Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis - Book Report/Review Example

?SECTION A AND B Zorba the Greek, is a novel about personal growth, and in particular, growth because of adversity and moreover, growth also in spite of adversity. If any single term can describe the experiences of the narrator who is one of the main characters in the novel, it would be adversity. Indeed, the very novel announces a type of personal crisis of sorts, and arguably, it is a crisis that does not quite resolve itself until the end of the novel. And, at a point in the novel where the narrator has fallen in love with a widow, married her, and finally, lived through the death of her. From the very onset of the novel until the point where he comes to terms with the loss of his wife, can be described as a journey toward greater sensuality and greater self-awareness. We are introduced to the main character of the novel or the narrator at the outset in the following terms which accurately paints a sufficient portrait of his character: “Out of my pocket I drew a little edition of Dante ... the verses I was going to choose so early in the morning would impart their rhythm to the whole of the day” [Kazantzakis ]. Announced, is the very essence of the narrators life. He is an individual who is compelled to learn, and who values the life of the mind over and against the life of the senses. At the opening of the novel, we find the very intellectual oriented narrator in the Piraeus which is the port area of Athens, and the time setting is the early 1930's. The narrator has set upon the port area, so that he can find adventure or passage to somewhere entirely different. He has decided upon Crete for the purposes of getting involved with mining, and when he meets Zorba early on in the novel he is impressed with him enough to hire him on as a foreman. He takes a chance on Zorba being honest when he told him about his experience as a miner, and at the narrator has resolved to go and be a worker among workers. That is, and give up the life of the mind. In the passage quoted above, it is important to note that he is creating a situation where it is what he reads that will determine the quality of his day. This typifies the idea of putting the life of the mind or of books ahead of oneself, so to speak. It is being stressed at this point in the novel, because the entire balance of the work is a transformation away from this very image. What Zorba means to the narrator, is the gradual abandonment of the life the mind, and the eventual or progressive embracing of the senses or the sensual. In a sense, meeting the character of Zorba, is to the narrator a type of meeting himself and in particular, the sensual side of himself. Zorba is a study in contrasts with the narrator. When they arrive in Crete, they go to a hotel of Zorba's choice or suggestion. Because the narrator just unwittingly goes along with Zorba, as he does for pretty much the balance of the novel, they wind up in a place that is little more than a hut. However, the narrator soon learns the true character or nature of Zorba as he begins to make advances to the land-lady of the place where they were staying. She turns out to be a former prostitute, and it is only within moments of knowing her that he begins to basically try and seduce her: “'Beautiful nymph of the waves, we are shipwrecked and the sea has cast up us in your realm. Do us the honor, my siren, of sharing our meal!' [Kazantzakis 40]. As the evening of their first encounter progresses, they wind up becoming intimate and the poor narrator is forced to hear them during their moments of passion. It is the clear that while he is taken by Zorba on so many levels, that there is also a lot of judgment and frustration toward him at the very same time: “The whole universe of earth, water, thoughts and men was slowly drifting towards a distant sea, and Zorba was drifting away with it, unresistingly, unquestioningly, and happy”. [Kazantzakis 47]. In this passage, the narrator is describing Zorba as he is sleeping. He is reflecting on the love-making that he was subjected to hearing for a good portion of the evening, and it announces an important theme or a form of dramatic tension that carries through the novel. On the one hand, the narrator is spelling out how Zorba is just drifting away with no self-control or fortitude sufficient enough to challenge the tides, so to speak. More importantly, the quote also shows how puzzled the narrator is by Zorba's basic indifference to the state of “drifting”. It is being referred to as a 'dramatic tension' because it raises the opposites – that is, as a form of tension, of living a life in accordance with reason and method and living a life according to the whim of the senses. In many regards, the very first night that the narrator and Zorba get to know each-other, has the basic thematic elements that carry through the balance of the novel. Their respective personality differences come through – that is, between Zorba the impulsive sensualist and the narrator whose behavior's are very measured and accountable by some rationale or another. Further, the theme of the narrator's confusion is present at the outset, and this too is an element that becomes one of the central mediums by which the story or the narrative functions. As mentioned in the introduction, the store has much to do with the growing self understanding or awareness of the narrator. Concerning the notion of self knowledge, one of the things that the narrator begins to learn to deal with as something that accompanies 'a life with Zorba', so to speak, is failure. Primarily because of the prompting or the mismanagement of Zorba, they become involved with a number of business ventures that don't really succeed. Indeed, it can be said that most of what they venture into becomes a dismal failure. However, in failure, the narrator is viewed as growing at the same time. There is a noticeable transformation in both the way that the narrator reacts to failure, but also the anticipation of it. One could say that the narrator creates a more passive or relaxed persona as the failures in business begin to mount on the Island of Crete. Moreover, both Zorba and the narrator become married. Zorba does marry the prostitute named Hortense, and the narrator meets a woman who is a widow. One of the most key dimensions of the novel, is the respective fates of the brides. Both of them die, and Zorba's wife dies at the hands of a mob of angry people and the narrator's because of an illness. The closing the novel really concerns their mutual support of each other, but the narrator's resignation over the fate of his situation: A few hours later the widow was at rest in my memory, calm and serene, changed into a symbol. She was encased in wax in my heart; she could no longer spread panic inside me and paralyze my brain. [Kazantzakis 268] It is interesting to note that however much wisdom and knowing resignation that he exhibits, there is still a sense in the above passage that suggests that he also emotionally detaches. That is, he is still capable of divorcing the rational from the emotional part of himself. And, at the same time, it can be argued that this might even be a balanced response to the crisis or turmoil of the situation. Just as one can feel too little and need to change, as he does in the novel, so to with the other