Revisit the "red-tinted glasses" extended metaphor in Chapter 25 ('Kant').What's the meaning of it? How do these questions of perspective apply to your own life? Use examples from the novel and your life to illustrate your understanding of the "red-tinted glasses"metaphor/experiment.
The extended metaphor 'red-tinted glasses' shows that everyone has their own little way of seeing the world. For example, an optimistic person may see the world as a wonderful place, while a pessimistic person will only see the negative things about life, and block out the good stuff. People who look at things from many points of view will have 'rainbow coloured' glasses, while narrow minded people may have glasses of one colour. This means that people will never see the world as it truly is unless they 'take off' their 'glasses'. However, I don't think anyone can do that, as no-one in the world loves every single thing.
I feel that the term 'glasses' is inappropriate, because my point of view of something can change, which means that my glasses will be altered. However, real life glasses cannot change magically, they have to be replaced every time a change is needed. I feel a more flexible term than glasses is needed.
I am always interested in peoples opinions of different things. I am always asking what people think of that lesson, or that teacher. This shows me a different point of view, therefore a different tint. I also think babies are born with colourless glasses, but their lifestyle influences them to become tinted. For example, in Nazi Germany, young children were all trained to hate Jews and minorities, and a strong 'tint' like that can be very, very hard to change. I am just thankful that students in Hong Kong and most other countries today grow up so that they do no only have one colour on their glasses.
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4 comments:
True, Jostein Gaarder's tinted glass metaphor may be limiting but that's how our world and launguage work. Perhaps the mind would be a better example of how each and every one of us uses a different perspective.
I find your idea of equating taking off the red tinted glasses and having the best perspective is faulty. Taking off the glasses would equate to having no perspective. However, everyone has a unique perspective so everyone wears a different pair of glasses. Perhaps this is the trouble of Gaarder's comparison of perspective and glasses again.
Hi Geoffrey. You made some really convincing points here. You may want to state better examples to back up your ideas though.
You made pointed out that people when people where the glasses they do not see the world as it truly is. I agree with this, but you then went onto say that people cannot take their glasses off 'as no-one in the world loves every single thing.' I think people prefer not to remove their glasses because they cannot accept the reality and the truth, rather than your point being they do not 'love every single thing'.
Your essay is short but precise. Well done. However you have not referred to the book/chapter much. I notice you don't agree completely to the book and the ideas presented, but maybe a little more refrence to the book to back up why you don't agree, would help!
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