Have you read the Salinger's Glass family novels?
If you haven't i would invite you to do so.
There is a constant undertone of unrest in all the novels. You can feel that the characters are squeamish, they are suffering due to something in their suroundings and that keeps you hooked. You want to know what's eating them... Everything looks ok on the surface, but that doesn't fool you.. What wrong with this family?
You know those days when you get sick of the artificiality of things. You hate yourself for participating in the act, to keep in step with society.
Saying yes to what you want to say no. Following social etiquettes for a successful life, even though you hate every bit of it.
Keep abiding by the society and eventually such days will come less and less. You will go farther and farther from yourself. You will become the world's version of you, the social shadow will overtake who you were.
On the contrary, stick to doing and saying what you want to and you will be a social pariah. Shunned by people, embarrassment to the family... not that you would care. If you don't care then you are an super attractive social pariah. If you care, then... well... you are doomed.
Where should one exist?
Somewhere in the middle? No i think, that will be the certain path to insanity. I guess we choose the persona in keeping with our personal courage.
If you haven't i would invite you to do so.
There is a constant undertone of unrest in all the novels. You can feel that the characters are squeamish, they are suffering due to something in their suroundings and that keeps you hooked. You want to know what's eating them... Everything looks ok on the surface, but that doesn't fool you.. What wrong with this family?
"She worries over the way her love for me comes and goes, appears and disappears. She doubts its reality simply because it isn’t as steadily pleasurable as a kitten. God knows it is sad. The human voice conspires to desecrate everything on earth.” - Seymour Glass
Saying yes to what you want to say no. Following social etiquettes for a successful life, even though you hate every bit of it.
Keep abiding by the society and eventually such days will come less and less. You will go farther and farther from yourself. You will become the world's version of you, the social shadow will overtake who you were.
On the contrary, stick to doing and saying what you want to and you will be a social pariah. Shunned by people, embarrassment to the family... not that you would care. If you don't care then you are an super attractive social pariah. If you care, then... well... you are doomed.
Where should one exist?
Somewhere in the middle? No i think, that will be the certain path to insanity. I guess we choose the persona in keeping with our personal courage.
Being your true self doesn't have to mean being a complete rebel, though. It's possible that you do some things that society praises, but those are also things that you like. And then, you dance to the beat of your own drum on the other issues :)
ReplyDeleteThat is correct, yes, but there are so many things you would not do if you didnt have to be social. In fact, that we have been conditioned to feel good after "behaving well" is an example. You need to be nice, restrained, do the right thing etc etc..
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