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The Rhine River
view of the river from the Rhine valley
The City Crest of Bonn
A Church in Bonn
Larry's German Foray
Greg
This is how I see Gregory Brabazon
Auguste Cottet
La Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF)
.JPG)
Larry went to the BNF to do his philosophical reading
William James' Principles of Psychologoy
Painting by Claude Lorraine
Elliott had art by Lorraine in his Paris apartment.
Sorbonne
Waterloo Bridge
A Monet painting from 1920.
Picasso Painting During 1920s
La Mitrailleuse
Another Painting by Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson
William James
Author of Principles of Psychology
Somerset Maugham
At his house, surrounded by his work
Botticelli Self-Portrait
Elliott's Rendering of Larry?
La Seine
Dawn in the Latin Quarter
Latin Quarter
Sentient Gargoyle
13 comments:
Larry is kind of a free spirit, and doesn't feel motivated by money and society to follow the cut and dry path. He simply is not the kind of person to want to find a normal job and settle down with a family.
Elliott is not necessarily correct in saying that Larry will never amount to much, because he doesn't need to achieve success in the same way that other Americans do. He is just at a time in his life where he needs to find himself, and while this may take away from having a seemingly "normal life," it is what is best for him.
Whether or not Larry ever amounts to anything in Elliot's eyes, or society's eyes, for that matter, doesn't interest Larry, and therefore isn't important in his life. He isn't interested in doing so, so why is it necessary? It's his life...
-erika
How do you feel about Larry's character so far? Do you agree with Elliot, that he'll never amount to much? What do you think motivates Larry? Why is he turning down a sewn-up future?
Larry is unique because of his family situation that doesnt fit in with that of his friends, because of his experience in the war at such a young age, and what all of that has taught him. He is deeply spiritual in his nature and manner and thought. Knowledge; of the spirit, literature, and life, is what motivates Larry. He is on a quest for enlightenment. He is turning down a "sewn-up" future because he knows in his soul that his future is not a generic one.
--Robin
I agree... Larry wont really amount to anything if he continues with the attitude he has now, but he might in the end be happier than he might of been. After comming back from the war he's beat down and traumatized. Theres no way he's ready to get married yet, much less resume the life he had before, he just wants to lay back his life plan and do what he wants for the time being--- thats what motivates him is the thought of doing what he feels, not what was planned.
--max--
I feel that Elliot is unable to pass judgement on Larry or his lifestyle, because what makes one person happy doesn't necessarily make everyone happy. Larry has been through a traumatizing experience and he does not seem ready to take on a new job, let alone a wife. He turns down the "sewn-up future" he had planned with Isabel beacuse he is not quite sure who he is anymore. The things that motivate others, such as money and social status, do not seem to matter to Larry. He is his own person and he just wants to live his life, his way.
-hayden
Larry is continously compared with Elliott. he does not have the snobby ego like Elliott does, and he is not hungry for money or acknowledgement. His experience with the war has led to his realization of the triviality of the "success" the society has set out for everyone.
To Elliott, Larry may seem like a guy who will never amount to much. However, it is just a difference in values. What Elliott may desire or value is very different from that of Larry's. Larry wants something that is more than a lucrative job, or an oridinary success. He wants to learn things, see things, feel things, and live through things. The sewn up future, in the great scheme of things are so trivial to Larry, that it is undesirable.
Sarah Kim
Larry is a full out laid back person, who listens to what his mind and heart tell him instead of what society expects him to do. Never amounting to much..., is all a matter of opinion. Larry doesn't follow the rules of society nor does he listen to Elliott's rambles about not amounting to anything. Larry is a person who thinks things through and does what he feels, instead of following the expectations of what others hold for him. He is turning down a sewn up future for it is not one that he chose his own, and not one he would be comfortable in. It would be as if the whole thing was a lie...
-Ro
Larry is a very down to earth guy who doesn't feel the need to fit into a materialistic society. He has been through rough and life altering experiences (such as the war) which have opened his eyes to the idea that there is more to life than money or one's societal statis.
Elliot judges Larry because is does not understand the concept of true happiness. Happiness to him is wealth. I do not agree that Larry with never amount to anything because Larry seeks a natural happiness. Larry sees the deeper meaning of life. Elliot thinks of a successful life as a life with great wealth, and in that sense, Larry will probably fall short. But, in the big picture of life, Larry will be the most successful.
