Larry, the protagonist of Blade of Mao Mu, lived an ordinary life for the first half of his life, staying with people he liked and hanging out in a circle of friends until his Irish friend died in an army war to save him. Larry felt very sad and began to think about life, trying to find out whether there was a God or not. Trying to figure out why there is evil in the world; Want to know if his soul is immortal? So, he began to embark on an endless journey.
I like Larry better than strickland in The Moon and Sixpence. His character is at least fine. Although he gave up material things and his beautiful fiancee to find the true meaning of life, he understood others and that most people played by routine, and did not require everyone to have his outlook on life. Larry told Isabel that what he was after was as passionate as what Gray wanted to make a lot of money, and he couldn't stop the car. Larry didn't escape from reality. After some efforts, he finally had an epiphany, came back to life and tried his best to help others. Mao Mu wrote on the title page of Blade that "the blade is not easy to cross, so the wise man said that the road to redemption is difficult." Many people find it difficult to do it, even when they pursue freedom, they are scarred and eventually give up or even become escapists. But Larry did it. He crossed the blade of this knife and suddenly realized that he was not born to enter a monastery. He will lose the word "I" and live in this world with compassion, accept the form of life and feel the inner infinity. So, Larry found a space, filled himself up and hid himself in the city. Actually, Larry is very simple. This simplicity, as Ma Yifu said, "He has learned a lot, but he still has pity for every grass and tree." He has seen a complicated world, and a clear spring still flows in his heart. There are good and evil in human nature, but Mao Mu's description of him is almost perfect. Is there such a person in this world? Maybe, maybe, he is a bus driver, a restaurant waiter or a character in a noisy society.
On the contrary, Isabel pursues realism. She and Larry come from two different worlds and are doomed not to work together for life. Isabel is sober. She knows what she wants. What she wants is material things and status, doing what others do, going to parties, playing golf, wearing beautiful clothes and so on, so she broke off her marriage with Larry and married honest and rich Gray. It is said that love is a very bad sailor. Once you take a boat, you will be haggard. When Isabel and Larry were across the Atlantic Ocean, she was surprised to find that the seemingly unbearable pain had softened before she left. This is the experience of a man who has been under the sea. When you hit a nail in love and feel pain, you immediately got on a big ship. Isabel can't understand Larry's spiritual world, and even being together will be very painful. On the contrary, if combined with gray, she will be happier. Although Isabel lives a vain life, who knows that she is unhappy? The life she pursues is more like most of us. In order to pursue material life, she is diligent and has her own principles and sophistication. She believes that if you want to get along well in this world, you have to accept the world and not do things that others think are unreliable. For example, we should have a sense of responsibility and responsibility, do a satisfactory job, earn a sum of money by our own efforts, support our families, and let our children receive proper education and enjoy their old age. In fact, what kind of life you live is your own decision. If you can follow your heart, grow and improve yourself, it may not be a good thing.
Interestingly, Isabel said to Mao Mu, "If I am not haggle over every ounce, selfish or noble, I will marry Larry and live his life. If you really love him, you will ignore the world. " Mao Mu hit the nail on the head and replied, "You can also say it backwards. If he really loves you, he will not hesitate to do what you mean. " Many people ask whether they will leave someone because they love him too much. In fact, this question has different answers in different situations. But what is certain is that you have to love yourself to learn to love others. It can't be said that Isabel doesn't love Larry, but she loves diamonds and mink coats more. Can't say Larry doesn't love Isabel. It's just that he doesn't want to tie Isabel down and forcibly change her worldview. It's just that he has more touching feelings, and love is insignificant compared with it. Larry's emotion is selfless love. Therefore, Jonathan Lee sang "You can't get what you want, but you can't get it" in the song "A Song for Yourself", which just shows the helplessness that Isabel and Larry can't have each other.
Coincidentally, Eliot also embarked on the road of realism. He has been pursuing high society all his life. Eliot believes that if you don't often appear in important occasions, you will be forgotten. Before he died, he wanted to attend a flashy party. He attended so many parties and hung out with the princes, dukes and earl, and now they have forgotten him. It is a sorrow that his life is so useless and boring. On the one hand, he is so immersed in social circles. On the other hand, he takes care of his family and friends. He is a kind, considerate and generous person. I have to say that this old man is also very cute.
Two other characters in the book are vividly portrayed by Mao Mu, one is Sophie who is addicted to laziness, and the other is Susan who is born with beauty. These two women are also very tacky and are loved by many readers. Sophie used to live a happy life, but later she became degenerate because of the loss of her husband and children, and numb herself through debauchery and alcoholism. Isabel thought she didn't save herself and didn't respect herself, but Larry saw her lovely soul. When Larry was young, when reading poems with her under the elm tree, he felt that the skinny child contained the seeds of soul beauty. Therefore, Larry, who has a lofty sense of mission, wants to save her, but Sophie doesn't want such redemption. She has let herself go. In the end, she was injured by the knife of fate and went to self-destruction.
Susan, this is a woman who knows what she wants. Her poverty has bound her pursuit of spiritual freedom, so she wants to get rid of poverty by becoming a painter's mistress to make a living. After she gave birth to typhoid fever, she left the hospital and had a hard time. Until one day she met Larry and chatted with him. Larry took her and her children to a lakeside town for recuperation. During that time, Larry gave her a lot of help. She once said to Mao Mu, "I almost fell in love with him once, which is tantamount to falling in love with a shadow in the water, or a ray of sunshine, or a cloud in the sky. I finally survived. " Susan knew it was stupid to fall in love with Larry, so she didn't fall for it. But she understood Larry's spiritual world and realized his transcendental freedom. Susan's just-right shrewdness and reality brought her a happy ending. In the end, she became a lady who opened an art exhibition and lived a decent life.
In fact, every character in Oscar Pistorius has his own home: Eliot becomes a social celebrity; Isabel has gained a stable position in an active and cultured society, and has a fortune as a backer; Gray has found a stable and profitable job, and can work from 9 am to 6 pm every day; Susan Rouvier has a life guarantee; Sophie is dead. Larry found a way to settle down.
Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby, we can't judge right from wrong? Say: "whenever you want to criticize someone, you must remember that not all people in this world have what you have." Mao Mu also said: "Because people, whether men or women, are not just themselves; It is also the homeland, a toddler farm or city apartment, games played when I was a child, mountain and sea classics I heard privately, meals I ate, schools I attended, sports I cared about, poems I sang and gods I believed in. All this has led them to become like this. " Therefore, people's growth environment is very different, and everyone has their own three views and difficulties. Therefore, it is enough for everyone to do three things well and know what is right; Then do it; Don't force others to do it Now there are many keyboard men on the Internet. Just as Wang Xiaobo said, they are paranoid, have poor thinking, listen to other people's suggestions and impose their extreme thoughts on others.
Ordinary people, like Eliot and Isabel, don't have much pursuit of material and status, and they can't achieve Larry-style detachment. They want to find a balance between the two. So what? How can we balance the two and achieve self-improvement? We can only find the answer by groping forward.