As Guy Debord claims, “In a dérive one or more persons during a certain period drop their relations, their work and leisure activities, and all their other usual motives for movement and action, and let themselves be drawn by the attractions of the terrain and the encounters they find there” (Debord). The book “Hopscotch”, by Julio Cortazar is a book full of derives. La Maga and Oliveira are both on a derive throughout the book. *My derive took place in the mountains of Tehachapi, CA, which was an exciting, and stressful experience. Oliveira and La Maga both had their own experiences throughout the book, which also connects to my experience during my hike with my friend Alexan in the mountains of Tehachapi, CA. It was Saturday morning at Alexan’s vacation home in Tehachapi, CA. We ate our breakfast, and decided to go for a hike in the dangerous mountains of Tehachapi. It was approximately fifty degrees Fahrenheit and the clouds had covered the mountains, causing the area to be very foggy and difficult to see. Knowing that it was not a good idea Alexan still managed to convince me to go hiking, and he said to me, “Don’t worry it will be fine”. This reminded me of Oliveira saying to Ronald, “I think you feel very sure of yourself, firmly planted in yourself and in your surroundings” (Oliveira 161). Both Ronald and my friend Alexan felt very sure that they were right, and did not have any worries. I do not think Alexan even took a single thought about the dangers we could face hiking in the steep mountains with the harsh conditions we were facing. Ronald did not care to change his mind and agree with Oliveira, because he felt very confident with what he believed. We got our gear for hiking and started our hike. This was the excit... ... middle of paper ... ...more rational for what we do or say. My derive on a hike with my friend Alexan helped me understand a lot of similarities and differences between my friend and I, as I mentioned and described. It also helped me understand some similarities between Oliveira and I, and La Maga and Alexan. Thankfully after three hours of waiting on the top of the mountain with Alexan the fog had disappeared, I received one bar of reception on my cell phone and found our way back to Alexan’s vacation home. It was an experience I had never had, and brought me to a conclusion that a derive can occur in any possible way just like the book “Hopscotch” that can be read in any way one desires to read. Works Cited Cortazar, Julio. “Hopscotch.” New York: Pantheon Books, 1987. Print. Debord, Guy. “Theory of the Derive.” Bopsecrets.org. Bureau of Public Secrets, 1958. Web. Jan. 29 2013.
Throughout all texts discussed, there is a pervasive and unmistakable sense of journey in its unmeasurable and intangible form. The journeys undertaken, are not physically transformative ones but are journeys which usher in an emotional and spiritual alteration. They are all life changing anomaly’s that alter the course and outlook each individual has on their life. Indeed, through the exploitation of knowledge in both a positive and negative context, the canvassed texts accommodate the notion that journeys bear the greatest magnitude when they change your life in some fashion.
The balance between fear and foresight is a necessary component for an individual to maintain a healthy lifestyle, an imbalance of these components can potentially put people in difficult situations as it relates to their survival. Fear can be a humbling experience when it is not balanced with foresight, the nuances of that particular experience instills a subconscious thought in an individual that resonates with fear, in terms of people realizing their mistakes and making the necessary adjustments in life.
In addition, fearing the experience of failure enables us to feel vulnerable but vulnerability is the birth place of innovation, creativity, and change. Failure takes a hold of most people but regularly do they see it as a chance to learn and react. They step aside from the lessons that they play and give up. But in The Alchemist “The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.” (Coelho 11)In the end he felt fully elated and feeling alive brings birth to his adventure and a path to succeeding his personal legend. In an interview with my uncle, German, he talks about the fear of failure but most of all what comes from the acceptance of fear. Born in Mexico, the expectations from his parents where diminished to what
In this case, knowing the ocean can be unpredictable these mean still chose to go through with their journey. Even though the probability of dying is low, taking a risk that could mean losing a life is not worth it. Therefore, people need to be knowledgeable about the activities that they are going partake in. For example, In “To build a Fire,” a man went on an expedition to map out a pathway and he went all alone, along with his dog. This man did not learn enough about his expedition until he got himself involved in the life or death situation. “That man from Sulphur Creek had spoken the truth when telling how cold it sometimes got in the country. And he had laughed at the time!” Consequently, the man had died on this journey, for making decisions that were risky. Another example of getting involved in a life-or-death situation is volunteering to go to war. Although these people want to protect their country, they need to know that there is a risk involved in going to war. For example, In the story “Moral Logic of Survival guilt,” it talks about soldiers who choose to go to war, and either come out dead or
Whereas the interpreter is obliged to go to the depth of things, like an excavator, the moment of interpretation [genealogy] is like an overview, from higher and higher up, which allows the depth to be laid out in front of him in a more and more profound visibility; depth is resituated as an absolutely superficial secret.(18)
Christopher McCandless made the decision in April of 1992 to venture into the Alaskan wilderness, inspired by the Transcendentalist works of Henry David Thoreau, along with the works of other authors. This decision was made without consulting anyone, and this decision famously ended with McCandless’ death months later. For most people, the idea of living in the secluded Alaskan wilds without any means of communication or navigation is a sign of mental illness. When McCandless made this decision, he effectively ignored the opinions of thousands of people, and decided that his views were somehow more valid. This ideology of “a challenge in which a successful outcome is assured isn't a challenge at all” led to McCandless embarking on a challenge in which a successful outcome was not only not assured, but simply not possible (Krakauer 182). Had McCandless talked to anyone, literally anyone at all, he would’ve been told that this plan was a suicide mission. This shows that the opinions of the general population can be lifesaving.