What motivates Larry is his desire to live a full and enlightened life. Money is far from Larry's mind. He is turning down this so-called "sewn-up future" because he knows that there is no real future there for him. He knows that he could have all the money in the world, but if he did, he would never truly be happy.
-Rachel
Larry seems to be suffering from PTS. I think that because of his lose of joie de vie from his terrifying war experience he feels he should not do anything because it is the social norm. or because it is what everyone else is doing. Larry seems to want to do whatever he feels like doing, "loafing" and becoming more educated through reading books seems to be his priority in life right now. I think he is using this "interest" of loafing as a way to escape a life he feels is pointless. I think that his experience with war, friendship, death, and self-sacrifice has disillusioned him to the point where all the snobbery and social class that Elliot, Isabel and Mrs.Bradley relishes in disgusts him. His new look on life seems to be all about what he feels satisfied with, whether that is "loafing" or not. Larry also has a strange commitment to Isabel because i think he undoubtedly loves her, but is questioning whether it is worth while to become a typical business man to stay with her. Or perhaps he is doubting he eligibility, and that is why he has left her alone in Chicago with the temptation of Gray Maturin.
-paulette-
Arighty then, my 2 cents worth.
To really judge Larry, you have to understand what he went through. At a young age, he went off to war, a subject that has proven to be traumatizing to hundreds of individuals. Considering how young he was when this experience was shoved upon him (albeit by personal choice) it is very possible that he is suffering from an "identity crisis" (and no, Kayla, I'm not pulling this out of what I just read the other night, though I am finding the problems to be similar). So, due to the war, he doesn’t really know who he is.
Then, on top of all that, is the problem of going back to a normal life after something like that. He watched a friend die trying to save him. How, after such an experience can you ever really expect to fit in again? To go back to normal? It’s as Tolkien put it in The Return of the King. Frodo went back after everything he saw and found that he just didn’t fit in anymore. Larry’s taking the same road Frodo did at the end of the book. He’s leaving. I do believe that, other than actually talking to someone about his problems, going away from the people he knows is the next best thing in the healing process. It will take away the influences of those around him and possible make his journey of self discovery successful.
I also agree with Hayden. Elliot has no right to judge Larry. No one does. You can’t please everyone with the same thing, so why should you judge someone for trying a different approach to putting the pieces of his life back together again?
-L. Adams
Larry came back from world war 1 changed, changed in the fact that he sees everything he has done and the goal set by society, to accumulate more wealth, as a waste of time. Larry saw his comrade Patsy die, protecting him, and even though Patsy was dying, he still showed an attitude which showed a sense of content, this is evident with his final words, "well, I'm jiggered."
Patsy's death served as a wake up call for Larry, in order to enjoy life, and truly live in a way where he would be happy and satisfied with what he has done during his lifetime before he dies, Larry wishes to pursue knowledge. Knowledge to Larry is what will eventually culminate into wisdom, which for Larry will take years to develop, but the more knowledge Larry can learn, the greater his wisdom will be.
Larry is less concerned with money and more concerned with wisdom. He believes that the pursuit of wisdom will lead him to the answers of "is there a god?" "what will happen when I die," that he has began to question with his own knowledge rather than the answers posed by his own society.
-John Ralston
Arthur Schopenhauer was a Prussian philosopher from the 19th century. One of his main ideas was that any living thing, simply by virtue of its own existence, suffers. This suffering is caused by the guilt of knowing (on some level) that by living, we take up space in which something else could possibly live.
I think that this idea influenced the character of Larry. He is only alive because he was saved by his friend, Patsy, who died in the process.
However, I don't think that Larry's issues with Patsy's death stem from any feeling that he is responsible for it, but rather that he cannot justify the continuation of his existence. In other words, Patsy's death is not the cause of Larry's guilt, but it is the event that leads Larry to it.
I believe that the story of The Razor's Edge is Larry's quest for salvation from this universal guilt. That ties into the Katha-Upanishad quote.
It is not true to say Larry will never amount too much, because he has a special view of the world after he has been to the war. He doesn't value money for much. He needs to find out what is the meaning of life and his target.
Larry was a hard-working person like everybody else. After he saw his good friend die for saving his life, he began to question himself what is important for human. It is certainly not money he wants. On the other hand, Elliott has never been to war like Larry has. Elliott values everything base on the money scale because he is from a poor family.
No matter what Elliott thinks about Larry, Larry is doing what he wants. Eventually he will get the real fortune for himself.
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