Discussion: 2/3/14

In the paragraphs that were discussed today in class, the narrator talks about how it is a disease to be too conscious. I found this to be slightly ironic, given the narrator’s judgmental and highly-conscious attitude. He seems to be very self-aware, in addition to being aware of others. I think that his close study of his own behavior is what causes him to hate himself. If people were to study everything that they did, it is only natural that they would find flaws that they may have otherwise been unconscious of. Many individuals tend to dwell on their negative attributes much more so than on their positive ones. I feel that the narrator’s self-loathing is due to his overly-analytical behavior. These paragraphs also touched on the “sublime and beautiful”. I interpreted his ideas regarding this topic as him claiming that beauty is lost once an individual overthinks. People sometimes like to photograph moments in order to preserve the memories, rather than simply enjoying that moment. I think this example ties a little bit to the narrator’s ideas. Once someone tries to overthink the beauty by capturing it in photos, the moment is lost and can never be returned.