Chapter 5 - Second Half: Random Kindergarden Thoughts

[Søren Balslev]

Chapter 5 – Second Half: Random Kindergarden Thoughts

This second half of chapter 5, holds to me two particular passages worthy of
some meditation. The first being off course the meltdown of Dr. Hilarius,
(the old dying man and the deeper meaning seems to go beyond me) an event
which besides the hilarious :) theme of the mental doctor going out of his
mind, actually seems to hold some important clues, relevant to Oedipa and
the holy quest.

’Cherish it!’ Cried Hilarius, fiercely. ‘What else do any of you have? Hold
it tightly by its little tentacle, don’t let Freudians coax it away or the
pharmacists poison it out of you. Whatever it is, hold it dear, for when you
lose it you go over by that much to the others. You begin to cease to be.’
(Page 96 in my edition)

It almost goes without saying
 That I’m suggesting that the good doctor is
nearly as sane as bewildered and mentally bothered. When you think about it,
he actually (for the first time) reveals his own identity and tells, what he
believes to be the truth concerning the surrounding world and human nature.
These remarks and angst filled thoughts are addressed at Oedipa, just as she
seeks to pierce the significance of the revelations concerning the existence
of vast underground movements and systems. She longs for the soothing words
of a Freudian but she ends up getting urged to cherish those strange and
creepy notions. Coincidence? I think not :) In addition it does remind me of
the Russian belief that some religious madmen, in reality are gifted and
blessed by God with knowledge and insight that goes beyond what most mortals
can come up with. Any relevance? Eh?

Well, the second passage is the one with poor Mucho and his descent to the
inner wastelands. The journey that got him there, seems (to me at least) to
be the result of equal amounts of general emotional decadence and pharmacy.
Mucho becomes a picture of the general lack of identity (throughout America
and the world), being that walking assembly of man. Another exciting
perspective is what Mucho tells about the media and the distortion of
signals. That distortion would then have to be ever present and thereby
result in a fatal misunderstanding, right? Think some of the scholars have
touched that area before, not quite sure who though.

That’s it for now. Any feedback would be dearly appreciated :)

With kind regards

Soren.

>From the cold kingdom of Denmark.