3/3

            This is probably my favorite book out of all of the ones we have read for this class so far. It is easy to read but rich in opinions, stimulating arguments, and an interesting and compelling storyline. Though I do believe I have yet to fully understand all of the messages that the author wanted to convey, I do believe that I have a sound understanding of them for the most part.

            Tony is a middle aged man that recollects and recounts various memories that he still holds somewhat clearly, most of them focused around the passing of time, life and death, and the specific events that revolve around these motifs. Suicide is a strong topic in this novel, and it resonates with me. I felt that at first, it was presented in a nonchalant manner with the death of a fellow classmate. I do not mean to say that they were insensitive with it, but that it simply did not cause a great uproar that would be normal should it have happened today. Adrian, the intelligent, mysterious, and somewhat godlike character of the novel also falls to the same demise, but what is even more interesting about this is, for the majority of the novel, Adrian is considered the smartest character, and it is evident that every one of the original three friends wanted desperately to be like him, or at least, be close to him, and yet, he is the greatest fool, at least, in the eyes of the narrator.

            At one point, Adrian glorifies suicide as something selfless, logical, and to quote the book, “the ultimate philosophical question”, which is a dreamy, appealing way to put it. I must admit that his logic is sound, and I feel as though the narrator understood this and admits to it too; Adrian felt that suicide was the best way to set balance in the world, and if one could not find a good purpose for their own life, it would only make sense to end it themselves and save the world from wasting resources. But with the discovery of Adrian’s greatest mistake, we find the true nature of his suicide, and are rudely awakened to the realization that, as logical as his arguments were, they just did not make sense in the grand scheme of things, and were not worth the effort. Adrian took his own life because he was ashamed of what he did; perhaps he could not comprehend it in a philosophical or mathematical sense, but it definitely ashamed him to the point of instability and suicide, and with that, I think that the narrator wants us to know that all endings must be justified with worth. Adrian died because he could not find the worth, but it was shrouded by cowardice.