“Everyone looks in his own way for something that will cure
the silence … Some people spend their time stretched out in the cinema with a
woman beside them to whom, in this way, they don’t have to talk; some people
learn how to play bridge; some people make love, which can also be done without
talking. Usually they say they are doing
these things to kill time, in fact
they do them to kill the silence.” (70 Ginzburg)
Natalia
Ginzburg’s discusses several topics throughout her novel, The Little Virtues. The
novel is a compilation of short stories and each relates to her life
metaphorically. This excerpt comes from
the chapter Silence, which reveals her
opinions of silence and its effects worldwide. As human beings, we fear silence. It brings forth a sense of uneasiness and
awkwardness. People become uncomfortable
when nothing is said. Her idea of silence is negative as she relates it to
being “a mortal illness” (72). I,
however, disagree with her. Sometimes
silence is necessary. Not only is it impossible
to have a continuous conversation but silence allows for meditation,
reflection, and tranquility.
Ginzburg claims,
“’We have lost the art of conversation’ …
when we say ‘the art of conversation’ we are not saying anything that
helps us to live.” (72). What Ginzburg
means by this is that our daily conversations have no substance. When looking at the big picture, these
conversations are about nothing important.
Most conversations today seem meaningless and tend to be one sided. Conversation has changed drastically over the
years with the increase of technology. Technology
continues to alter face-to-face interactions and the ability to
communicate. People have become so
invested in their smartphones that they are no longer able to experience the
art of communication. Technology has
become something used to kill time but more importantly to kill the silence.
In the chapter Silence, Natalie Ginzburg talks about how we do various activities not because we want to kill time, but because we want to kill silence. She describes silence as something negative, that makes people uncomfortable and uneasy. However, the author (I) of the post doesn't agree with this view. He claims that silence, sometimes, is needed, for the purpose of meditation and tranquility.
ReplyDeleteGinzburg also claims that we have gradually lost the ability to carry on meaningful conversations. What we talk about daily are things that don't matter in the long run, things that only matter in the present moment. Also, the advancement of technology also worsen the quality of people's speech, since attention has been gradually shifted from conversation to electronics.