Confucious essay

As you may know, I have begun reading The Sayings of Confucius.  Yesterday I posted a short summary of what I read, some key points, and what the authors' key point was.  Today I will review what I read and give examples of additional points the author was making, discuss if the author used any literary elements,and then add my own thoughts on the book I have chosen.

     The selection I have been reading has been very mumbo-jumbo.  It appears to have no real order to it and the individual quotes that you read don't seem to make any sense.  As I continued reading the selection, it appeared that it was a collection of impressions, sayings, and quotes, which was not organized at all.  For example, certain quotes were grouped together under Roman Numerals, but they seemed to have been chosen randomly because they had no order whatsoever. As the book did not seem have a process, the best I can tell you is that the work is very laborious and practically impossible to fathom.  Trying to pick out what the author is saying is very hard . Still, I believe that Confucius pieced together a theology for himself and others to follow.  In this book, the authors' points seem vague, if not non-existent.   Every phrase is a disembodied thought that needs a great amount of time and energy to distinguish the meaning.  I suppose his 'point' is to create a theology that he believes in.  I also believe that he wanted others to know the teachings of himself and the traditions of ancient China.


     The theme of my chosen work that I have selected is a high moral standard, along with traditional teachings.  The author, it seems, agrees with the standard, and teaches just as the traditions of China do.   To make this clearer I will say that there are not characters so much as ideas of the same core combined to make a theology.  The finished product seems to have become the theology for many Chinese.  In relation to statements, there is more of a mutual agreement.  Knowing this, you could work through the selection of Literature.  Before I knew this, my attitude towards it was that of a lost reader, not being able to discern anything at all. . In this instance, I would say  that it would only be readable and enjoyable if you were disposed to spend hours contemplating the work.  As for the conflict, the only one I have seen so far would be that of the people speaking the dialogues in the book.  Theologies  took the place of characters.  They  taught you to live your life the best you can.  They (the theologies) did not fear anything because they were ideas and not persons. Because of this, I feel like they are to be respected, even if you don't believe in what they teach.  Symbolism has been used, at a certain extent, with gentlemen, love, and ladies. Again, there is no setting because there are no characters. The style of the text is an arrangement of quotes or conversations that are placed in numerical order. The tone seems to be a religious tone in respects that it is taking a moral and methodical approach.  There are some similes and metaphors  in the selection, but not many.  One example is a theology provided by a great philosopher. It reads: “One thread runs through all my teaching.”
This means that all his teachings had a single base, or foundation.

      My own thought on this book are mixed. I believe that this book is a great work to meditate on, but it would not be the right material to use for my Literary Explorations class. The book I need is a book that has all the Literary Elements in it and that I will be able to understand. Also, if I didn't have to meditate the meaning of every word it would help. As it was, I could not understand what it was saying, and I couldn't piece it together.  I believe that to do well on this course, I will need to begin another book and use it instead.  This book is not suited for my needs. 

     After reading a part of this book, I have come to the conclusion that I need to redirect and do this course with another book.  My attitude is that of a reader who would not be interested in this type of study. I can't see what the author is trying to tell me, and his points seem vague.  Though it is a book, it does not have everything it needs to have to meet with the criteria of the course.  In this instance, I would say  that it would only be usable if I was disposed to spend hours contemplating the work.All in all, this book will not be the right material for this class.
 CRB

 Links I used:
http://www.csuchico.edu/~cheinz/syllabi/asst001/fall97/11kshinn.htm