Kim 1
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Kevin Kim ENG3C.02 Ms. Abel
Kim 2
Characters:
- The narrator- the main character of the novel who tells the story which was based on his perspective. He likes to fix his own motorcycles. He travels throughout the story and to find out what happened and what will be happening to the readers. Throughout the journey, he wants to learn more about philosophy and wants to know how he can use it for the metaphor of motorcycle maintenance.
- Phaedrus- he was the consciousness in the past inside the narrator’s body. He is also what narrator fears. The narrator has 2 personalities which are the current narrator himself and other is Phaedrus. Phaedrus was the teacher in …show more content…
Phaedrus lost consciousness because of electroshock therapy. When the narrator came back to this university, he found lots of things about himself and Phaedrus.
Important Passages:
1. “The Chautauqua were pushed aside by faster-paced radio, movies and TV, and it seems to me the change was not entirely an improvement” (Pirsig, 9). This quote explains that the narrator doesn’t like how the society is running. The philosophy of Chautauqua pushed further away because of the people’s interests toward the technology is high.
2. “But he saw a sick and ailing thing happening and he started cutting deep, deeper and deeper to get at the root of it. He was after something. That is important. He was after something and he used the knife because that was the only tool he had. But he took on so much and went so far in the end his real victim was himself” (Pirsig, chapter 6). This quote explains the past of narrator which was part of Phaedrus. He ended up dying Kim 5
because he was focusing too much on his studies. From what he learned from this experience, the narrator will not the same thing ever …show more content…
Egotism can a blind a person because people with egotism only look at themselves and not caring others except for themselves. So they won’t be able to see through what is happening in the world. When you are going through spiritual journey egotism will get in your way because it prevents you from seeking through yourself and you are being stuck and trapped inside you and won’t be able to understand yourself. “I think a second reason for his decision to enter the arena was an egoistic one. He knew himself to be a pretty sharp logician and dialectician, took pride
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Kevin Kim ENG3C.02 Ms. Abel
Kim 2
Characters:
- The narrator- the main character of the novel who tells the story which was based on his perspective. He likes to fix his own motorcycles. He travels throughout the story and to find out what happened and what will be happening to the readers. Throughout the journey, he wants to learn more about philosophy and wants to know how he can use it for the metaphor of motorcycle maintenance.
- Phaedrus- he was the consciousness in the past inside the narrator’s body. He is also what narrator fears. The narrator has 2 personalities which are the current narrator himself and other is Phaedrus. Phaedrus was the teacher in …show more content…
Phaedrus lost consciousness because of electroshock therapy. When the narrator came back to this university, he found lots of things about himself and Phaedrus.
Important Passages:
1. “The Chautauqua were pushed aside by faster-paced radio, movies and TV, and it seems to me the change was not entirely an improvement” (Pirsig, 9). This quote explains that the narrator doesn’t like how the society is running. The philosophy of Chautauqua pushed further away because of the people’s interests toward the technology is high.
2. “But he saw a sick and ailing thing happening and he started cutting deep, deeper and deeper to get at the root of it. He was after something. That is important. He was after something and he used the knife because that was the only tool he had. But he took on so much and went so far in the end his real victim was himself” (Pirsig, chapter 6). This quote explains the past of narrator which was part of Phaedrus. He ended up dying Kim 5
because he was focusing too much on his studies. From what he learned from this experience, the narrator will not the same thing ever …show more content…
Egotism can a blind a person because people with egotism only look at themselves and not caring others except for themselves. So they won’t be able to see through what is happening in the world. When you are going through spiritual journey egotism will get in your way because it prevents you from seeking through yourself and you are being stuck and trapped inside you and won’t be able to understand yourself. “I think a second reason for his decision to enter the arena was an egoistic one. He knew himself to be a pretty sharp logician and dialectician, took pride