I wonder if anybody ever wants to see the truth.
Or, at least the downsides of things. I think that it depends on whether you're an optimist or a pessimist. I feel as though optimistic people always try to block out the bad things, because to an optimist, almost everything has a solution and that solution will solve the problem they're dealing with, so they always look on the bright sides of things (or at least this is what I gather an optimist to be). There is always a positive outlook, a.k.a, the glass is half full. A pessimist is pretty much a person who looks at the downsides of things, the cons, the things that could go wrong with any theoretical solution to this theoretical problem. Me, being just that, always look for problems with things before getting my hopes up, thus resulting in the opposite of the phrase for optimistics: the glass is half empty.
I'm not saying that these are solid set types of people. Plenty of people are in-between, some are extremes in either, and some sit comfortably in one of the two. But I wonder if authors give clues to what the rest of the book is about through these groups.
So far, my answer is yes, even if it's not directly through the character in their dialogue or thoughts.
For example, Persepolis. The main character tells one of her mom's friend's daughter, "when people say that people are away on a trip, doesn't that mean that they're dead?". This was after the other girl, told the main character that her dad was on a trip.
To me, this statement is pretty pessimistic. Not only because it's obviously telling this girl that her dad is dead, but that it's said so casually, like it should be expected that he's dead because of the revolution. It's weird, because I was thinking that the main character was pretty optimistic. She "talks" to God, wanted to become a prophet, and always offered up solutions to problems.
But in books, most things aren't what you think they are. Looks can be deceiving.
Just like the lipeic tree in The Zookeeper's Wife.
First off, let me clear something up. I did not finish the book, so I don't know what happens at the end, or past around page 28. But I can tell you that I'm almost positive that the lipeic tree, a kind of lilac shrub, is a symbol or representation of something throughout the book.
The zookeeper's wife talks a lot (about a page and then some of font this or this big) about the lipeic tree. She talks about how it's beautiful, it makes her home beautiful, it makes her town beautiful. It makes everything beautiful and perfect in her life. Its flowers, its scent all make the lipeic tree beautiful and breathtaking.
I absolutely love what the author did next. Okay, I know that sounded super-corny but let me tell you, it is probably the most genius thing ever, because it's just like when magnets don't attract each other and wind up pushing each other away and you see the magnets move and sway without either one of them touching each other and your fingers barely moving.
What she said next was that the local slang for white lies was lipia.
Lipia. Lipeic.
Lipia. Lipeic.
Lipia. Lipeic.
I think it's pretty neat how she incorporates this seemingly small detail into her story with one sentence. While the Lipeic tree is supposed to be this beautiful, calming tree, something so similar is the opposite of what it actually is.
Like in Persepolis, a dad being on a trip is so innocent, but the fact that he might be dead brings doubts into your mind. Doing something big or small may not seems so simplistic or innocent anymore.
Anything can have two sides, and most things do: the optimistic side or the pessimistic side.
So which one do you beleive?
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