end of the emotional spectrum. It is possible to feel something so viscerally that severe emotional or psychological consequences could follow from it. One of the important themes of the novel, is the achievement of a harmony and a balance between the rational self and the emotional self. One of the lessons of the novel is this notion of 'balance', and the above passage was cited in full because it captures this notion very accurately. As the novel closes, the narrator decides to write about his life with Zorba and they decide to part ways for good: “Why don't you write a book yourself Zorba? ... for the simple reason that I live all of those mysteries, as you call them, and I haven't the time to write” [Kazantzakis 233-4]. c. Your impressions of the society described. Having provided an overview of the plot and an outline of the characters in Zorba the Greek, the following will turn to the topic of my impressions about the work in question. One of the most striking, and impressionistic, qualities of the novel, is the close or intimate connection to nature that is exhibited throughout. By this, it is implied in a number of important and succinct senses. First, the reader is provided with a near continual over-load of visual descriptions that establish the backdrop for the setting of the novel: “The midday sun was such as to gladden your very bones. The sea, too, was happily warming itself in the sun. In the distance the tiny uninhabited island, shrouded in light mist, looked as if it had raised itself out of the sea and was floating.” [Kazantzakis 135] There is an emphasis, it can be argued, on the vivid nature of the colors of the Mediterranean and also the overwhelming brilliance of the sunlight. Similarly, it can be said that the entire novel is one where all of the senses are stimulated. That is, while it is a very visual story, the connection with nature is expressed in other forms as well. For instance, there is unquestionably a sensual relationship to food. Eating is an action in the novel that is seemingly always connected with a social gathering, if not a full-scale celebration. Likewise, drinking plays a significant role in the novel in terms of how certain evenings or celebrations take shape as a consequence of it. Finally, nature or the connection of the society to nature is also expressed in terms of the sensuality. A theme that can be said to permeate the whole of the novel, is sensuality. And, earlier, it was discussed how Zorba's sexuality was significant right from the outset of the novel, and by contrast, the narrator has a much more gradual awakening as far as his own sexuality goes. While it is true that he is not as impulsive as Zorba, it is also the case that there is a continual progression of his character's connection with nature. This is a connection as has been outlined, that is defined not just by the physical surroundings, but also the natural elements of food, drink and sexuality. While it is true that there are certain character's that turn out to be manipulative and somewhat menacing, it is a more consistent truth to maintain that the character's are all largely warm and very engaging. One of the ways that the engaging nature of the character's are portrayed in the novel, is through the use of contrast. As has been discussed, the narrator is a figure who is essentially emotional detached. He is an individual that values the life of the mind as significantly greater than the life that pursues sensual or the pleasures of the body. In this role, he functions in the novel as a figure of contrast. And, his function lends the story an ability to really emphasize how warm and essentially engaging many of the character's and individuals that they come across are. There is likewise, a really wide cast of character's. Likewise, with this social dimension, it can be said that there is a great deal of emphasis placed on dialogue. Given that Plato, an Ancient Greek philosopher, wrote the first and arguably, the most significant dialogue's ever written, it can be said that a Greek novel such as Zorba the Greek unquestionably makes reference to this tradition. That is, there is what can be described as a continuous exchange between Zorba and the narrator on every philosophical topic imaginable. At the present juncture, it is also a claim that says that the very emphasis on dialogue in the novel, is an emphasis that conveys an important tradition within Greece. Moreover, it is an important reflection on the social character of the Greeks. While the ongoing or ever-going dialogues are an important dimension of the social character, it is also be said that so too is the relative open social nature of the encounters. More often than not, simple encounters can evolve into celebratory events, and this is arguably one of the strongest or most impressionistic ways in which Kazantzakis conveys the nature of his society. Although the novel was written in the 1940's, and it takes place in the 1930's, there is a timeless quality to the social dimension of the character's involved in the novel. One gets the impression that rural life in Crete has not changed in several millennium in this regard, and it the customs of the individuals involved also can be said to be a final important dimension of culture. d. A critique of the novel: The novel is straddles a very difficult line between absurdity or impossibility and plausibility. One of the real strengths of the work, is that he makes the seemingly strange seem very plausible. As a point of criticism, and as a positive point, there is a near fantasy or fantastical nature to much of what occurs. Even when one considers the overall change in personality that happens with the narrator. That is, one could argue that an individual like that is not very likely to just turn their lives on its head one day, and resolve to basically change everything. However, there is a naturalness to the way in which Kazantzakis conveys the strange and bewildering. While the narrator meets Zorba and immediately trusts him, this very implausible action is seamlessly articulated by Kazantzakis in way that just naturalizes the strange, so to speak. Another strength of the novel, is how the theme of growth is so convincingly articulated. Earlier, it was argued that the narrator's final acceptance as a reflection of personal growth, occurred after his wife died. While the relationship was short, there was a great deal of passion and also, eye-opening emotional content for the narrator. Kazantzakis dwells on the theme of growth, and as one of the most central theme's of the novel, it is also the theme that come's across with the most emotional content. That is, what is articulated in the form of the narrative, is also conveyed through the emotional content of the actions of the character's. In this regard, it can be said that one of the more riveting aspects of the novel, is the emotional way in which the growing pains of the narrator are experienced. Growth is nearly always positive, and at the same time, the theme of the growth as a form of challenge is likewise front and center. It is the manner in which growth is articulated that is the novel's greatest strengths. Thus, the 'form' and the 'content' unite in Zorba the Greek. Works Cited: Kazantzakis, Nickolas. 1996. Zorba the Greek. Translated by Carl Wildman. New York: Scribner. Book Review: Zorba the Greek Read More