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Different perspectives

We’re going to read chapter 6, p. 55 ff (“We walked in through the front door.”) up to the end of the chapter.

TASKS

Describe the different ways in which Quentin and Margo perceive [wahrnehmen] Orlando from the perspective of the SunTrust conference room.
Analyse how their perspectives of the same thing can be so different. What might be the reasons? Who do you think is right?
Read and think about the quote by John Milton below. “Paradise Lost” was published in 1667.
Can you see a connection between the thought expressed [ausgedrückt] in Milton’s poem and the perspectives of Margo and Quentin looking down on Orlando from the SunTrust conference room? Explain!

The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.

— John Milton in his poem “Paradise Lost”

Das Glück Deines Lebens hängt von der Beschaffenheit Deiner Gedanken ab.

— Marc Aurel, römischer Kaiser und Philosoph, 121 – 180 n. Chr.

We’re going to read Hour six, p. 256 – 257.

TASKS

What important thought crosses Quentin’s mind in this scene?
Can you see a connection to the situation discussed above, the different perspectives Margo and Quentin have on Orlando? Explain!
Reflect on your own experience: Have you ever been in a situation in which you got to know someone more closely and realised that your image of that person has been incomplete, possibly even completely wrong? What does that tell us about our perception of the people around us and the world in general?

“And all at once I knew how Margo Roth Spiegelman felt when she wasn't being Margo Roth Spiegelman: she felt empty. She felt the unscaleable wall surrounding her. I thought of her asleep on the carpet with only that jagged sliver of sky above her. Maybe Margo felt comfortable there because Margo the person lived like that all the time: in an abandoned room with blocked-out windows, the only light pouring in through holes in the roof. Yes. The fundamental mistake I had always made—and that she had, in fairness, always led me to make—was this: Margo was not a miracle. She was not an adventure. She was not a fine and precious thing. She was a girl.”

p. 199

What is it that Quentin realizes in this paragraph? You could argue that this scene shows one very important development that happens with Quentin in the book. What is it?

Das Glück besteht darin, zu leben wie alle Welt und doch wie kein anderer zu sein.

— Simone de Beauvoir (1908 – 1986), frz. Autorin, Philosophin und Feministin

A little life lesson

“It’s beautiful,” I said.
Margo scoffed. “Really? You seriously think so?”
“I mean, well, maybe not,” I said, although it was.

p. 57, top

… she turned to me and smiled. “Here’s a tip: you’re cute when you’re confident. And less when you’re not.”

p. 57, middle

Why does Quentin behave as he does? What’s Margo’s reaction? Do you see a “life lesson” (or even a “love lesson”) in these two passages?