfort for the narrator.

Towards the end of the novel, when the nightmare takes on full fruition, the true identity of his entrapment is revealed: after he becomes Phaedrus, Chris reveals that the glass door was in the hospital, stating “Don’t you remember?... We were standing on one side and you were on the other side and Mom was crying”(Pirsig, 525). This is best interpreted as his imprisonment by his own conscious; the narrator’s family is constantly trying to reach him, and they seem sad because they cannot, and this can be described as their attempts to reach the old consciousness of the narrator- Phaedrus. The hospital was the last place where the family was united with Phaedrus, before he disappeared into the subconscious of the narrator, making it an appropriate setting for the dream.; Phaedrus is dead, lost and buried somewhere within the narrator’s subconscious, and Chris and his wife are constantly mourning this loss. When the narrator has his final breakthrough nightmare, he is seen strangling what he calls “the evil figure in the shadows” (Pirsig, 425), which he soon realizes was him all along. This is the showdown that brings Phaedrus and the narrator face to face, and ultimately, decides who will come to consciousness in the end.

Although Phaedrus is clearly described as a madman, and through encounters that the narrator has during his motorcycle journey are evidence of Phaedrus’s instability, the reality is that Phaedrus was his most natural state, and his family, specifically his son, who he has the most difficulty connecting with, had loved him more when he was Phaedrus, sans the insanity. The entire novel is dedicated to finding one’s self, and becoming Zen, which is only achieved by the narrator when he embraces his true personality. 

The Good and The Bad of Technology

Technology is one of the central topics throughout the whole of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Its presence in everyday life evokes different opinions and perceptions by the main characters, the most notably being the variation in outlook by the narrator in comparison to John and Sylvia. The narrator accepts and embraces technology wholeheartedly, while his friends are unable to see the positive attributes.

                The narrator’s perception of technology is extremely positive, as he receives a large amount of enjoyment from using and interacting with it. One thing that demonstrates his love for technology is his constant need to take care of his motorcycle. This seemingly obsessive desire further supports his appreciation of technology as a whole; he values it enough to spend such a large portion of his time dedicated to ensuring that his motorcycle is getting the proper care. Maintaining his motorcycle has become an activity that he now finds enjoyable; at one point, he claims that “it seems natural and normal to me to make use of the small tool kits and instruction booklets supplied with each machine, and keep it tuned and adjusted myself (9-10). The narrator is acutely aware that technology’s place in society is only growing, so his decision to embrace it and make use of it is beneficial for himself.

Opposite from the narrator’s point of view, both of the narrator’s traveling partners, John and Sylvia, have a far less accepting perception of technology. They are unable to see the benefits, so they focus purely on the negatives, never taking the time to use it themselves or appreciate it, much unlike their fellow traveler. While it seems that the large majority of individuals have a positive outlook with regard to technology, John and Sylvia refuse to conform to society’s values. Their defiance of the norm can be viewed as a good thing, as they are following what they themselves believe in, rather than what others value. However, in the long run, their division from technology will prove to be detrimental. John and Sylvia may want to detach themselves, but they have to acknowledge the progress that technology has made. If they refuse to recognize the positive attributes, then their isolation from a great amount of progress in society will ultimately be a bad thing. Unlike the narrator, John would prefer someone else to deal with his attachments to technology. “He [John] prefers to let a competent mechanic take care of these things so that they are done right” (10). Both John and his wife have at least some understanding as to how technology affects them, due to the fact that they possess technological items, most apparently their motorcycle, yet they have an undying need to be isolated from it. “Sylvia is completely with him on this one. In fact she is even more emphatic. ‘It’s just a whole other thing,’ she says, when in a thoughtful mood. ‘I like garbage,’ she says, when not. They want not to understand it. Not to hear about it. And the more I try to fathom what makes me enjoy mechanical work and them hate it so, the more elusive it becomes. The ultimate cause of this originally minor difference of opinion appears to run way, way deep” (11). John and Sylvia’s disapproval of technology is one of the central topics that separate them from the narrator.

Technology’s presence in society is controversial among individuals, based on the difference in beliefs as to whether or not it should play such a large role in the world. The central characters of the novel, the narrator; John; and Sylvia, all have varying opinions on the subject. While the narrator chooses to embrace it for all of its positive attributes, the others have a completely different outlook, always searching for someone else to deal with it. A difference in opinion regarding technology is of the main differences that exist between the narrator and John and Sylvia.

