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The Challenge of Making Life Interesting

     On Tuesday, the 8th-period class talked about how The Mezzanine may be a reaction against the ideology discussed towards the end of the book. More specifically, the end of the book discusses an excerpt that discusses how 'transient and trivial is all mortal life.' As a class, we discussed how the book may reflect how Howie wants to focus on little things in his life, rather than how trivial everything he enjoys is. This implies that Howie is somewhat intimidated or unwilling to discuss the larger variables in his life, but I disagree. I think Howie may have taken this excerpt as a challenge to show how interesting and fulfilling life really can be. 

    I think The Mezzanine is a response to the challenge of making life seem interesting. Nicholson Baker intentionally chooses the most boring situation imaginable, a regular office worker enjoying his lunch break, and takes us on a ride through the most interesting parts of that hour. By expanding on and emphasizing small 'setbacks' in this lunch hour (shoelace breaking, meeting a half-acquaintance, etc.), Baker is able to show how minor things in a trivial setting can be quite interesting when observed in detail. 

    Baker continues this trend by reshaping our previously existing ideas about everyday objects such as staplers and doorknobs, making normal boring objects look different and major. For example, by showing how a Polish scientist is studying the abrasion of shoelaces, Baker intentionally demonstrates that small everyday occurrences can be monumental research projects and major for another person. 

    These examples were already discussed in class, but I think the difference is that I don't see this as Howie retreating into his corner with staplers and shoelaces. Instead, I think The Mezzanine takes the challenge of making everyday life interesting and showcases a story that contradicts the excerpt from Meditation. Of course, the argumentative aspects of The Mezzanine were discussed in class, but I wanted to expand on them. 

Comments

  1. Nyla Kyles September 6, 2022 at 2:24 PM

    this is an interesting take on Howie's mindset, I feel like I agree and disagree with you, I think that to a certain extent Howie took Aurelius thought process as a challenge. I also think that Howie only finds interest in those things because of the fact that he is trying to hide from the idea that to a certain extent everything in life is trivial.

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  2. Navid TajkhorshidSeptember 26, 2022 at 1:43 PM

    I like your reading as Howie going on the offensive rather than retreating to his trivial examinations. The idea that the Mezzanine is almost responding to Meditation is an interesting one, though I cannot shake the notion that some part of Howie is intimidated by Aurelius's view.

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  3. MaggieOctober 6, 2022 at 11:15 AM

    I agree with this post. I think Howie is just a dude who genuinely is interested in small trivial matters. I don't think this means he scared of non trivial matters however. If you have a set amount of water in a glass that represents big matters people think about, I think he's adding to it, not subtracting.

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