Me And Earl And The Dying Girl Analysis

The philosophy of Taoism insists that it is completely pointless and a waste of effort to fight against nature’s course. In the film “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015),” Greg would benefit the most from Taoism. Greg, who is in high school, has spent the majority of his life trying to fight against life’s waves. Taoism was developed by Lao Tzu. Lao Tzu describes the Tao—translated as “Way”—as “one, natural, and eternal” (Lao Tzu pg.474). The Tao is life’s and nature’s course. The Tao consist of bonding energies, known as yin, and expanding energies, known as yang. Yin and yang are opposite forces, but each need one another to exist or make sense. For example, life needs death, the moon needs the sun, and compassion needs suffering. The

Since Chuang Tzu agreed with many of Lao Tzu teachings, so Chuang Tzu’s philosophy is quite similar to philosophy of Lao Tzu. Chuang Tzu realized that if people are always attempting to gain more power or possessions, they will be at odds with the ways of the world. They will be constantly distressed and become bitter when things do not work out for them. Chuang Tzu sees these people as “blind to what is happening and why it is happening” (Chuang Tzu pg.479). Both Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu believed that “the world has its own wisdom” (Chuang Tzu pg.479). Events will happen to a person when they are meant to happen. There is a time for everything ad people should not attempt to stop or rush a process. Chuang Tzu believed that a wise person, or the sage, truly know how to accept and “follow the way of things” (Chuang Tzu pg.480). In order to become a sage ruler, one must have knowledge of themselves first. Then the sage deeply understands nature and reality. Chuang Tzu did not preach much about political laws as much as Lao Tzu did. Though, he also agreed with Lao Tzu that the sage should anticipate violence and know how to stop it before conflict manifests. (Chuang

Greg thinks of high school as “a world onto itself” and he is extremely resistant to accept the way that this world works. He is resistant in making actual friends and belonging to any type of clique which he refers to as “various sovereign states” or “nations” (Gomez-Rejon). Greg does not even label Earl as a friend. Instead, Greg refers to Earl as a coworker because they make films together. When Greg’s mother first tells him about Rachel’s cancer diagnosis and demands him to befriend Rachel, Greg refuses to do so. After caving in, Greg experiences an awkward lunch with Rachel and her friends. Greg blames Rachel for it since he usually tries to control his social interactions. Then Rachel starts to convince Greg that he should apply for college. Again, he is reluctant because he is insecure and does not want to come in contact with new people. Though, Greg does follow some of Taoism’s philosophy—by staying neutral and trying to stay on good terms with every clique. But it becomes a task to avoid getting close with anyone. In high school and college, it is inevitable to come in contact with different types of