[Aww, shucks. It's still kind of a weird thing, having people actually happy to see or hear from her, and it shows a bit in the tone of voice she uses -- slightly bashful.]
Yes, I do certainly agree -- the city of London possesses many libraries created by my church for this reason, although I have yet to visit them. Knowledge is simply not to be hoarded! Take, for example, Mr Laforet, the story of the Titan Prometheus of Greek myth. Having created man from clay, he defies the gods by bestowing fire upon his children, who begin to progress and create civilizations away from the smothering gaze of their gods. One may say that we owe even this conversation to the Prometheuses of the past, most evidently the snake of Eden --
Ah, but I digress. As punishment, Prometheus is chained to a rock, his immortally regenerating liver eaten daily by an eagle, representative of the god Zeus. In bestowing knowledge upon man, he receives knowledge. He knows the beak and talons of the birds of prey, the tearing of organs from their cavity, and the short-lived cessation of pain. Little remains unexperienced by such a primeval deity; all that is left to be taught is fear. However, he is rescued by the hero Heracles, and revered as a champion of knowledge even today. The Olympians, in choosing to keep this knowledge of fire for themselves, are little more than forgotten gods -- the stuff of legends and fairy tales.
As you may see, Mr Laforet, your actions are certainly deserving of praise! Thank you.
This is a story of a young girl. A young girl whose heart is kind, but not necessarily pure. That might seem a little strange to you, but you see, she treats everyone with a strange version of kindness. Because it's so strange, people with a pure heart cannot always understand. They look at her with disdain or maybe with confusion. Some are polite, but they can't get what her kindness is trying to stay.
Ah, but you see, that's alright. Those people, those with a pure heart, they already receive kindness from each other so there's no need to worry about that.
So the question is, if they don't need her, who does? There must be someone, right?
Edited (i will always forget to remove re: sry) 2014-01-10 08:05 (UTC)
[In typical Elaine fashion, the implications, intentional or otherwise, fly completely over her head. It's a riddle, clearly, a short little mystery story. He knows she's clever, after all.
So she breaks it down. A kind-hearted but impure girl, shunned and unneeded by society thanks to a single difference. Even if it is a metaphor, she thinks, there's no way it's about her. She's the exact opposite of kind.
But maybe she can apply her life anyway. If she's not needed by the pure people of the world, who else would take her?]
If the girl were to find individuals with hearts similar to hers, I believe that would be ideal. Unneeded by those with pure hearts, she should seek out those whose impurity mirrors her own.
[You can almost hear the smile in Huey's voice as he continues his story.]
But people aren't very logical, are they? It's true though, the girl does eventually seek out those who have similar hearts. After all, because their hearts are not quite pure, they often lack kindness. Perhaps, she could find a place with these people as well.
But their corruption had tainted them. Some didn't believe they deserved kindness. Some didn't want it. They understood her and what she was trying to convey, but they just didn't care for the most part.
So the question is, if they don't need her, who does? There must be someone, right?
[And this is where she hits a wall. As far as she's concerned, even now, those are the only types of people who actually exist. If she's not needed by the pure-hearted people, and she's not needed by the impure people, then...
A tad defeated;]
... Then, I suppose, that she is needed by no one.
But there is one thing that you and the story has missed. We have been talking about her kindness this entire story, correct? That's why it's always important to look at the question carefully and to see if the correct question is being asked. The question has so far been, "if they don't need her, who does?" But we haven't been talking about the girl at all. We've only been talking about her unique sense of kindness.
So now we have two questions to answer. "Who needs this girl?" and "Who needs this girl's kindness?" It depends. Obviously this girl does not understand how to be kind in a way other people can understand and accept, right? That doesn't mean she has no purpose. Perhaps she's an artist. Perhaps she has a unique bloodtype that someone needs. There is definitely someone who will eventually need this girl.
The other question, "Who needs this girl's kindness?" Well if other people with a pure heart don't need it, and other people with an impure heart don't need it, that leaves one person, right?
The answer to that is the girl, herself. This girl deserves kindness, but no one understands her unique brand of it more than she does. And she does learn this at some point. We don't really know how or when, but at some point, she learns that she deserves it too. If she cannot be kind to other people, she can at least be kind to herself.
[There's a bit of a chuckle there]
I'm sorry, I'm not a very good storyteller. In a way, this was more of a lesson on how to interpret and ask the right questions inside of a scenario. The point of what I was trying to say is that admittedly, you say my actions deserve praise, but I have to disagree. They're pretty terrible actually.
