So whatever voodoo water you've been drinking, please offer some to the rest of us.
I first need to apologize that this post is going to kick the porn paintings down the totem pole a spot. Although, I must admit that Jimmy will probably become more productive. After Nick posted those paintings, Jimmy checked the blog on the hour and spent more time in the bathroom than usual.
Now that the month is over and My Name is Asher Lev is wrapped up, I wanted to give my final impression on the book. I'm astounded that Ben called the ending like a prophetic monk that had been fasting for three months. I was pretty shocked when he came up with the idea of painting the crucifixes. Asher's life was a culmination of several compromises. The more he painted the further he drifted from being a devout Jew. That is true of anything you spend your time with. When I served my mission, my life was significantly lop-sided in spirituality. Now that I'm married, have a job, and try to have a social life, my spirituality has come back down to a more evenly distributed level.
I'm all for being well rounded. I think versatility is one of the most important things someone can develop in life (the parable of the talents, for example). But, ultimately I agree with Asher's mother as she was walking out of the gallery. There are limits. Asher went too far. I don't follow Shakespeare's, "To thine own self be true" in all instances. I personally think that we have a filter in our brain that allows us to cast some ideas or words to the side before we throw them into reality. Asher may not have been the great painter he could have possibly been if he hadn't painted those crucifixes, but does anyone need to be at that level at the expense of those who matter most to you? There is a theme presented several times in the book that taking life is the worst thing someone can do because you kill the generations of people who would have been had not their progenitor been killed. What Asher did will have similar ripple effects to his generations. His kids would never know their grandparents, great aunts and uncles, everyone with whom Asher associated throughout his life. And even if he didn't have kids his actions would echo in that community for a long, long time.
It's disappointing. I wish he wouldn't have done that. The Rebbe was right to tell him to leave. Jacob Kahn was right to tell him that he better become a great artist as the only recompense for the pain he caused. Once you've done something to that magnitude, the only thing you can do is spend the rest of your life trying to justify it.
I'm looking forward to The Chris Farley Show.
1 comment:
RIDICULOUS that he called that. Then again, everything about Ben, mentally AND physically, is RIDICULOUS. I hope to be reincarnated as Ben one day.
The great thing about this book is that Potok doesn't push an agenda. He leaves it up to the reader to decide on which side of the fence he falls. In this case, I have to completely disagree with Frank--again reiterating the caveat that I don't think Frank is wrong, I just sided more with Asher in this case.
At the end of the book all three characters have become Christ figures--they are all seen behind the living room window, each carrying their own cross, each clinging to their own personal atonement. Frank sides with the Rebbe and with Asher's mother and father in believing that one must be tree to themself, but that there are limits. I disagree. I think that the weight of the cross we all bear in life is in direct proportion to how true we really are. I always appreciated Cameron signing those words at the end of his emails. Jacob Kahn proclaims of Asher that he is his (Kahn's) "David". Earlier in the book we learn that when Michaelangelo sculpted the "David", he went beyond all borders previously known and created a completely new form, a new vision of art and life. Asher does that with his own paintings, and is exiled. But he knew it would happen. Christ did much the same thing when looked at from a Jewish perspective. His teachings and his mission went beyond what the Jews expected from any meshiah. And for that they killed him, and their descendents have suffered for all generations to follow. What Christ did from that perspective and what Asher did are similar for me. (There are even prayers by Asher toward the end that sound eerily familiar to the Great Intercessory prayer offered by Christ). Did their actions hurt people, even generations? Absolutely. But did they fulfill their personal mission in life by being completely and totally true to themselves? Yes.
I'm sorry if my thinking is muttled or confusing. There are so many interesting points that Potok makes throughout this novel. It is fun to talk about.
One other comment before I put this to bed...If you have never seen real art--whether it be modern, contemporary, Picasso, or impressionist--but if you have never seen art that significantly impacted society, then make every effort you can to change that. I spent almost 13 hours every day for three months in the Hermitage. I have seen Rembrandt, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Picasso, Matisse, and many more of the great artists Potok writes about. Their work is incredible. It really is life-changing. And if you haven't seen it in person, then you can never understand it.
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