Abraham Yeung - Blog Q2 Week 11- Yeah, no wonder this was banned
I like Reverend Insanity. And no, this is not just another plug for you to read the novel (Which you should). The novel manages to make you think deeply about societal structure, individual freedom, and how you should approach life, and is surprisingly deep for works of the same medium.
One of my favorite quotes from the novel is a rather long-winded monologue about societal structure. According to the main character,
“‘Power is like the carrot dangling in front of a donkey. The desires of humans are stimulated by it, and each of them secure their personal gains with someone with authority for it. After climbing up one level, there will be a higher level. While they are busy currying favour for personal gain, their hard work is squeezed out from them and their value is exploited by the upper position.’”
And he’s somewhat right. Just look at our society now! We are struggling so hard, trying to get into college, form connections with important people, just to probably never amount to anything. Everyone is always stuck in a permanent cycle of currying favor and being exploited, and this is just how society works. Society has become our cage, with us chasing our desires endlessly until we die.
Now, this statement is also wrong at the same time. Society has made order, and has allowed us to coalesce all our innovation together to progress as a race. The main character’s cynical view of life does not fully fit our society. He represents the twisted world he lives in, and yet the world of Reverend Insanity mirrors ours.
It’s what makes reading Reverend Insanity so appealing. It’s the struggle trying to distinguish between social commentary and worldbuilding. Perhaps there isn’t a difference to be made, and the author is simply trying to just criticize the society he lives in. But I enjoy trying to distinguish between the two.
Quotes like these make me think:
“If one goes past the superficial aspect, they would see Buddha.
Recognising and going beyond, treating all as equal, all is equal….
In actuality, all beings are equal, and heaven and earth is just.”
It sounds pretty nice, viewing all things as equal. After all, if everyone viewed each other as equal, wouldn’t all racial conflict end? Wouldn’t conflict between countries end? But coming from the morally questionable main character, I don’t think it’s exactly the right mentality to approach life. After all, this quote is describing his mentality after feeding a small child to a bear. Are all living beings really equal here? Is this really the right mentality to adopt here?
The juxtaposition between the vile actions of the main character and the complex themes of the novel make Reverend Insanity one of my favorite works of literature. Unlike it, our world is not a place where strength is the only thing that matters. How do its philosophies apply here? How should we view life? How should I view life?
Also, here's another opportunity to plug one of my favorite fanart artists, OSOT. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/reverend-insanity--72268769022434527/
Hey Abraham! It feels like after I commented about Reverend Insanity last time I haven’t stopped seeing it in reading list recommendations. Despite my personal lack of interest in Chinese fantasy novels, the synopsis does seem appealing. A ban after two thousand chapters has to be devastating though, I hope you RI fans recover….
ReplyDeleteHumans sure love making their tier lists, seeing as how social stratification continues to thrive from the past and present. When considering racial classification, humans are technically equal—race is a social construct of division based on physical/social qualities created by humans themselves. However, with the biases and stereotypes stemming from irrationality and a need to prove superiority, hierarchical perspectives are bound to develop. Equality isn’t a solution to all conflict, but it does prevent many unnecessary, unjustified aggression towards things that are out of people's control.
Unlike what your MC says, heaven and earth is definitely not just towards mere mortals. If the world were to be viewed by any higher deity, let’s say Buddha, humans are equal in all aspects to the smallest ant, perhaps just a little more entertaining. But as you wrote, our perspectives probably shouldn't be taken from the morally ambiguous.
Hi, Abraham. Though I haven’t read Reverend Insanity, from what you described, it sort of reminds me of the book I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream. Similar to Reverend Insanity, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream is very nihilistic and shows suffering as something unavoidable in society. Regardless, I don’t think they are that similar in plot.
ReplyDeleteYou posed an interesting question (and answer): “if everyone viewed each other as equal, wouldn’t all racial conflict end? Wouldn’t conflict between countries end?” I agree that “this isn’t the right mentality to approach life.” While I obviously believe every human is born equal, society does not apply that idea in practice. I would argue that a billionaire man in America is societally seen as having higher importance than (for example) a senior citizen living in the slums of Somalia. And with such defining things like wealth and power, I don’t think society can truly ever be “equal” in the sense of opportunity and advancement.
Also, this sort of kinda relates to the whole premise of communism. If a brain surgeon and a cashier were seen as of equal importance and therefore had the same salary, what would motivate the majority of (would be) doctors to pursue such a stressful career for the same pay as someone with substantially easier work? So I agree that, structurally and conceptually, all humans are equal, but definitely not in practice.