While reading Crime and Punishment for class, I honestly did expect the murder to happen within the first part of the book. Why? Because when, at the beginning, Raskolnikov already had the act planned out I knew he was very close to the kill. Again, why? Maybe because that’s the way I think. Why waste an entire book on plotting the kill, when you can perform the action within the first part and then devote the rest of the book to how the action affected the person that committed the murder. I’ve always thought this way, maybe it’s why I’ve always loved detective novels (the possibility is there that this is the reason I expected the murder to happen in the beginning instead of the end).
Okay, so what is the “unexpected”? Webster defines it as, “Surprising, happening without warning.” Okay, well, obviously the murder in Crime and Punishment wasn’t unexpected, like I said. Now, Dr. Mitchell and Tiffany planking in the middle of class, that was unexpected. The book Inheritance by Christopher Paolini, is full of the unexpected, so I’ve heard. I’m only a fifth of the way through it, but seeing as the three books preceding this one were full of twists, I know that there’s going to be a lot of unexpected stuff in it. But since I’m aware that there are twists and unexpected stuff coming, does that mean it’s expected? I don’t think so, because while I know there are things that are going to surprise me in this book, I have no earthly idea where or when they are going to happen; or what they could possibly be. Conversely, after only about a chapter of Crime and Punishment, I knew something was going to happen, and soon, making it a very expected.
To me, the unexpected is what you should look forward too, why? Because if you knew exactly what was going to happen every minute of every day, you’d get bored, and you’d be boring too, despite what Kierkegaard says about boredom. The unexpected is what makes Christmas so fun, especially for little kids. Have you ever watched a little kid on Christmas Eve? They are always so excited for what’s going to happen the next day, though they never have any idea what they are going to get, or what they are going to get to do that day. Here’s a challenge for you, not sure this is allowed but I feel it should be. Be excited for the unexpected things that happen to you over the next few weeks. When something unexpected occurs, be thankful, even if it’s not something necessarily good, because the unexpected keeps the boredom out of your life. And, as Kierkegaard says, boredom is the root of all evil. Embrace the unexpected!!!
Until next time,
~Meghan
PS I commented on Brittany’s #iheartvillains
But there is nothing new. Nothing unexpected. I am a biologist. We have theories for every part of life, for every biological process. Ask a sociologist; there is nothing unexpected in the collective mind that is society. Ask a mathematician; there is nothing that isn't accounted for. How can I look to the "unexpected" for pleasure when there is nothing outside of me that is new. Only the individual mind is new; only the individual mind is refreshing and "unexpected." We can only gain immediate pleasure from boredom in our own minds.. unless we decide intentionally not to be bored - but that involves accepting our pleasure from a completely different authority. t
ReplyDelete