Ethan Hafener > Recent Status Updates

So far my favorite aspect of “A Book of Noises”, beyond it’s vivid descriptiveness, is the way in which it binds the sciences and the arts as equal tools necessary to understand our world, such as in the chapter on the waves, where the concepts of poets and biologists alike are cited.

A delightfully descriptive book.

Chapter 22 was by far my favorite chapter. Holden having to go to fate with his actions, especially in the face of someone he loves, really puts his character on the spot. It’s also once again showing how scarred he really is, again, through his actions and those around him. Also, the whole part of “the Catcher in the Rye” truly showed quite a bit of his self-understanding.

Holden’s views on his own life and the world around him are very well explored in the chapters following his arrival in New York. He explains more of his background, once again in a “nonchalant” way, clearly distancing himself from whatever pain he may secretly have, and his interactions with other around show how really thoughtful and sensitive he truly is, although he may not have the desire to show it.

Salinger’s way of writing both Holden’s inner thought and dialogue is extremely impressive. I love how you can feel that there are feelings repressed underneath the text, covered in layers of self-protecting nonchalance. Holden has problems, but he doesn’t display that outwardly, it’s taken from his thoughts that he tries to play off, as well as his actions. I also love how he is clearly very thoughtful.

So far I’m really enjoying the style of writing used by J.D. Salinger. It shows us the mind of Holden, our main character, though in a way that, in my opinion, shows that he’s not fully taking things seriously. I’m excited to see if his perspective on this changes throughout the book.

Chapter 16 is so interesting, I really love the agreements presented for the philosophy of the new world. While it is of course dystopian, it’s in a way that seems so ethically sound, despite any moral objections.

Finally seeing John’s revelations turn into action was really fun to read. I especially loved how eagerly Helmholtz joined in.

I find it really compelling that different parts of the human condition are explored through the lens of the epiphanies of the various characters, each developing their own thoughts of stuff that would only seem rational to a normal person of our age.

I really like the tongue and cheek way Aldous Huxley compares his imagined futures to the anxieties of the time he was writing in. Listening to the dialogue of Linda, a person thoroughly brainwashed with the thoughts of the new age, contrasted to John, who seems to be uniquely situated to be able to think in ways both suiting of the new and old, is a really cool way to understand the message he’s trying to convey.

I find the idea of a dystopia formed through bioengineering quite interesting. Of course as a (hopefully) future biologist, I find the technology really exciting and am hopeful of it’s potential uses, it only makes sense to see the zealousness with which we “play God”, so to say, as something that could very easily lead to harm in the future.