Living in the wilderness is difficult, but understanding the meaning of such lifestyle is even more difficult. One of the Christopher’s admirable qualities was that he was well aware of what he was doing. He knew about the difficulties and dangers that he would face into the wilderness, and was mentally prepared for that. Author Jon Krakauer says that “McCandless was green, and he overestimated his resilience, but he was sufficiently skilled to last for sixteen weeks on little more than his wits and ten pounds of rice. And he was fully aware when he entered the bush that he had given himself a perilously slim margin for error. He knew precisely what was at stake” (182). McCandless was an educated youth, who loved nature and dreamed of living in the Alaskan wilderness. Although he ignored to take many necessary things with him on this
An essential part of Krakauer's argument rests upon convincing the reader that he has the authority to accurately interpret the facts of McCandless’s life. His attempt begins in chapter fourteen, where his main focus is explaining why he thinks McCandless did not go to Alaska seeking death. Krakauer establishes his credibility by drawing upon his own experiences and comparing them to McCandless’s. “If something captured my undisciplined imagination, I pursued it with a zeal bordering on obsession...” (134). This passion, he believes, is the same feeling McCandless felt while traveling across the country. At age 23, only a year younger than McCandless at the time he went to Alaska, Krakauer's preferred thrill was mountain climbing (135). During ...
I knew taking this shortcut was a mistake, yet I didn't think I had enough strength to keep climbing this monumental cliff with the others. The humidity was affecting my vision and the ground now started to spin. The muscles in my legs felt
The fear of failure has been implemented into child-hood, as it is the most influential time in a persons life. Santiago’s society taught people from young ages, that your dreams are impossible to achieve. This thinking habit imposed by society would influence the child’s life by letting them grow up not believing in themselves or their abilities. This thinking habit was passed down to Santiago by his own father, who tried to talk him out of the one thing he truely wanted to do in life; travel. “ ‘People from all over the world have passed through this village, son,’ said his father. ‘They come in search of new things, but when they leave they are basically the same people they were when they arrived.’ ” (pg 9) Your family should support your dreams, but because society imprints false ideologies into people, Santiago’s father convinces him to give up on his dreams. Even though Santiago’s father wanted “to travel the world” (pg 9-10) too, he didn’t have the courage to do so which influenced his life by “having had to bury it, over dozens of years,”. Santiago was young and impressionable at the time, and so when his very own father doubted his ability to be able to achieve his dreams, Santiago too grew up to doubt himself. This then influenced Santiago to try to bury his own life callings when faced with his Personal Legend. He used excused, “But there’s a tribal war”, (pg 115) “I
Arriving in Lima, we were greeted by swarms of taxi drivers asking if we needed rides; “No Gracias, Señor,” was a phrase that became my go-to response. I laid eyes on my cousin and uncle, and instantly let out a sigh of relief, but was met with a punch in the face of the suffocating humidity of Lima. It was close to two in the morning, and in a short thirty hours, I would be on a plane ride going to Cusco. When we were on our way to my grandma’s house, where we would be spending the night, but cousin carefully approached the subject of Machu Picchu. He told my mom and I that the rain was heavy over there, and they may have to close the park for the week due to potential floods. My heart stopped and I was about to break down. My mom instantly saw the look on my face and said, “Don’t worry, I have a feeling the rain will slow
In the human mind there are many things that go into decision-making every single day. The strong impetus that drive one’s decision in a situation: certainty and doubt. These feelings that people often have are connected very closely. It would be extremely beneficial for each and every person to be certain in all situations. Both certainty and doubt can be, and have been, the deciding factor in reaching a goal or failing in reaching it. Doubt in oneself oftentimes leads to lack of certainty, and a lack of certainty brings about doubt, and this relationship is key to success or failure in all walks of life. Both certainty and doubt are extremely forceful elements that often alter decision-making and play a huge role in people’s lives and history,