Fragility of Life

Reflecting on the life and death of Marc Andre Leclerc, legendary Canadian alpine hiker, has drawn an interesting parallel to our class. Leclerc was a universally liked, divinely charismatic, and ultra talented climber. While climbing an Alaskan mountain, he and his friend Ryan Johnson perished while descending after blazing a never-before climbed route to Mendenhall Tower. Upon hearing his untimely and far too early death, I could not think but thinking of Hyoi, a Hrossa who took Ransom under his wing. In the story, Hyoi represents the moral good that stems from caring and love. Hyoi recognizes the value that life holds. Like Hyoi, Leclerc was known for his genuinely joyous mentality and his lust for life. When asked about what motivates his obsessive pursuit over blazing new, dangerous trails, he would often reply "I do it so that other people don't have to." Hyoi and Leclerc both appreciated the natural beauty that life had to offer, and both of their full and promising lives were unfortunately cut short.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Heidegger (I Guess)

In "The Origin of the Work of Art," Martin Heidegger characterizes the essence of art as work which contributes to the unconcealment ( aletheia ) of reality, i.e. the literal (or perhaps literary, given his emphasis on poetry) construction of truth. This philosophy/ontology seems quite compatible with Lewis's bit in "Myth Became Fact," wherein he describes myth as reality. Heidegger describes unconcealing as the existential project of the Dasein, i.e. the human being, and artistic manifestation of the aesthetic impulse is a prime way of doing this: realizing and bringing-forth qualities of Being, facilitating the dialectical relationship between world and earth. Poetry is a privileged art form for Heidegger, given the profound intertwining of language with the human condition (the Dasein ). "Language is the house of the truth of Being," says Heidegger. Thus, Lewis's proclamation that myth, i.e. narrative, i.e. a particular manifestation of poetic a...
Read more

"Myth Became Fact" and the Chronicles of Narnia

In the brief essay “Myth Became Fact” from his collection God in the Dock, C. S. Lewis described myth or narrative as the “isthmus” that connects the abstract realm of thoughts and ideas with the concrete world of experience. It is the mythic aspect of Christianity, therefore, which is potentially the most vital element of the tradition, given its proximity to the Truth. Myth allows us the closest thing to actual tangible encounter which we can experience while still allowing for contemplation in the ideal/abstract. It is fascinating to see this idea played out by Lewis himself through his Chronicles of Narnia, which offer a different, more fairytale-esque myth which nevertheless shares much of its essence/meaning with the Christian narrative. Through the Chronicles, we are treated to much of the substance of the Christian story but served in a childlike packaging (like one of Father Christmas’s gifts, no doubt). In other words, the Narnia narrative arguably communicates much of the ...
Read more

From Narnia to Malacandra

Having finished reading Narnia and started onto the Space Trilogy, I find it very interesting how much more real Lewis’s science fiction world seems to me than the stories of Narnia. Somehow I find it far more easy to believe that there might be a fantastical world where angels dwell on Mars than there’s an equally fantastical world that might be accessed from various closets, caves, and paintings where animals can speak. Partially, I think this is because Out of the Silent Planet is narrated in such a manner that it’s trying to relay incredulous facts in the form of fiction to an understandably skeptic viewer, while Narnia has the feel of a story about it. And while that is not to cast doubt upon the truth that stories carry, it must be admitted that stories are true in different ways than what might be commonly regarded as facts are true. Although some of you may disagree with me on that. Come to think of it, I cannot help but wonder if the way the events of Ransom’s journey to M...
Read more