Finishing up The Joke

Much like in class on Thursday, I collected some of (what I thought) were meaningful quotes in the last part of our reading. I have written out the quotes and my reactions to them...

1.Vlasta rebukes me for being a dreamer. She says I don't see things as they are. I do see things as they are, but in addition to these visible things I see the invisible. It's not for nothing that fantasy exists. It's what makes home of our houses. -p.144

- I just personally like this quote. It's hopeful to believe in things that are more than material. I especially like the last sentence. Houses are physical places filled with material things but homes have love and companionship, the invisible.

2. Because being brave in solitude, without witnesses, without the reward of others' approbation, face to face with himself, that took great pride and strength. -p.156

- This sort of relates to Havel. In a way Ludvik argues that no matter what, even if it is not popular, you should be brave and live in the truth. But he also says that it's only true if you keep it to yourself - and Havel argues that when you live in the truth you want to inspire others to live that way.

3. Because it's not your enemies who condemn you to solitude, it's your friends. -p.159

- I also just liked this quote. I think essentially it means that your friends are the ones you rely on for company, not enemies. So when your friends desert you, you are left in solitude. If your enemies desert you, you are better off.

4. Once more I was amazed by the incredible human capacity for transforming reality into a likeness of desires or ideals. -p.181

-  True, humans see and hear what they want to see and hear. But it's interesting that Ludvik says this so scathingly about Helena because he does it himself. Particularly when he was younger, with Lucie. He sees thier relationship as loving and he thinks he loves her. I think their relationship is a tie to real life for him, life outside the camp, nothing more. He doesn't love her, he loves the idea of her. But he wants to be in love so he believes he is.

5. "When I first met you, I know right away that you were the one I'd been waiting for all these years."
"You're not a phrase-monger. You wouldn't talk like that if you didn't mean it."
"...the first time I met you, I realized I had been waiting for you for years. That I was waiting for you without knowing you. And I knew that now I must have you. That it was inevitable as fate."

- What Ludvik is saying is true, just not in the way Helena thinks. He's sneaky with his words - a phrase-monger even... He really does want her - but only to get revenge on her husband, not for love. He has been waiting for her, even before he knew her, because he has constantly been searching for a mean of revenge.

6. "Get undressed, Helena," I repeated for the last time. ... She was naked. -p.194

- This reminds me of earlier in the book when Ludvik wanted Lucie to be naked while he was dressed - which ended up turning out oppositely. Now he has his wish and he likes it because Helena is completely vulnerable and he feels as though he possesses her. Ludvik has a mean streak in him and it comes out now because he's reveling in his "revenge" and it is even sweeter if Helena is embarrassed in the process because he loathes her as well as her husband.

7. True religion does not need the favor of secular power. Secular disfavor only strengthens faith. -p.209

- Sometimes making something unpopular makes it popular. Faith is tested in the face of adversity, which strengthens it.

8. Was I thrown out? Driven out? I can't quite say. All I can say for certain is that doubts about me and my convictions started up again. It is true some of my colleagues hinted I could do well to make a public statement along the Atheist lines. ... It would probably have taken very little: a move to defend myself. They certainly would have stood up for me. But I did nothing. -p.234

- This is what Havel is saying about living in the truth. Stick to your convictions even when you face adversity. It is interesting that in this case Kostka does nothing to continue living in the truth - proof that inaction is sometimes as effective as action - just like the greengrocer doesn't put up the signs in his shop.

Class Discussion for 3.13

In class today we focused on the question “What makes art political?” In books and films, often how the characters are portrayed (their beliefs and ideas and also the settings and situations the characters are put in and how they react and deal to them) are what makes the work political. Arts have the opportunity to make their political statements very subtle ways or in outright ways, though subtlety is much less likely to be censored.

Censorship in itself is interesting because it often does the opposite of what it’s supposed to. When something is censored, it is even more popular. Czechoslovakia was very pro-censorship. This gave some art a political meaning, even when the artist did not intend it to be political or the viewers do not see it as political. This makes Communist Czechoslovakia (the censor-ers) their own worst enemy.

I think The Joke is both art with political content and art given a political meaning because of its content. Kundera is interested in humanity and relationships and moral development and his characters just happen to be in political situations, which would suggest that it is given a political meaning after the fact. But The Joke also has political content, as seen through Ludvik leading a bourgeois lifestyle even under Communism and poking fun at the “Baptism” and therefore mocking the regime. It’s political because it’s critical of the current political situation.

We then moved on the truth in art. In this case The Joke, a fictional novel, can still have truth. While characters and situations can be fictional, made-up, the characters’ feelings and reactions can be true in the sense that people Trudy do react and feel that way and can relate. Simply, it represents life the way it is.

Finally we talked about the truth in music. This left me with a question:

If a musical piece has no lyrics, can it still inspire the truth?

A reflection of my blog so far...

For this half of the semester I have been keeping a handwritten journal that includes details from the readings and my thoughts on them. I have tried to find connections between the novels and Havel, focusing on characters in the novel who were either living in the lie or living the truth. There have been many instances where I have been able to make these connections.

As I have gotten the hang of the blog, my posts have been more articulate. I’ve gotten better at editing my personal journal entries to make them more coherent to the readers.  The comments Bill left on my first few posts made me realize that I needed to explain my thoughts because on the blog I am “talking” to someone else, who doesn’t know exactly what is going on in my mind. Hopefully the posts keep getting better: more thought out, articulated clearly, and interesting connections and conclusions from the readings.