Technology’s presence in the novel is viewed as both positive and negative, based on the individual’s perception. Similarly, technology has both good and bad attributes in modern society as well. While many individuals tend to get caught up with all of the progress and advancements that technology has led to, they sometimes forget that technology is not all good.

                Technology has many significant uses that facilitate everyday life. Accessibility to information and communication is one central purpose that technology serves in modern-day life. Today, the invention of cell phones and social media is more prominent than ever before, which allows for the easy spread of information and communication. One important characteristic of such advancements is the ability to communicate with family and friends that live far away. New technological advancements are occurring every day, such as Skype and FaceTime, of which minimize the feeling of distance and contribute to the addition of more modes of communication. In addition, technological advancements have aided tremendously in the area of medicine and science. New medications, surgeries, and discoveries have been made, all with the assistance of modern technology. In connection to the novel, the idea of convenience also comes into play. The narrator is able to fix his own motorcycle problems because of the fact that he has familiarized himself with technology, and can use it to his benefit.

                Despite all of the positive influences technology has, there are definitely negative effects, one of the most important being society’s reliance on it. Humans, especially in today’s technologically-based society, have become so accustomed to having technology at their fingertips that they have become dependent upon it. Some have even become addicted to it, as they cannot function properly without it. In addition, the prominence of technology in modern society has led society to become isolated from one another and develop a lack of social skills. While the idea of convenience is significant in regard to communication, people, mainly younger generations that have grown up with advanced technology, do become infatuated with it, constantly checking their phones or laptops. On a larger scale, technology has led to a huge increase in pollution. Large companies and factories that depend on technology to succeed are contributing greatly to the overall amount of pollution in all areas, including noise pollution, air pollution, water pollution, and light pollution. The presence of technology in society is constantly increasing, which speaks volumes for the influences that it will have in the near future, which are not all positive.

Technology’s role in modern-day society is vital, yet there are certain aspects that lead some to question its importance. While technology most definitely has its own positive attributes, there are many flaws in its omnipresence throughout society. Factors such as accessibility to information, communication, travel, and convenience are all benefits of technology, yet one must consider the resulting flaws, such as pollution, isolation, and dependence. As in the case of the narrator, John, and Sylvia, it is up to the individual to determine whether he or she would rather embrace technology or dismiss it.

Robert Pirsig’s novel was written in the United States during the early 1970s (Nordquist). In the decades leading up to the publication of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, there was a large amount of disagreement regarding the integration of technology into society (Nakate). The debate that the narrator has against John and Sylvia about the embrace of technology can be viewed as a representation of the greater issue that was present in society at the time.

                One of the most notable progressions in the field of technology during this decade was that of automobiles. Automobiles improved significantly during this time period, so the great presence of motorcycles in the novel may have some correlation with what was simultaneously happening in society. During the 1970s, also, the gap between technology and business began to merge, thus creating a new dynamic; technology now had a new purpose in society (Nakate). “The decades of 1950s and 1960s saw frequent face-offs between those who supported technological development and those who were opposed to it. However, it was the '70s decade that witnessed the convergence of technology and commerce” (Nakate). With the exploration of new purposes for technology came new perceptions and opinions regarding its presence in society.

                The varying opinions of technology have made their way into the story in the form of the narrator and Phaedrus. The narrator represents the pro-technological side, while Phaedrus is opposed to it. It becomes clear very early on in the novel that the narrator deeply enjoys maintaining his motorcycle, as it gives him both a sense of power and a leisurely activity. Oppositely, the character of Phaedrus is far more philosophically-based, as he seems to care less about the mechanics and details of things, and more about the overall picture. The central characters of the novel seem to be microcosms for the division of society in terms of their feelings regarding technology.

                Not only did the varying opinions of technology in the real world influence Pirsig’s writing, but his own experiences did as well. One factor that likely contributed to the topic of the novel is the fact that Robert Pirsig’s job consisted of writing computer manuals. This very experience explains the fascination that the narrator has with the technical and mechanical aspects of technology. In addition, the premise of the narrator’s road trip with Chris is based on the author’s life. He also went on a motorcycle trip with his son prior to writing Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. The novel is said to be autobiographical, and the similarities between the narrator and Robert Pirsig are undeniable.

