I agree with Briana about this story being a nice change of pace!! And I agree with Delaney that this story reminds me of Candide with the message relating to contentment.
As I read through the story, I kept going back and forth between feeling sorry for Akakiy and thinking he is wise. Maybe it is a mixture of both. He leads a pretty mundane life, but he is at peace. Not once does he look for something different than what he already has - what a hard task to overcome. I definitely struggle with being optimistic about what I have; and Akakiy has less! Maybe he has it right: keep to yourself, and be happy with what you already have. However, it leads for a a seemingly boring life. That raises the question: is it better to live a mundane, yet content, life, or to live a life where you are constantly striving for something simply to keep life exciting?
I commented on Delaney's post!
I agree! I thought the same two questions. Especially after reading the second to last paragraph on page 2. It caused him toil to go to a greater task, but when he went back to the same ole same ole task he was happy!
ReplyDeleteThese questions also crossed my mind! However, I wonder if there's a happy medium, where we can be content with what we have while still striving for something better. or maybe striving for a better self instead of a more material things?
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