It's all in the little things
In our lives, we are constantly busy, waking up in the early hours of the morning, rushing to catch a bus, scrambling to finish a project for school or work. We often find ourselves caught up in the problems and challenges we face in our life. However, Howie in “The Mezzanine” has a different outlook on life. Howie pays attention to the seemingly menial parts of life. He has an almost child-like perspective on his life because of the simpleness of what he describes. However, his thought process is relatable because of the complexity of the way he articulates and describes the objects or events that he is experiencing.
It appears as though he has found a way to be content in his job and lifestyle that many people might find menial or boring. His extreme attention to detail may be a way of entertainment, or a means of distracting himself from his life. Howie’s way of life may seem undesirable, as it appears to lack purpose. Even if this is true, he has something that most people don’t-- the ability to relish in the smaller parts of life. This is similar to what we experienced as children, when we didn’t have real problems or worries, so we tended to focus on the simpler parts of life. Howie’s way of thinking often felt childlike as I was reading the books.
But I think we should try to be more like Howie sometimes. If we lived our lives focused more on the little things, we would appreciate these moments more. I feel like rather than life being a series of big events, it’s actually the accumulation of the little moments and experiences throughout our lives. In the end, the small moments in our everyday lives will be what we remember, even if that’s just realizing you’re meant to be with someone because you swept your apartments at the same time.
Yes I agree. Howie's child-like perspective gives light to things we normally don't think or question and I also think that we should sometimes look at things similar to Howie's perspective to really appreciate the small details and give us a different outlook on life in general.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with that. Howie is all about focusing on the small unimportant details and I find that is something that people should do more. If you only focus on the big stuff you'll get stressed out way easier and life could be way less interesting. Although that is just me and everybody is different, some people may find that they prefer to focus on the big things and if they want to do that they are free to do so.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a good point on Howie's observations. I think for each and every person, the detailed observations we make may be different though. I think it's why Howie's observations is not 100% relatable. We're not him.
ReplyDeleteI actually disagree with Edward's take on this. Perhaps we are not "him" in the sense that he is an individual, but I feel that the novel is more about how "people" as a general concept live through life. We never fully discussed this in class but I think an important difference that has to be made is between the trivial and the unimportant. In the present day, people make these two words the same, but in the context of the novel, I think they have a very different meaning. For Howie, the trivial things in life are the most important to him (Maybe even because they're trivial!). And this isn't a cliche comment about "One man's trash is another man's treasure", I'm saying that for Howie, there truly isn't an "insignificant" thing. Everything on his journey up the escalator allows him to relate to a memory that he's experienced. Maybe we don't have the same experiences as him, but we personally have our own connections between various objects. I think this novel is trying to get us, as readers, to recognize these and appreciate them more.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that Howie has some traits of a child, as he constantly wonders how certain items work. This curiosity is present as we are growing up and are trying to learn the world around us, but at a certain point, I feel like we slow down as we become more accustomed, not needing to know how the straw manufacturers designed the straw being used. I think it is interesting though because although Howie is childlike, we see him looking at certain things that children probably wouldn't, like certain aspects of working in an office.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Howie uses this as a way to keep himself entertained and content. He is always striving to find little tips and tricks for his everyday activities to make them better or more efficient. His focus on this aspect of life is different from me and I'm sure many other people but it is what stops him from seeing life as mundane and repetitive.
ReplyDelete