But even if I think their wrong, I believe your words still have a lot of meaning to them. It says something about your character, and more than your kind words, that is something I can appreciate.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
observingfate) wrote2013-08-09 02:03 am
voice
Yes, I do certainly agree -- the city of London possesses many libraries created by my church for this reason, although I have yet to visit them. Knowledge is simply not to be hoarded! Take, for example, Mr Laforet, the story of the Titan Prometheus of Greek myth. Having created man from clay, he defies the gods by bestowing fire upon his children, who begin to progress and create civilizations away from the smothering gaze of their gods. One may say that we owe even this conversation to the Prometheuses of the past, most evidently the snake of Eden --
Ah, but I digress. As punishment, Prometheus is chained to a rock, his immortally regenerating liver eaten daily by an eagle, representative of the god Zeus. In bestowing knowledge upon man, he receives knowledge. He knows the beak and talons of the birds of prey, the tearing of organs from their cavity, and the short-lived cessation of pain. Little remains unexperienced by such a primeval deity; all that is left to be taught is fear. However, he is rescued by the hero Heracles, and revered as a champion of knowledge even today. The Olympians, in choosing to keep this knowledge of fire for themselves, are little more than forgotten gods -- the stuff of legends and fairy tales.
As you may see, Mr Laforet, your actions are certainly deserving of praise! Thank you.
voice
[He seems to be in thought at the story, but soon enough speaks after he seems content with what he wants to say.]
May I tell you a story as well?
voice
Yes, of course! If you would like.
voice
Ah, but you see, that's alright. Those people, those with a pure heart, they already receive kindness from each other so there's no need to worry about that.
So the question is, if they don't need her, who does? There must be someone, right?
voice
[In typical Elaine fashion, the implications, intentional or otherwise, fly completely over her head. It's a riddle, clearly, a short little mystery story. He knows she's clever, after all.
So she breaks it down. A kind-hearted but impure girl, shunned and unneeded by society thanks to a single difference. Even if it is a metaphor, she thinks, there's no way it's about her. She's the exact opposite of kind.
But maybe she can apply her life anyway. If she's not needed by the pure people of the world, who else would take her?]
If the girl were to find individuals with hearts similar to hers, I believe that would be ideal. Unneeded by those with pure hearts, she should seek out those whose impurity mirrors her own.
voice
[You can almost hear the smile in Huey's voice as he continues his story.]
But people aren't very logical, are they? It's true though, the girl does eventually seek out those who have similar hearts. After all, because their hearts are not quite pure, they often lack kindness. Perhaps, she could find a place with these people as well.
But their corruption had tainted them. Some didn't believe they deserved kindness. Some didn't want it. They understood her and what she was trying to convey, but they just didn't care for the most part.
So the question is, if they don't need her, who does? There must be someone, right?
voice
A tad defeated;]
... Then, I suppose, that she is needed by no one.
Re: voice
But there is one thing that you and the story has missed. We have been talking about her kindness this entire story, correct? That's why it's always important to look at the question carefully and to see if the correct question is being asked. The question has so far been, "if they don't need her, who does?" But we haven't been talking about the girl at all. We've only been talking about her unique sense of kindness.
So now we have two questions to answer. "Who needs this girl?" and "Who needs this girl's kindness?" It depends. Obviously this girl does not understand how to be kind in a way other people can understand and accept, right? That doesn't mean she has no purpose. Perhaps she's an artist. Perhaps she has a unique bloodtype that someone needs. There is definitely someone who will eventually need this girl.
The other question, "Who needs this girl's kindness?" Well if other people with a pure heart don't need it, and other people with an impure heart don't need it, that leaves one person, right?
The answer to that is the girl, herself. This girl deserves kindness, but no one understands her unique brand of it more than she does. And she does learn this at some point. We don't really know how or when, but at some point, she learns that she deserves it too. If she cannot be kind to other people, she can at least be kind to herself.
[There's a bit of a chuckle there]
I'm sorry, I'm not a very good storyteller. In a way, this was more of a lesson on how to interpret and ask the right questions inside of a scenario. The point of what I was trying to say is that admittedly, you say my actions deserve praise, but I have to disagree. They're pretty terrible actually.
But even if I think their wrong, I believe your words still have a lot of meaning to them. It says something about your character, and more than your kind words, that is something I can appreciate.