I actually enjoyed this part of the book more than the previous ones. Being able to focus on smaller sections allowed me to take in more of his purpose and notice things that I probably would have otherwise missed. The most intriguing chapter from this section was XXV. It really gave the reader a look at Henry Adams and more of his reasoning behind the way he thought or why he did what did certain things. He mentions that “nothing in education is so astonishing as the amount of ignorance it accumulates in the form of inert facts” (285). This is his way of rejecting his formal education, and focusing more on life’s lesson and the application of those. In this section, he also looked at women and their role when it comes to society and force. I think this is the first time that actually includes women in the book and thinks about them on another level, besides his interaction with his wife, although he tried to write less about that.
Overall, I think Adam’s use of third person is actually his way of making the book more applicable and not just his autobiography. This last section makes me feel like The Education of Henry Adams is also more about educating his reader about the issue of the past vs the future and how to deal with making that transition and learning new things.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with you that third person makes the book much more applicable. As I stated in class, I feel like this makes it a more general story and not just a "here's what I did today!" tale. I think Adams does that in order for the reader to think about their education and see if they can learn anything from Adams's experiences.
ReplyDeleteI agree that by writing in the third person Henry Adams makes the book more generalizable and I actually liked that he didn't include all of his emotions. I found other autobiographies that I have read to be painful to read because of all of the emotions and events of someone's life that I can not relate to. Contrary to what some people have said in class, reading "I" typically does not allow me to relate to the book unless the author is really general or someone similar to myself, which, in my experience, usually isn't the case. Furthermore, I take Adams' "education" less literally than most. I think that it is more of a metaphor for learning as you grow up and learning everyday even outside of the class room. When he talks about his formal education I think he is more making a statement that there are things learned outside of the class room that are more valuable than those learned with in it. I spent last week doing community service in Nicaragua and I learned more last week than I did the week before I left. I think he kept the common theme of education as a way to tie his whole life together and give the book continuity.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that making the book in third person aids its effect when reading it. I also believe that Adams is making a statement about education outside of a classroom. He does not realize that his education throughout the world has made him a smarter and wiser person. I do disagree with the fact that he wants, or realizes that these events have made an impact on his life. I too found it interesting that he mentioned women in the book on that page. But, a new age of science passed, there was also a new type of freedom and equality women longed for. They had around the late 1800's begun protesting and demanded equality of genders.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I found the book difficult to read and stay focused on, but after completing it, I do feel accomplished. I will say that through analyzing the meaning and events in class I really see some type of parallel to my life as a college student. Hopefully I will be as lucky as Adams was in terms of traveling and meeting such interesting as well as intellectually stimulating people. I also hope that as events occur I can embrace the tribulations and lessons life has to offer.
sorry to be the fourth one to post on this blog post, i guess i'm prone to following a crowd. I feel like he wrote the book completely in third person because the facts of his life did not seem to be the focus of the book, rather a means for him to present his philosophy. The time line of his life gave structure to his changing philosophies and his reflections of the United State's development. Because his life story was secondary, to his philosophy, first person would probably lead readers to believe the opposite was true. Its also likely that the presentation of his theories would be less persuasive if Adams' said "i think this". I feel like people are far more likely to reject a person's philosophy if it is obvious that it's one man's opinion. Just a thought...
ReplyDelete