                The narrator and Phaedrus each serve as representations of the two types of individuals of the 1970s, based on their feelings about technology. In addition, the author’s personal experiences have made a clear impact on the topic and ideas presented within the story.

                The narrator uses technology as support for the large majority of his philosophical tangents. He contrasts the far more abstract side of the world, which is philosophy, with the more mechanical side, which is technology. His choice of support for these tangents is unexpected, yet they act well in maintaining and characterizing his ideas. This merging of such different facets is significant in acknowledging the unity that exists in the world. Technology and other technical aspects of the world can work in accordance with their opposite, the abstract side of the world. It is ironic that technology, which is something man-made, is the narrator’s choice for exemplifying an observation inherent to the nature of mankind and the world. His use of technology in highlighting certain aspects of his philosophical tangents demonstrates man’s natural tendencies in observation of the world around him.

                Phaedrus’s character is representative of the philosophical side of humanity, while the narrator serves as a symbol for the more technical side. This contrast allows for the differences between the two to become more apparent. Since they are in fact the same person, their very different personalities draw attention to the beliefs that they each partake in. One main idea throughout the span of the book is that of Quality, which becomes Phaedrus’s obsession during his time as a professor, which ultimately leads to his transformation into the narrator. Phaedrus was one of the few who felt the need to explore the concept of Quality. While others simply did not give the idea more than a few seconds of thought, he analyzed it to a point of total consumption. “What Phaedrus observed on a personal level was a phenomenon, profoundly characteristic of the history of science, which has been swept under the carpet for years” (101). The narrator’s use of technology in these tangents shows his unity with the old him, Phaedrus. Regardless of how abstractedly-minded someone is, there is no denying the fact that technology plays an important role in all of society. There are bound to be both good and bad things about technology, but that is true for everything. As a whole, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance does a solid job of highlighting both the positive and negative attributes that technology has to offer. 

A Complete Meditation on Quality

“[Phaedrus] simply said that at the cutting edge of time, before an object can be distinguished, there must be a kind of nonintellectual awareness, which he called awareness of Quality.” (Pirsig, 314) To begin to look at the idea of Quality one must first be self-aware that it is there. This period of self-awareness is very similar to that of judgment. It is the moment where the person sees what is in front of them and determines how it is, in shape, kind, and level of Quality. But the judgment that is made does not take place in the objective; rather it is subject to the person who is the viewer. Therefore Quality is different for everyone; every person is able to take in the value or worth of something, but all take it in differently. These ‘value’s and ‘worth’s are simply substitutes and placeholders for Quality. Quality is the framework by which humans’ judge and relate. It is so central to how humans are, however it is an entity that is simply known. That is what makes Quality so vital to everyone; it is a ghost that is always with man, yet always just out of reach.

So to look at Quality one must look at everything else to determine the Quality that does exist. But here Phaedrus comes across a dilemma, “does this undefined ‘quality’ of yours exist in the things we observe? Or is it the subjective, existing only in the observer?” (291) This creates a problem because Quality certainly is there, but if it is objective it can be detected by instruments and if it is subjective then it only lies within the observer and is essentially this “large pile of nonsense” (Ibid). But Quality is the result of the interpretations one makes when viewing, while Quality still lies within even if the interpretation have not been made. So it appears that Quality does in fact exist in both forms, but the opposite is true. Quality in fact does not exist in either case, it exists between them, it is the midpoint between these two, and it creates a bridge in this duality. Quality brings together the objective and subjective, the fact and the opinion, it allows man to understand that though these two polar forms of thought exist there is a way to understand both at the same time and that is where Quality reveals itself.

