An archist
Well-known member
Not having a social life of any kind does afford me quite a bit of time to kill. Often that time gets spend just stagnating in my room staring off into space and thinking a lot, but reading is something I do enjoy so whenever I start to feel a screw coming loose in my head from complete lack of stimulation, I wind up reading. One thing I've noticed is that the loner is quite a common character in many books that I've read, and I always manage to relate really well to them. I'm not sure if this thread would be better suited to another forum, but I would like to know some of your thoughts on some of the literary loners you've come accross and, if possible, maybe pick a favorite or two.
*possible spoilers to follow, although I tried my best to avoid it*
Last summer I read The Plague by Albert Camus for the first time and it wasn't bad at all. Although not the protagonist, there was a character named Cottard who I understood perfectly. Before the plague breaks out in the town, he was under investigation and even tried to hang himself due to the nerve-wracking, axe hanging over his head this police inquiry means. However, once the plague does break out he really starts to thrive! Because the town is under quarentine, and all the inhabitants are scared to death of the plague, there is a complete role reversal; now it is everybody else who feels oppressed, mortified and nervous, whereas Cottard is completly liberated. Because the authorities are too overwhelmed with trying to stem a possible riot, they've stopped looking into Cottard altogeather. Since I don't want to spoil the book for those who haven't read it yet--because I certainly do recomend it--I won't give away what happens to him, but I can try and explain why it is I relate to this character so much.
Although he isn't really a loner, he does feel incredibly nervous and frightend--much like yours truly. Merly venturing out of my house, riding on the bus, sitting in class, and many other activities, which would be quite mundane for the normal person, I find emensly trying. The only time where I don't feel like a little shivering ball of panic is when I'm all by myself--where I then get to enjoy absolutly spirt crushing lonliness and sadness. However there are a few occasions where I do get to expirence something diffrent, which I feel is comperable to what Cottard must have expirenced during the outbreak. Whenever it really starts pouring rain and I happen to be outside it always puts me in good spirits. Because people are all scrambling to avoid getting wet, I get to have the whole street to myself! The same goes for when it's incredibly cold outside. I don't have to feel as self-conscious because I'm certain that everybody is too much of a hurry to get where they're going to observe me.
The Plague is all well and good, but my favorite book of all time is Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevski. The protagonist, Raskolnikov, makes loner look good!
He was a pretty embittered, misanthropic dude to begin with, who had to drop his studies for a while due to a lack of funds. He's lived in abject poverty in Petersburg ever since. Eventually he kills an old money lending woman, whom he feels is really the scum of the earth. He falls incredibly ill afterwards and the psychological tortures and fear of getting caught he endures are amazingly descriptive and compelling. Although he's constantly got the fact that the police are onto him on his mind, he's a pretty rightious dude! All of the other characters in this book are such scoundrels but Raskolnikov totally pwns them! He's got to be the most miserable person to ever have existed (in a book) and considering I read Crime and Punishment at a particularly dark and low time in my life I really can't express enough how much I loved this character. In my isolation I've become quite bitter as well and at times I really feel that I'm not missing out on much in being completly excluded from society. People are over-*******-rated! There's even a woman who lives in my building that I find to be the most contemptuous person I've ever come accross and I often fantacize about droping a cinder block on her head...but perhaps I've said too much!
Well, it looks like I wound up writing a book report here (and a ghastly long one at that!), which certainly wasn't my idea at the outset and I'm quite displeased with the final result. I didn't even come close to doing justice to the character of Raskolnikov either. He's got to be the single person I think I could truly relate to...and he's the invention of a Russian from the 19th century! Well, at the very least I hope to pick up some sugestions for some new reading material from all of you.
*possible spoilers to follow, although I tried my best to avoid it*
Last summer I read The Plague by Albert Camus for the first time and it wasn't bad at all. Although not the protagonist, there was a character named Cottard who I understood perfectly. Before the plague breaks out in the town, he was under investigation and even tried to hang himself due to the nerve-wracking, axe hanging over his head this police inquiry means. However, once the plague does break out he really starts to thrive! Because the town is under quarentine, and all the inhabitants are scared to death of the plague, there is a complete role reversal; now it is everybody else who feels oppressed, mortified and nervous, whereas Cottard is completly liberated. Because the authorities are too overwhelmed with trying to stem a possible riot, they've stopped looking into Cottard altogeather. Since I don't want to spoil the book for those who haven't read it yet--because I certainly do recomend it--I won't give away what happens to him, but I can try and explain why it is I relate to this character so much.
Although he isn't really a loner, he does feel incredibly nervous and frightend--much like yours truly. Merly venturing out of my house, riding on the bus, sitting in class, and many other activities, which would be quite mundane for the normal person, I find emensly trying. The only time where I don't feel like a little shivering ball of panic is when I'm all by myself--where I then get to enjoy absolutly spirt crushing lonliness and sadness. However there are a few occasions where I do get to expirence something diffrent, which I feel is comperable to what Cottard must have expirenced during the outbreak. Whenever it really starts pouring rain and I happen to be outside it always puts me in good spirits. Because people are all scrambling to avoid getting wet, I get to have the whole street to myself! The same goes for when it's incredibly cold outside. I don't have to feel as self-conscious because I'm certain that everybody is too much of a hurry to get where they're going to observe me.
The Plague is all well and good, but my favorite book of all time is Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevski. The protagonist, Raskolnikov, makes loner look good!
He was a pretty embittered, misanthropic dude to begin with, who had to drop his studies for a while due to a lack of funds. He's lived in abject poverty in Petersburg ever since. Eventually he kills an old money lending woman, whom he feels is really the scum of the earth. He falls incredibly ill afterwards and the psychological tortures and fear of getting caught he endures are amazingly descriptive and compelling. Although he's constantly got the fact that the police are onto him on his mind, he's a pretty rightious dude! All of the other characters in this book are such scoundrels but Raskolnikov totally pwns them! He's got to be the most miserable person to ever have existed (in a book) and considering I read Crime and Punishment at a particularly dark and low time in my life I really can't express enough how much I loved this character. In my isolation I've become quite bitter as well and at times I really feel that I'm not missing out on much in being completly excluded from society. People are over-*******-rated! There's even a woman who lives in my building that I find to be the most contemptuous person I've ever come accross and I often fantacize about droping a cinder block on her head...but perhaps I've said too much!Well, it looks like I wound up writing a book report here (and a ghastly long one at that!), which certainly wasn't my idea at the outset and I'm quite displeased with the final result. I didn't even come close to doing justice to the character of Raskolnikov either. He's got to be the single person I think I could truly relate to...and he's the invention of a Russian from the 19th century! Well, at the very least I hope to pick up some sugestions for some new reading material from all of you.
