This week I was challenged with the novel Paris Peasant by Louis Aragon. Although I found myself struggling to find a plot, the key themes and meanings behind the text stood out to me and I think I was able to understand what the author was trying to get me, the reader, to learn. There were times when I would reread certain quotes and passages because I found I was able to capture a deeper understanding of the message the author was trying to relay.
In the book, some of the key motifs of modernity and modern living are captured in the spirit of Paris’s city life and the uncertain nature of the social interactions between men of status and women of the lower class. I found it interesting how Louis Aragon captured the experience of modernity through common experiences and vices of city life in Paris. It is explored through brothels and condensed city streets which he described as an aquarium of people. I thought this was an interesting interpretation of human society and how we observe each other in social settings. A passage that really stood out to me was, “Each day the modern sense of existence becomes subtly altered. A mythology ravel and unravels. It is knowledge, a science of life open only to those who have no training in it”. To me, this reflects that modernity is practiced by every person as they continue to reinvent themselves in order to properly exist in a society that is constantly changing. The definition of modernity is not fixed. It appears that Aragon views modernism as a complete rejection of traditional normalities. Throughout the novel, he demonstrates how modernity is complex. It is about discovering identity based on the combination of individual and common experiences.
Surrealism is another key theme that stood out to me through my engagement with the text. The way the author felt about the surrealist movement was noticeable as he focused greatly on the conceptions of reality and society. This novel challenged my mindset and any preexisting thoughts I might have had on how reality, society and humanity as a whole function. In the end, it was clear to me that the main objective of the novel was to challenge the way we view our world and the reality we have created for ourselves. I would like to know what others thought was the most important theme the author was presenting and how it relates to our modern society?
Hi Spencer! I think your comments on his exploration of Paris are very insightful. I also thought that the concept of surrealism and engaging imagination were the most important them from the text.
Hi Spencer! Thanks for your post, it’s very well written and thoughtful! I liked that you mentioned how it made you think about how humans observe each other in social settings and in public. It makes me wonder about how the narrator himself would be described if he was the one being observed by someone else. I’m curious to know the observation of the observer. I believe that the themes of constant evolution, change and the challenging of our views on the world around us were important.
“the main objective of the novel was to challenge the way we view our world and the reality we have created for ourselves.”
Yes. I think he believes we simply need to take the time to look at little more carefully, especially at what is usually overlooked, and we will find ourselves constantly surprised by what is on our doorstep.