This talk of duality is important because Quality is important to this idea of two opposites. The classic clash between Romantic and Classical Thought – the “Subject-Object Duality” also exemplifies Quality’s role in all of this. Again Quality is in fact the midpoint of this duality, therefore creating a three-pronged approach, which in itself is no longer duality. First it is necessary to look at what Romantic thought and what Classical thought are. In the novel both John and Sylvia come together as the representation of this Romantic thought. It is very similar to what one might think based on the verbiage in that Romantic thought focuses on the more traditional mindset, one that is comfortable with that status quo and usually not accepting change and the new. This form of thought is something everyone attains at some point in their life but is one that tends to be limiting and create barriers that become seemingly unbreakable. Classical thought on the other hand focuses on the more intellectual and logical thought processes and is usually open to change and then new. Phaedrus can be characterized as the purely classical thinker in the novel, searching for Quality in every crevice of intellectuality. Furthermore the narrator of the novel breaks down Classical thought down into both the objective and subjective forms of deduction. This is important in understanding the relationship with Quality because these objective and subjective forms have that similar relationship described above and lie within this greater relationship.

The motorcycle then becomes the platform for the discussion of this duality throughout the novel. The narrator picks the motorcycle apart piece by piece describing the various intricacies that exist within and as a whole. This gets compared to the way John and Sylvia see the motorcycle, where they simply see how it is to the naked eye and do not see its inner beauty and its true form. That true form is what the goal is for the narrator. That quality that exists; John, Sylvia, and the narrator all perceive the quality that exists but they are all unable to truly define it. It in fact is there, right in front of them, but they see it very differently, the Quality is used for each of them to see what they want to believe out of it. That is why Quality occurs between the Romantic and the Classical; it is open to infinite interpretation based on the one that perceives. It allows both types of thinkers to bridge the gap between the other; the Quality allows them to open their eyes and see that there is always another way to see it. Quality is the midpoint, it is there, but it is not definable because it is different for everyone, it is always changing, but Phaedrus could not just end here.

The “System” encompasses everything that one is able to perceive. Therefore it is simply a resultant of consciousness. “A real understanding of Quality captures the System, tames it and puts it to work for one’s own personal use, while leaving on completely free to fulfill his inner destiny.” (283) So one must be able to understand Quality without being able to define (because it is undefinable as has been addressed) and then they will truly be the master themselves and understand oneself. So Phaedrus was searching so hard for Quality for this very reason, he wanted to become this master; he wanted to be able to understand. But it is in fact impossible to understand and know all; this is why Phaedrus had to go through the transformation to the more relaxed narrator. But this haunts 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 narrator’s 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 is the Quality that the narrator and Pirsig have been getting at. Quality is perceptible entity that cannot be defined. It is very important to know these two truths in order for an understanding of Quality to exist. It is simple, it is complex, it just is.

While it is necessary to uncover Quality through the many facets of Pirsig’s novel, there are also others ways of seeing Quality in order to better understand it. The way that modern man live is based on the barter and trade system. The worth or Quality that people see in objects, ideas, or abilities determines how each man communicates, interacts, and views one another. The Quality of one man’s worth may be higher than that of another. The Quality of the field of work may be valued higher in modern society that that of another. All people assume Quality in their everyday lives, it is necessary, it is there, but Quality exists and is accepted because that is the nature of how Quality is. Pirsig uses an example in the novel relating to mechanics that is perfect and solidifying this idea. An owner of a motorcycle may need help when it comes time to fix different parts of the vehicle. Yet, the owner will identify better mechanics from others based on the Quality of their work. While there may be arguments and disagreements among people, there is no arguing the Quality in the work of one mechanic against another. They may both be ‘fine’ mechanics that get the job done, but there is that one that has what some may call the ‘touch’ or ‘edge’ over the other. It is noticeable and can be equated with ability or workmanship, but it is not a tangible entity, one mechanic just attains more Quality in his work than the other. It is a fact that all people live with but it is accepted and not really noticed. Quality is there, and that is the point.

The journey on the road that is Quality is a strange and hard one. It is easy to see that both the narrator and his previous self (Phaedrus) struggled for a long time with the subject at hand. One could also say that the essence that he was searching for can never actually be found. Quality is an idea that is still so foreign to the human conscientiousness, while it is still deeply embedded into innate perception. This is a subject that can never be fully understood, yet the narrator shows that there is a point where it can be accepted for what it is. This duality is what is most important when looking at Quality. There are all of these contradicting statements made that are both true of what Quality is. This is why it is truly undefinable because there are cases where it contradicts itself. Quality is a ghost that follows each and every person all of the time and that is just how it is. Acceptance is the hardest part on the nature of this subject, but that is just the way it goes. Quality is, but it also is not.