I am posting this anonymously as it contains personal information.
If the student who wrote it wants to be identified it's up to him/her.
“Geremio gazed about and was conscious of seeming to understand many things. He marveled at the strange feeling which permitted him to sense the familiarity of life. And yet-- all appeared unreal, a dream pungent and nostalgic.”
This quote shot me to my core because this is how I felt after losing my dad. Moments of silence, or moments that had so much going on around me yet nothing at all, provided me with so much clarity, yet utter confusion. I could sense that Geremio was on the brink of his fate. He felt he understood life so well, yet it couldn’t be possible to be so understandable. After losing my dad, I felt more vulnerable and in touch about humanity than ever before, but it all felt like a dream. I would think the most realest thoughts I have ever had, but did not believe them either. And then, in the next few pages, the gruesome details of their deaths were painful and stinging. They were so vivid. Now, I wonder what the rest of the novel will be about and how raw it will become.
“Geremio gazed about and was conscious of seeming to understand many things. He marveled at the strange feeling which permitted him to sense the familiarity of life. And yet-- all appeared unreal, a dream pungent and nostalgic.”
This quote shot me to my core because this is how I felt after losing my dad. Moments of silence, or moments that had so much going on around me yet nothing at all, provided me with so much clarity, yet utter confusion. I could sense that Geremio was on the brink of his fate. He felt he understood life so well, yet it couldn’t be possible to be so understandable. After losing my dad, I felt more vulnerable and in touch about humanity than ever before, but it all felt like a dream. I would think the most realest thoughts I have ever had, but did not believe them either. And then, in the next few pages, the gruesome details of their deaths were painful and stinging. They were so vivid. Now, I wonder what the rest of the novel will be about and how raw it will become.
COMMENTS
I didn't realize the significance of this quote until now. Its kind of similar to when everything happens in slow motion right before something really bad happens. I have never experienced these things but I find this so fascinating. Perhaps the mind is drawing from other astral planes, hence the out of body feeling. Who knows? Wish I could relate.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the lost of your dad . Honestly I didn't notice how deep this quote till I read your reply to it . This quote shows lost there are moments in life that you cant control . that a moment of fate was out of this control . Like they say when its your time ,its your time . Your responses really brought meaning to the quote and glad the professor was able to share with us .
ReplyDeleteThe "calm" that comes over people before they die, I believe to be true. When a close friend of my family died, the deceased sister said she noticed something very strange about her sister that she never saw in her before. Days preceding her death, she became somber, relaxed, and sort of without any pains, troubles or worries. She said that it was almost as if her sister knew that she was going to die. Until this day, this is a very chilling story to me.
ReplyDelete"I felt more vulnerable and in touch about humanity than ever before, but it all felt like a dream. I would think the most realest thoughts I have ever had, but did not believe them either." I lost my grandmother and it became as if I was alive in the world but not living, I could dream but then I felt it all to be so untrue because in the end we die and lost it all. Like Paul in the book my faith became tested and like his greatest mistake to question god I did also.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry about the loss of your father. I had a similar experience when my grandfather passed away. Even though it happened almost eight years ago, I can still remember the night it happened and the next day in exact detail. I remember feeling like I had clarity about a lot of things, but at the same time I felt like I knew nothing. I remember the whole day in kind of "freeze frames" - like pictures of where I was standing, what I was wearing, what I saw at the funeral, and they have a sort of dreamlike feel to them. It was all so surreal, it almost felt like I was watching it happen in a movie. I felt connected to my family and the people around me, but at the same time,also cut off from meaning and alone.
ReplyDeleteI honestly did not see this quote as deep, even after reading the student's comment. I am sorry for the student's loss. Although I have had my fair share of deaths and major hospitalizations in the family, I can not identify with what all the students above have felt. I did not find myself thinking differently than I had before. This could be in part due to my personality. I always identify the reality of things, and I always stay grounded, or so I believe.
ReplyDeleteThat quote is just another example of how good Donato is at providing vivid, emotional descriptions. A lot of his writing produces a strong reaction in of me. It doesn't surprise me that a fellow student felt a connection to the words.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your father.
I am also sorry to hear about the loss of your father. And I too did not see the significance of this line until I read your reply. I guess it's hard to understand something like this until you are in a situation the places you at near death. I do hear people say that everything begins to slow down and you get this sense of awareness and clarity right before the end. I guess it was the same for Geremio.
ReplyDelete