Sunday, September 22, 2013
4000 Miles
The motif that I noticed most prominently in 4000 Miles was the losing and finding things. This happened consistently throughout the play in the physical sense with objects, as well as with characters losing their words. An example of this would be when she thinks she lost her checkbook, but she ends up finding it...also she often forgets her hearing aid. There are other things lost in the play, Bec and Leo's relationship, and also Vera's neighbor Ginny. Leo and Vera are also at a loss for words many times. Vera continually makes statements such as, "...there are a lot of bad things about getting old, but the worst one is not being able to find my words." I think this motif pertains to the story in a huge way, because the play truly is about Leo losing and finding himself, through his journey. Just as Herzog has some items lost and some found, there are parts of Leo that he'll never get back, and there are parts of him that he discovers that will continue to grow. This motif is true to life in the sense that everyone is on a journey and is searching, and there's lot's to encounter along the way. Leo is definitely struggling right now to find himself and Herzog highlights this with the use of the motif.
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I think losing and finding things is a great motif in this play and have considered it as well but didn’t even think about the loss of Ginny being tied to this. That makes me look at her death a little differently, especially since I’ve still been trying to find the meaning of it. I guess a little clearer wording to this motif would be “loss and discovery” since some of these things are never found, but are sometimes found through someone or something else. I like how concise you and how you made the connection between losing and finding things and Leo’s journey, which makes the motif meaningful.
ReplyDeleteI really like the motif of losing and finding things. My favorite part was when you said, "there are parts of Leo that he'll never get back, and there are parts of him that he discovers that will continue to grow." My own response was somewhat similar to yours, but I did not mention how the play ultimately shows the motif in Leo's journey as well. Your response opened my eyes to this motif in a much different way than I was able to see.
ReplyDeleteThe motif of losing and finding things has a major role in 4000 Miles. This is a really interesting way to look at the play. I did not look at the play from this angle when reading it. I like that the motif can be applied to physical things in the world of the play as well as relationships and what not.
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