Honest Conversation
We had asked the question, what makes Murakami’s writing so powerful?
I realized today that an extremely powerful element, for me, is the quality of honesty in the conversations between characters, and in the interior narrative of the main character. These conversations and reflections resonate deeply in my being, where congruent sentiments reside. For me, they are often unexpressed and perhaps incomplete in form – but still the outline is there, the essence is present enough to immediately recognize the likeness and reverberate.
When they speak and listen with this honesty, I feel so relieved. It is as if I have been given the words that I had trouble coming up with myself, and, speaking them, I am being listened to and understood. I feel like I have just bonded with a close friend, I have shared everything, more than I knew I had inside, and have done so without fear, because an expansive open space had been created by the listener.
Reaching the final pages of every Murakami book is like bringing this friend to the train station, for a farewell I know may be for a long time. A certain sadness and nostalgia and longing arise. It has been so nice to know you; we have been through so much; you have seen through me, you have seen my original face. Who else has? It is a miracle – I was able to reveal it because of who you are. And now you must go, so soon? Who will I turn to now?
June 13th, 2010 at 19:45
Have you read Camus’ L’Etranger? (The Outsider/The Stranger)
The main character there is also someone who refuses to feel or say anything more than what he feels.
“A long time ago, I summed up The Outsider [a.k.a. The Stranger] in a sentence which I realize is extremely paradoxical: ‘In our society any man who doesn’t cry at his mother’s funeral is liable to be condemned to death.’ I simply meant that the hero of the book is condemned because he doesn’t play the game. In this sense, he is an outsider to the society in which he lives, wandering on the fringe, on the outskirts of life, solitary and sensual. And for that reason, some readers have been tempted to regard him as a reject. But to get a more accurate picture of his character, or rather one which conforms more closely to his author’s intentions, you must ask yourself in what way Meursault doesn’t play the game. The answer is simple: he refuses to lie.
Lying is not only saying what isn’t true. It is also, in fact especially, saying more than one feels. We all do it, every day, to make life simpler. He says what he is, he refuses to hide his feelings and society immediately feels threatened. For example, he is asked to say that he regrets his crime, in time-honoured fashion. He replies that he feels more annoyance about it than true regret. And it is this nuance that condemns him.
So for me Meursault is not a reject, but a poor and naked man, in love with a sun which leaves no shadows. Far from lacking all sensibility, he is driven by a tenacious and therefore profound passion, the passion for an absolute and for truth.”
June 14th, 2010 at 21:55
I have not read The Stranger. Would like to.
I appreciate the longing for truth, but sometimes it seems that the value of honesty becomes questionable. Is honesty the highest good? We must not deceive and flatter ourselves … but, whole as we are ourselves, we are also part of the fabric of the whole. When in dealing with others honesty – or its negative, “not lying” – becomes a principle rather than a simple state of intent, I think it can be a hinderance.
There is a struggle in being honest … because it’s not only about presenting the truth. It’s about doing so in a context. An utterly honest person who is oblivious to his surroundings may not help anyone – because compassion does not necessarily follow from it.
In “Norwegian Wood”, I really feel the characters working hard at presenting their true feelings. Even with the author helping things along … the process of being understood requires a sort of finesse that goes beyond purity of intent. What is truth is the fluid experience of communion; there doesn’t seem to be too much objectivity or absoluteness to it.
June 20th, 2010 at 22:42
Hi Haw-Bin,
This is Jesse from Shenzhen ,China, currently I work as a QA in Oracle ShenZhen, and I am using Selenium at daily work. I am think of add some function to Selenium, but still I got some trouble in understanding the internal work rule of how it works. you know codes reading is not easy for me, especially when it comes to thousands of lines.
when one day I sew your presentation on the selenium grid conference, i see you ,a very familiar face, and also I have visited your uphotoes, the scenery looks so familiar to me. here I have one questions about how selenium RC works for me. I will appreciate that very much if you can do me a favor to get me clear on it.
1. how can selenium RC injects JS to the websites, which means how RC avoid the java script security concern to make its scripts running on another site, google.com for example.
I see the documents just says Selenium Server acts a HTTP proxy server so it avoids the js security concern, but i really don’t know the work principle.
and my msn is :jesse.zou@hotmail.com
thanks very much if you can give me a feedback.
Best,
Jesse