Strong at the Broken Places

“If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry” p 226

This quote is taken from Henry’s stream of consciousness when he is lying with Catherine after they had reunited in Stresa. This powerful quote can be seen as foreshadowing: Henry has referred to Catherine as “very good”, “very gentle” and “very brave” in the past. From this point on it seems as though there is a dark presence following the couple. Earlier on in this scene, Henry is describing his feelings for Catherine. He is content, optimistic, and in love. However, throughout the passage his thoughts turn pessimistic as his life philosophies are revealed. Henry believes there is no hope for anyone in this world, no matter how good you are. He begins to take on the perspective of an existentialist: that human life is in no way complete and fully satisfying because of the suffering and losses that occur.

Sacred, Glorious, Sacrifice

“I was always embarrassed by the words sacred, glorious, and sacrifice and the expression in vain…There were many words that you could not stand to hear and finally only the names of places had dignity. Certain numbers were the same way and certain dates and these with the names of the places were all you could say and have them mean anything. Abstract words such as glory, honor, courage, or hallow were obscene beside the concrete names of villages, the numbers of roads, the names of rivers, the numbers of regiments and the dates.” Pg 169

Henry does not believe in a world filled with dreams and abstract ideas. He has been exposed to the harshness of war for so long that he only understands what has been real to him. Names, places, dates, and concrete information is all that he knows. In this setting food is scarce, men are dropping, and life is difficult. This quote reveals the internal conflict Henry is faced with. Henry is no longer a dreamer. He lives in the cold, hard present. He has no sense of hope and no aspirations. The way in which Henry describes war is honest: he refrains form using lofty, glorified terms to describe such a terrible thing.

The Bohemian-Gay Index

"The second and much larger factor is reflected by our Bohemian-Gay Index, which combines the concentration of artists, musicians and designers with the concentration of gays and lesbians in a region. Regardless of which variables we applied, what version of the model we used, or which regions we looked at, the concentration of bohemians and gays consistently had a substantial correlation with housing values." (pg. 142)

Richard is referring to factors that shape housing values. This bold statement is one that has created the most controversy and has also helped Richard Florida to become the phenomenon he is today. Although Richard has statistical data to prove this, the reasoning behind this theory makes sense. It seems obvious that artists, musicians, designers, gays, and lesbians would want to live in a nonjudgemental community that value open mindedness and self-expression. Are these not qualities that the general public value as well? The lack of cultural barriers and prejudice attract a large number of people of different racial and social backgrounds thus increasing the housing values in the area. I do not feel as though Richard is encouraging people to look for the largest cluster of gays and lesbians when considering where you should move, but rather that each city is different and unique in its own way and that you should consider all of the different aspects of a place before making your final decision of where you would like to live.

Our Spiky World

“And because modern communication makes the world smaller at the same time that globalization makes it spikier, those trapped in the valleys are looking directly up at the peaks, the growing disparities in wealth, opportunity, and lifestyle staring them right in the face.” (pg. 40)

This quotation is referring to how ‘spiky’ our world has become. There are a select number of cities in North America and globally for that matter that are attracting a mass number of talented, innovative and creative individuals. For example,Tokyo, Seoul, New York, San Francisco, Toronto, and Vancouver are cities that stand out in terms of their innovation and economic growth. Whereas the rural areas, in comparison, that surround these cities are unable to compete with this growing trend.

Globalization is a powerful movement where places that have previously not had a chance to participate in the world economy are now an active part of it. The “clustering force” is one outcome of globalization. This force involves creative and innovative people and companies coming together, generally forming around large urban cities. This dense population of skilled workers promote the flow of ideas and increase the talent and productivity of each individual.

However, many will argue that globalization is becoming an increasingly negative part of our global economy. One way of putting it is the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The disparity and extremes between these urban centers or the world’s ‘spikes’, and the rural areas with a much lower level of economic activity is increasing at a startling rate. Lacking the skill, education, or mobility, these people are falling further behind in our fast paced society. According to Richard Florida, these peaks are “staring them right in the face” creating a feeling of inequality. One possible reaction includes a political backlash opposing this movement. Feelings of fear, insecurity and anger can also be found within these regions. Overall, globalization is an innovative breakthrough that has affected a smaller minority for the better, but poses as a serious threat to the rest of the world.

The Pursuit of Happiness

“Since it normally requires both time and effort to achieve either higher income or a stable social relationship with someone, the weight attached to each individual’s investment decision thus depends upon the type of possession -money or friendship- that he or she believes will yield a larger impact on happiness than the other”

The book I am reading entitled, Who’s You’re City? written by Richard Florida is about ‘how the creative economy is making where to live the most important decision of your life’. In the chapter titled ‘The Mobile and the Rooted’, Richard Florida quotes the University of York economist, Nattavudh Powdthavee, who gives voice to the struggle that occurs while trying to maintain a balanced work and social life.

At first I was skeptical of this broad statement: it is difficult if not impossible to put a price-tag on personal relationships. However, this statement does contain some truth. Where you invest your time and effort is where you will be most likely to succeed, which in turn will affect your overall happiness. Many people choose to stay rooted or closer to friends and family, despite the economical advantages they would have if they chose to move elsewhere. It seems as though these people are aware of the true value of close relationships and of the ‘investment’ they are making.

This quotation has also given me a new perspective. I realize I must look at my priorities and determine what is most important to me. If my goal in life is to be happy doing something I love, how am I going to go about achieving this as I build upon relationships. How will these aspects interplay and support each other? For some people, hard work, dedication, and having a passion for their work is what is most important. For others it is the personal relationships they form and the love and support that these relationships provide that determine their overall happiness. Throughout my life I hope to find the right balance between these two worlds as I discover where my priorities lie and where I would like to ‘invest’ my time.

Assignment Two: A Preoccupied Society

In Frye’s second lecture he states that “the effect of irony is to enable us to see over the head of a situation... and so to detach us, at least in imagination, from the world we’d prefer not to be involved with.” (pg. 31). I find it interesting how Northrop Frye symbolizes literature as a form of relief or escape from our daily lives. He seems to understand the fact that as humans we have our problems and we tend to reflect them in our literature. On page 31 he states “...the more advanced the civilization, the more literature seems to concern itself with purely human problems and conflicts”. What I don’t understand is how does the advanced civilization and the increase of literature involving human conflict correlate? Is he saying that our society is more likely to complain about our problems, we honestly have important issues worth discussing, or that we have become so preoccupied with ourselves, that is generally all we write about?

Assignment One: Literature is Timeless

"Is it possible that literature, especially poetry, is something that a scientific civilization like ours will eventually outgrow?"

Will the scientific and technological advances our society is making eventually dominate the arts and literature as we know it? Literature allows the human mind to explore life beyond our immediate environment. It allows us to be imaginative, innovative, and most importantly inspired to further explore the extent of our capabilities. Old legends of people flying on artificial wings or chariots gave man the motivation to accomplish this impossible task. Literature allows us to dream big.

One might argue that in today’s society, science has become so advanced that it is slowly replacing literature and poetry. It is true that ipods, cell phones, and other electronic devices have become a major part of our lives and scientific discoveries have improved our health and well being. However, science alone does not define humanity. As McCullough states, “One can have all the facts and miss the truth”. I believe that poetry and literature are as central and meaningful to civilization, because the human mind has the capacity for conceptual thought. Limiting human experience to technology and scientific advances, limits our ability to imagine, and to explore on a philosophic level. This will never be outdated, and in fact is important in our growth as human beings. Poetry and literature are timeless pieces of work which we as humans will always be able to connect with.