For some reason I was immediately drawn to this small snippet of the story. I actually enjoyed it more the second time, re-reading it without the semi-random filler pages in between. As a quick reminder for those who are curious, the Pedestrian Story runs from pages 149 – 159 and recounts Square’s journey from leaving the world of drivers and becoming a pedestrian full-time, or at least that how it seems.
I guess what drew me to the story was that it made me think about the way I see the world. Here in 2008, it seems like the world only has one speed – very fast. Rarely do people, especially students, take the time to slow down and see things differently. At one point in the story, Square climbs the stairs to the top of a sky scraper and looks down on the world he is a part of and it put things in a different light for him and helps him to understand this new aspect of his life. When he first started his new pedestrian lifestyle he was constantly shoved and bumped around by random people on sidewalk. We all seem to struggle when we first try new things, but as he developed as a walker he began to mesh with the masses and discovered a new way to do things.
I’m not sure I’m making much of a point but I just really enjoyed the idea of changing the pace and state of one’s life and being able to view things in a different way, which I think what was meant by the phrase, “he reflected upon his new life, and the fact that what he had once understood to be the world, had only been a world of drivers (p. 157).” During this story, Square discovers a few things about himself and his life, and it makes me wonder what I’ve missed out on by being a “driver” the past few years of my life.
3 comments:
I agree-- I found this particularly interesting because I could not really deceiver the beginning of the story (he lost a parking spot and gave up?). I have yet to discover how it fits into the story, but perhaps it was simply an important bit of characterization of Square he felt necessary to share.
Personally, it reminded me of an especially happy day I decided to spend walking everywhere in Austin.
Your post was a good affirmation for me. I've been a bit nervous lately because I quit my full time job. I quit because I was working 40+ hours a week and trying to keep up with all of my homework. I was going way too fast. I knew I needed to slow down. It all got too much for me so I quit. I decided to take my life back and slow down. Yes, I won't have all the money I have been used to having, but I will now have the time to slow down and notice the things that pedestrians see. Thanks for your post.
Walking is great; so is riding a motorcycle. That way you get high speeds, but it also allows you to really take in your surroundings.
But yeah, I'm pretty ready to stop doing the whole work and school thing to get some more free time to really enjoy being alive.
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