![]() Why does Conway choose the life that is less appealing to him? Perhaps because of friendship to Mallinson and the familiar demands of society: “He was doomed, like millions, to flee from wisdom and be a hero” (Chapter 11, p. He feels forced into being “a wanderer between two worlds and must ever wander” (Chapter 11, p. 150) with the others, pretending he is waiting for the porters so he can get out. Once addicted to this prospect, he is sorry about “the double life he has to lead” (Chapter 9, p. Perrault promises Conway “long tranquilities” and “wise and serene friendships” (Chapter 8, p. 119) lays before him the path of the lama, with “mind lifted to beatitude” (Chapter 7, p. He finds himself as a “spectator in a trance” when Perrault, the High Lama, “a presence divorced from actuality” (Chapter 7, p. It is the kind of life he wishes for himself now. He feels free to challenge Chang and Perrault on their philosophy, because he is still “a representative of the British Government,” though he finds for himself “he had few misgivings” (Chapter 3, p. Yet Conway has Western “skepticism” as well as a “mystical strain” (Chapter 3, p. This makes him yearn for the “ecstatic tranquility of mind” he finds at the lamasery (Chapter 3, p. His “equanimity” is mistaken for “pluck” when actually he is “dispassionate” by nature. The other side of Conway exhibits a “love of quietness, contemplation, and being alone” (Chapter 1, p. He knows that his leadership at Baskul could lead to a knighthood and fame, but when he imagines going back to the West, he will have to face “dinners. Conway has lived through the crucible of World War I, however, and now finds he has no ambition or taste for the world, even though “No one could better play the strong man on occasions” (Chapter 4, p. Mallinson sees Conway as the hero who got them out of Baskul. In modern life, however, the two tendencies do not seem compatible, with the pull towards the inward life in Shangri-la on the one hand, and the British ideal of action on the other “finally beyond reconciliation” (Chapter 11, p. Conway also has both philosophical tendencies and warrior abilities. Philip Sidney, English poet, philosopher, diplomat and soldier, was a Renaissance man, the Western ideal of an integrated and whole person. Something a bit Philip-Sidneyish” (prologue, p. The narrator likens him to an Elizabethan with “casual versatility, his good looks, that effervescent combination of mental with physical activities. Conway is born a natural leader and man of action, winner of games and prizes. Conway finds both tendencies within him and is haunted because though they are two sides of human nature, they seem to be irreconcilable. Related to East versus West is the theme of contemplation versus action. If there is to be a war, they must bravely do their part to fight in it. While the High Lama tries to impress on Conway the horrors of another war coming, Mallinson, who has not been through war, disputes Eastern pacifism as irresponsible. He tries to bring him around to Western values again, appealing to Conway to be the hero once more and reject Shangri-la as “filthy” with its abnormally long life (Chapter 11, p. He thinks Conway has lost his mind and gone native. 163), Mallinson is horrified by the coldness of Shangri-la, “a lot of wizened old men crouching here like spiders” (Chapter 11, p. While Conway agrees with the ancient High Lama that “the exhaustion of the passions is the beginning of wisdom” (Chapter 10, p. He discovers gold in the valley and sees the commercial potential of Shangri-la as a way to recoup his losses on the stock market. Miss Brinklow believes she must actively save the souls of the heathens and studies the Tibetan language so she can convert the valley natives.īarnard notices the material details, such as that the plumbing fixtures were made in Ohio and that the lamas have imported a lot of expensive western luxuries. The Western view is that contemplation is too passive and does nothing for the world. I prefer something more practical” (Chapter 5, p. ![]() From a Western perspective the Buddhist lamas with their contemplation and peaceful withdrawal from the world seem somehow immoral, as the Christian missionary, Miss Brinklow states, “you won’t convince me that a place like this does any real good. They speak in hotel rooms of lamaseries and Buddhism, although Rutherford does travel into the wilderness to try to substantiate Conway’s story. Even the first-person narrator, and Rutherford the storyteller, Conway’s sympathetic friend, betray their English background in their doubts and questioning about the exotic life of lamas. The frame story is from the point of view of the British colonizers. The action begins with white Westerners being evacuated during a rebellion in colonial India.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |